Polishing Up Your Home: Listing Photo Tips

Most real estate agents know to hire professional photographers for their listing photos these days. Long gone are the days of blurry point-and-shoot photos where you can see the agent standing in the bathroom mirror. We can all agree, we don’t miss those days. So it’s easy to assume that a professional is going to make your listing photos look amazing. Well, they can only do their best with what you give them. Here are some listing photo tips to make photo day a success.

Want more tips? Click here to check out our article on home staging!

Clean up clutter

Clutter is the number one price killer when it comes to real estate listing photos. Most of us have clutter somewhere in our homes, and we assume that others do too. So, why would people pay less for a cluttered home? Well, the psychology behind it is that buyers are looking for the best home for their money. When they compare a cluttered home to one that is immaculate, they assume the cleaner home has been taken better care of.

The recommendation is to take everything off the counters – no sponges, bill boxes, lava lamps, pet toys, or contact solution bottles. You can take everything and put them in totes- just while photos are being taken and showings take place. It seems like a small thing, but the less cluttered items you have in your home when photos are taken, the more valuable your listing will be.

Hide personal items

Personal care items should be out of sight. This might seem like an obvious listing photo tip, but some people forget these things are out. When you look at something every day, it becomes white noise. Things that fall under this category would be wall calendars, personal hygiene items (think bathroom), cleaning supplies like toilet bowl cleaners or Clorox wipes, and most importantly, prescription medication. Yes, all of these things count as clutter – but leaving them out can be a safety or privacy concern as well as an eye sore.

Turn off electronics

Turn off all of your televisions, computer monitors, or devices that might be visible in the background. Some professional photographers can actually place images in these spaces to make for a clean and high-resolution look. Taking a photo with a screen illuminated will result in distorted images. Turn them off and let the photographer decide what to do with them.

Electronics can be useful– How to Use Drones for Listing Photos

Have great lighting

Open every window and turn on all accent lighting. This includes the lights under your microwave if it’s a hood fan style, lamps that aren’t overhead, and any other lighting a photographer might miss. They will adjust the lighting to their preference, but they don’t always think of certain lighting styles. You live in this house, so you know the lighting better than anybody. More light is better!

Listing photo tips

Last but not least. Toilet seats should always be down, and beds should always be made. These two explain themselves.

We live in a world of Pinterest ideas and influencers. Everything online is polished and professionally staged. In a competitive market like real estate, it’s important to be able to compete. You want to bring your house to the market ready to sell. You want it to stand out from the crowd. Simple things like photos and landscaping can literally raise the value of your home with very little investment. Step back and try to look at your house with a fresh pair of eyes. If you see something out of place, spend a minute fixing it. You will not regret the time spent on these small tasks when it comes time to review offers.

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