"Photo Ready"

What is “photo ready”? 

As real estate photographers we want to capture a home looking its best so that potential buyers will notice the wonderful features of the home. Clearing away visual distractions is necessary in order to have the buyer focus on what matters, the size of the rooms, the condition of the house, and the architectural features. Imagine if you were a potential buyer, would you be captivated by photos of a home with the beds unmade, dirty dishes in the sink, or toys strewn around the family room? Sure, that’s probably how the majority of all our houses look on a daily basis, but when trying to sell a home, we know that the “lived in look" is not going to get you noticed! Let’s take a look at a few photos to see what I mean.

Photo #1

In photo #1 we have a very nice kitchen, it’s very well kept, large, spacious, and clean. Kitchens, as they say, are the heart of the home. Many potential buyers choose homes based on the size and condition of a kitchen. Ask yourself, was your kitchen a main reason you chose your current home, or the top thing on your list for your new home? I know it was for me!  This is a great kitchen, but is it “photo ready”?  Let’s take a closer look.

Photo #2

In photo #2 we've pointed out some items which should be removed. I’m sure some of you are saying “really – we have to remove ALL of those items, but I use them every day!” Remember, it’s just for the 2 hour time-period that we will be photographing the home. You can put everything back after we are done. However, keep in mind that you are selling your house; you will have potential buyers walking through and “photo ready” is a good bench mark for how you will want your house seen by others. Optimally, for a kitchen, you want to showcase counter space (which this kitchen has a lot of) so clearing all items off of the counter is essential. Just putting things in drawers or cabinets temporarily for the time period of the photo shoot is a good solution. Is it required for you to remove ALL these items before we will take photographs? No, but we hope to show you that photos with minimal clutter and distraction will look better and attract more people to your listing! And after all,-THAT is our goal!!  

Photo #3

Photo #3 is the same kitchen, but this time all the items which we pointed out in photo#2 have been removed. As you will hopefully notice, it’s a much cleaner and attractive looking picture. Your eye is no longer distracted by little items, your focus now is on all the features this kitchen has to offer. Beautiful hard wood floors, loads of cabinet space, large classic granite counter tops, complimentary tiled back splash, a built in microwave, gas range and a prep sink within the large island. Hopefully with this photo a potential home buyer will be imagining themselves cooking a family feast or baking holiday cookies on the big island counter!

Bedroom “photo ready”

NOT "photo ready" 

We all have busy lives and when we are in the process of selling our house it only increases the chaos in our day. The majority of your things are boxed up, you can’t find anything, and you always need an item that you packed away! It can be a nightmare, and the last thing you want to hear from your photographer or real estate agent is that you need to pack away more things. You NEED your every day items, and it’s difficult to keep your house constantly in a “show room” state. Trust us, we understand that! 

Items that should be removed

As photographers we just need you to tuck some things away for the pictures, just so that everything is neat and clean. Vacuum, dust, clear off counters and dressers, and consider removing some non-essential furnishings to show the expanse of a room. It's a temporary change for the time period of the photo shoot. However, we do suggest being in "photo ready" condition for the homeowners who will be coming to see your house too.  

Photo Ready

This room is now "photo ready"!  It took minimal moving and cleaning to transform this bedroom, and now it looks much better! Notice that it's not stark, but we did "de-clutter". Just as your mother always told you, "go make your bed"; this is one of those times when you pull out the "company's coming" bedding and spruce up your bed more than normal. Notice that the personal hair products are gone from the dresser, the photo boxes are removed from the shelving, the trash can is gone, and the bedside dressers are clear. The laundry basket has been removed (no one wants to see your laundry), as well as the bench at the end of the bed, creating more floor space which is an essential selling feature! 

In conclusion, I hope we have shown how just a small amount of cleaning and clearing can improve the look of a room, and make a much better photograph. Remember that your photos are the first thing potential buyers will see about your home, and you want to make a great first impression!

Click here to see a full list of "photo ready" tips. 

FullHousePhoto.com