How To Prepare Your House for Pictures To Sell

The photos of your home in your online listing are one of the first interactions many interested buyers will have with your property — and in some cases, they may be the only interaction that interested buyers have. When you create comprehensive listings, complete with photos that allow buyers to take a virtual walk through the property and see all the fantastic attributes it has to offer, you set your listing up for success and increase the odds that your property will sell quickly. Poor photos, on the other hand, can prevent buyers from ever touring your home. If you want to take great photos of your property as you put it on the market, keep these tips in mind:

Ideally, you want a professional photographer to take the photos for your listing. A professional knows how to maximize lighting and make your home look its best as they highlight the attributes that are most likely to interest potential buyers. Your real estate agent can put you in touch with a professional photographer who is in the best possible position to take care of your property, from maximizing curb appeal to improving the look of each room in your house for the best possible photos.

When buyers imagine purchasing a property, they want to be able to imagine themselves in the home. They don't want to see a home that looks like a family lives there; instead, they want to imagine what it will be like to move their families in. To make it easier for buyers to see the best of your property, make sure you remove those personal touches that have made it home for so long. Consider these key steps:

As you prepare your home for the market, you're likely thinking ahead to a move anyway. Reduce clutter by removing the items you don't currently need. Pack up bookshelves, collections, and family photos. Not only will it mean cleaner photos, it will be less that you have to take care of when you're ready to move.

Often, before you start showing your home, you will want to bring in a cleaner to take care of deep cleaning the property to make sure that it's ready for new buyers. A deep cleaning can help the home look newer and fresher and make it more appealing to people touring the property. It can also make your home look better in those vital listing photos.

You may use a large number of furniture items in your home, especially if you frequently entertain or have a large family. However, that extensive furniture can make your home look smaller and more crowded in photos. Removing items that you don't currently need — or at least making sure that they aren't in the photos — can help make the home look larger and more open.

Lighting is a key aspect of home photography. Adequate lighting in the room makes it appear brighter and more open, which can change the way interested buyers view the property. Consider opening the windows and letting in natural light, as well as turning on the lights needed to brighten up the room from the inside. Make sure you check the shadows in your photos!

Take the weather into account when you take your listing photos too. Ideally, you want to take photos of your home on a bright, sunny day, especially when you're photographing the exterior. The change of seasons may also influence the way your home looks, so talk to your realtor about when you may want to update the listing, especially if it's been on the market for a while.

As the current owner of a property, you have a great idea of what makes the house special. You may be in love with historic details or with the carefully decorated kitchen or bathroom. While listing photos should certainly highlight the best of the house, including all the things that should make buyers eager to tour it, you don't want to focus too much on those details. Instead, make sure that your listing photos focus on the space as a whole. Buyers want to get a feel for what it would be like to live on the property and what might encourage them to tour it. If they get lost in the details, it may make it more difficult for them to get that big-picture view.

Listing photos are, as a rule, focused on the space as a whole. That means that you need to take a careful look at the backdrop you present. If you have paintings or photos hanging on the walls, make sure they are neutral and generally appealing. If you don't have those pieces of decor, consider where you may want to add them to create the best overall effect. Look at the backdrop outdoors, too: You may need to remove cars from the driveway or take care of any landscaping before you take listing photos. Talk to your real estate agent or home staging expert about how to create the best look for your space.

Staging your home for photos can feel like an overwhelming task. However, don't fall into the trap of looking at the home as a whole. Instead, carefully evaluate each room as you set it up for photos. Take care of the details, from making sure that you shut the lid of the toilet to ensuring that you have let in natural light or checked shadows in each room. By taking each room individually, rather than trying to look at the house as a whole, you are more likely to pick up on any details that could influence the final look of the pictures. Ultimately, this will create a more finished image, attracting more potential buyers to your home.

If you are ready to place your home on the market, the DC Metro Realty Team can help you with each step of the process, from getting the best possible listing photos to ensuring that your home is put in front of buyers who are interested in your property. Reach out today to get in touch with an experienced real estate team that can aid you in the selling process.