The first impression that buyers get of your home depends on the quality of listing photos that you post online.
If your listing photos do not stand out amidst all other postings, chances are you will not be able to make a sale. If the listing photos do not appeal to the online customers, they will not waste another second going through other details of your home.
Therefore, we recommend you to hire a professional photographer because only he can make your listing shine. Also, plan and prepare everything beforehand. After all, all great things come with planning, right?
Here are some useful tips to prepare your home for a professional photoshoot. Follow these and make the first impression count!
Interior preparation
Following are some of the things you might want to do to make the interior of your house look appealing and desirable.
How to prepare your home for a perfect photoshoot:
1. Organize as much as possible
A well-organized home grabs attention and looks clean and new. So consider de-cluttering everything; put things like toys, clothes, shoes, towels, and dishes away. Although you do have the option to get the images photoshopped, why pay so much when you can organize everything on your own?
2. Do not forget to depersonalize your home
The key to making a sale is to let the potential buyer feel at home. If he cannot imagine himself living in your house, he is likely to look for the perfect house elsewhere. Thus, it is imperative to put away your personal belongings and depersonalize your home to a certain extent.
3. Remove unnecessary decorations
Another important thing to do is to get rid of any seasonal or holiday decorations in your house. Moreover, if there are any magnets and decorations on the refrigerator, remove them too – they do not give a good impression!
4. Dust, vacuum, clean
This is perhaps the most understood thing to do – if your house is not clean, do not expect it to be sold. Clean every corner of your home, dust, vacuum, and make it spotless!
5. Make your kitchen and bathroom immaculate
Clean your kitchen as if the sale depends on it only. You need to make sure that the sink is clean and there are no dirty dishes in there. Also, clear all the countertops – things like the toaster and can openers should not be left there.
In addition to this, you should not leave any personal stuff in the bathroom. Shampoos, body washes, and conditioners need to be removed from the shower. Clean up the bathroom countertops and put all toilet seats down. Also, you need to remove all the towels and put out only those for the guests.
6. Hide all dustbins
You also need to hide all trashcans before you give a green signal to the photographer to begin the photoshoot. They just do not give a very pleasant impression of your home in the listing photos.
7. Leave no sign of pets
If you have a pet in your home, the prospective buyers do not need to know that! So hide all pet toys, food/ water bowls, and pet beds. Not to mention, your pet should not be left posing away for the listing photos!
8. Replace old light bulbs
Another crucial thing to do to prepare your home for a photoshoot is to look for any burned out lights in your home. If you find any, replace it with new ones because photos of a perfectly lit house come out oh-so-perfect!
9. Decorate the tables
While you are preparing your home for professional photography, it is the perfect time to show off the prettiest and the most expensive place settings that you own. You can also put vases of fresh, colorful flowers to decorate the tables.
Exterior preparation
The importance of preparing the exterior of your home is no less than preparing the interior portion. In fact, the first photo that buyers tend to see is of nothing but the front exterior of the house.
The following tips will help you prepare the exterior of your home for a professional photoshoot.
10. Trim your lawn
The foremost thing to do when it comes to the outside of your home is to trim the lawn, rake the leaves, and prune the bushes and trees. A well-maintained lawn will warm the hearts of prospective buyers and welcome them to see the interior of your house.
11. Get rid of extra decorations
Again, remove any decorations that you put up for the holidays. Moreover, if you have decorated your yard with fancy or cute things, consider removing that too – buyers do not want to see your house; they want to see the house they are going to buy.
12. Clean up everything
Do not forget to hide garden tools, hoses, bikes, and garbage bins, as they can ruin the front exterior look of your home. Moreover, if there is a pool or a hot tub, clean it too. Also, do not make the mistake of leaving the cleaning supplies right there.
13. Shovel the snow, if any
You need to keep your walkways, driveways, decks, and patios clean. If it is snowing, you should shovel the snow before the photography session of your home begins.
14. Give color to the landscape
Splashes of colorful flowers and green plants add to the landscape’s beauty. Make sure your front yard looks alive in the listing photos.
Additional tips:
After you are done preparing the interior and exterior of your home, you need to check some additional little things off the photo shoot-preparation checklist.
Right before the photographer arrives, make sure that you turn on all the lights in your home – yes, ALL, even those cabinet lights! You might also want to light fireplaces and candles and open all blinds and curtains to let maximum light enter your home. Also, do not forget to turn off all the ceiling fans.
In addition to this, make sure that you do not have any car or vehicle parked in the driveway or on the street in front of your home.
Conclusion:
Professional and good quality listing photos can make all the difference! While it is the job of the hired photographer to capture stunning shots, you need to do your share of the work by preparing your house for the photoshoot. Try the aforementioned simple tips to make your house look more sellable – a little preparation goes a long way, believe us!
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