When someone is looking at your property, you can count on them browsing through the photos in your listing. They will be carefully looking at the pictures to see if it’s a property they want to stay at.
We live in a very visual society and many people rely on property photos to help them determine if it’s a place they want to book. So, what you want to ask yourself is do your photos represent your property well and are they appealing.
When capturing photos of your property, there are a few things to keep in mind.
The lighting needs to be just right
Lighting is a huge part of what separates a bad photo from a good one. Try to take advantage of natural lighting as much as you can. Open up curtains and blinds during the day to bring in that beautiful lighting so you can take some photos. Just be careful that the lighting isn’t too harsh. Too much light could end up washing out your images or causing shadows depending on how the light is hitting the room.
In photography, the golden hour is seen as one of the best times to take photos, and it works really well if you’re taking outdoor shots. This golden hour happens immediately before sunrise and directly following sunset. These could be ideal times for you to capture some gorgeous shots of the outside of your property.
If you don’t have enough natural lighting, you can consider using a ring light or umbrella lights to help set the scene better. This can be a great option for your indoor shots if there aren’t many windows in a room or if you’re taking pictures in the evening.
Include photos of the interior and exterior
That leads us to the next tip. You want to make sure you’re taking pictures indoors and outdoors. Inside, you’ll want to capture every room in a photograph. If it’s a spacious room, take multiple photos from different angles to really showcase it.
Capture photos of special features in the rooms, like a large screen TV or the furniture. When you’re photographing the outside, be sure to capture the beauty of the different seasons, as well as any features like a deck, front porch or garden. If your property has some kind of water features like a pool or spa be sure to take photos of that as well. You want to have multiple, high-quality photos for your potential guests to browse.
Clean up the clutter
It may be obvious that the property should be clean before taking photos. But it actually goes beyond that. You need to remove items that could make your property look messy. For example, you might want to remove magnets on the fridge, put away tissue boxes or tidy up electrical cords. That said, you can leave a few pieces out that will give the photo character, like a centerpiece on the dining table or a vase with flowers. You want the room to look clean, but you don’t want it to be empty either.
Don’t photobomb the property photos
When you’re capturing your photos, make sure that you don’t accidentally take a photo of yourself in a mirror or window. If you don’t take a photo from the correct angle, you could end up photobombing the images, and you don’t want that.
Be careful when editing your photos
If you’re going to do any edits to your photos, be careful not to do too much. You want your guests to have the correct expectations coming to the property, so the photos should line up with how your property will look when they arrive. If photos are too doctored and it’s evident, guests may wonder why you had to do all of the touch-ups and have concerns about what the property really looks like. Either way, some touch-ups can be helpful, but too much can actually hurt your bottom line.
Hire a photographer or property management company
Nowadays many people have high-quality smartphones and/or digital cameras that can capture some amazing shots. However, you may find it’s in your best interest to hire an experienced person to handle your photography. The price of the professional shots could be worth it when you consider the higher occupancy rates the photos could bring you.
We invite you to visit our website to learn more about what we can offer: http://pmijacksonville.com. We’ll be happy to help get your property ready for listing, including assisting you with staging, marketing, and of course, property management. Contact us today to learn more.
