How do I take a good property listing photo?

A picture is worth a thousand words. When you are selling are home, it can be worth a lot more: a good photo or a bad photo can be the difference between a sale and a missed opportunity. With HomesGoFast.com, there is no limit to the number of photos you can upload for a property listing so that you can show off your home at its very best.

How do you make sure your property listing photos are effective rather than ugly? 

Here are seven simple steps to taking a good property photo.

1. Use a tripod

There is nothing worse than a lopsided property photo: it either looks like the property is tilting to one side, or that the person selling the property is not professional. A tripod will keep your pictures steady and neat. If you do not have a tripod, buy one: they cost as little as £20 and are a worthwhile investment, especially if you want to attract a buyer. If your home looks like it has something to hide, or like part of the building is missing, house-hunters will keep on scrolling and not even look at your listing.

2. Clean the outside

Grubby garden? Dirty driveway? Make sure your home is presentable on the outside to give the best possible first impression: it matters when people are walking past in the street and it matters just as much when they are browsing the web. If your car is in the way of the home, move that too so you have an unobstructed picture of the whole building.

3. Clean the inside

If people like your home from the outside, they will want to see it from the inside too. Make sure your rooms are clutter-free and neat: when someone views a home they need to be able to imagine themselves living there, which means as few of your belongings in the way as possible. 

4. Wait for nice weather

Wait for nice weather until you take photos of your home. This may sound picky, but a nice, blue sky will make your home look positive and appealing; a grey, cloudy sky will only make your listing look drab by comparison to others. This is particularly important if you are selling a property in a holiday destination, such as the Costa del Sol, where sunny lifestyle is part of the property's appeal.

5. Do it in the daytime

Photos taken using a bedside lamp will not show off the full room. Daylight is your friend: use it. When taking photos indoors, do it in the daytime. Open all the curtains and let as much light in as possible. This will prevent strange shadows distorting the living space and make sure your walls do not appear in unnatural colours.

6. Kick out the pets / children

Never work with children and animals, they say. The same applies of real estate: pets and children are lovely, but they will only get in the way. For you, they can hinder taking the best photos possible; for the viewer, they will distract from the home itself. Remember: That is what you are selling. Your pets are not on the market.

7. Get out the way

Make sure you are not in the photo. This can not only ruin the effect of a empty show home, it can also be very embarrassing, if you are caught in a compromising position. Active Rain, Zillow and Tulia member Wayne Collier reminds us that the same rule applies to others as well: "[I] always try to tell curious people they need to step to the side while I take photos." 

How to avoid a property photo fail

Tripod Good weather Clean outside Clean inside Hide pets / yourself

 

Photo: Lovely Listing