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Stunning Photography Sells Homes 07/2012


A picture says a thousand words, and with the right listing pictures, you can attract more people to your property by showing your home’s highlights. Below are tips on how you can take the best quality pictures of your property to showcase it so it stands out from the rest.

Clean the entire house before taking photos.
Never take photographs of a dirty home. Remove all trash cans from rooms being photographed. Tidy up any clutter and remove personal photos and drawings from refrigerators and bulletin boards.

Think about the picture before you take it.
What are you trying to show in the photo? Do you want to move or remove anything before you take it?

Highlight the best features of your home.
Do any of your rooms have spectacular views? You can take pictures of your rooms to show off their views. Let the potential purchaser imagine themselves standing in the room with the view. They will appreciate the picture more knowing where they will be able to enjoy the view when they purchase the home.

A general photography rule of thumb is the closer the subject, the better the photo. However it may be useful to take a few steps back or use a wide-angle lens to give the viewer more context and make your home seem more spacious.

Take a shot of every part of the house including living room, kitchen, dining room, and other key areas of your home.

Pay attention to lighting.
Lighting is the key to good photography, and you must choose the optimum time of the day for the shot, typically when the sun is behind you. If the front of the house faces east, the morning is the best time. If the front faces west you want to take your pictures in the late afternoon.

A good general time of the day is around noon or early afternoon on a sunny day for most exterior pictures since the sun is overhead and there are few shadows. If it is overcast you can set your camera to a lower shutter speed to absorb more light and create a brighter image.

The light source also affects colour. When the sun is lower in the sky, either in the morning or in the late afternoon, you get more intense colour. This time of day makes the sky pop blue and the house shows off its best colour. High noon overhead sunlight tends to wash out colour.

Cloudy and overcast days can often provide surprisingly wonderful diffused light that can bring out great colour, although shots like this lack the bright blue sky in the background.

For dramatic evening photography, turn on all the house lights, and take the picture after sunset but before it is totally dark. You will see light coming out of the windows, however there will be enough exterior light to capture the details of the house.

For interior room photography avoid mid day, since on sunny days the light coming in the windows will be too bright. The best times are after daybreak and just before sunset. Use a powerful flash or turn on all the lights.

Take many shots.
If you are using a digital camera, you can take multiple shots of the same room and then pick which one looks best. You can try different angles and pick the winning view of the room.

You can touch up your pictures on your computer software including brightening up a darker picture. After you have a look at your pictures, you will have a better idea of how to improve them. Some indoor pictures can look too warm due to the lighting. You can always reduce certain colours with your photo editing software to make it look more natural.

Consider hiring a professional real estate photographer.
Many real estate agents and homeowners simply do not have the time, equipment, or skills necessary to take good photographs of a home or building they are listing for sale. Professional photography is provided by many brokerages as an optional service and the price is extremely reasonable.

Photos of your home are the first introduction of your new listing to the world. This is the visual element that captures the imagination of buyers and sends them running to contact you for a first look.

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