Getting Your Home Ready for Your Listing Photo Shoot.

If you are still living in the home when you put it on the market to sell these are a few helpful hints to insure your home is shown in the best light.
Furnished homes tend to show better. It will give the potential homeowners an idea how they may want to layout their furniture when they move in. It also gives a better idea of room size and use.

  • Curb appeal: Many MLS (Multiple Listing Services) across the country require the first picture to be posted on a real estate listing to be the front of the home. Even if not required many agents will add this picture of your home first.  Make sure that a few days before your shoot your grass has been cut. Having overgrown grass or hedges can indicate that the home has not been taken care of. A well-maintained property will come across better. Sweep entry way of any dirt, grass clipping or other debris that may accumulate at the front of your home.
  • Personality: It has been a debate between real estate professionals for several years whether to keep personal property or do away with it completely?  From personal experience being a Realtor for 15 years and doing real estate photography for almost as long 13 years I would say it is best to have a mix.  Remove clutter from the home and have a few pictures in key spots if you have a wall of family photos you may want to take them down. Same goes with kids art on the refrigerator. If you have a drawing or two up it may give the kitchen some warmth but having a refrigerator covered from head to toe is not very appealing at all.
  • Cleaning: It should go with out saying but a clean home will always show better. Dishes should be cleaned and put away. Excessive appliances and knick-knacks should be put away. Buyers want to know what the counter space looks like and what material you have, whether your home has formica, marble or granite. Living rooms should be cleaned and excessive clutter removed. TVs should be turned off during shoots. Bedrooms should also be tidy up, make the bed, fluff pillows and clean off night tables and dressers.
  • Lighting: If there is a light fixture there should be a light. Turn on the lights in the home and check if any of the lightbulbs need to be replace. Different lighting affects mode. Golden tones bring warmth to a room white lighting will usually show cooler tones. Whatever type of lighting you use in your home even if you mix and match never do so in the same fixture. For example some light fixtures can have 4 or 5 different light bulbs. You will want to use light bulbs that are all the same having different types of bulbs in the same fixture can throw off the color in a picture.
  • Fans: When it comes to fans it is best to keep them off for pictures. This will ensure that even at slower shutter speeds there isn’t any distortion or swirl effect in pictures that may be composite pictures using multiple brackets. Cleaning fan blades is the one thing that is often overlooked by homeowners.  Dust and dirt are usually not seen when the fans are running. Once they are stopped any dirt or dust can be an eyesore in pictures. A neat cleaning tip is using fabric dryer sheets to clean the blades with a bit of water.

Following these tips can greatly improve how your home shows in pictures.

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