How to successfully take pictures for your listing?

You want to sell or rent a property? It is essential to display pictures of it. These images will be the showcase of your listing and must therefore be treated in order to make your potential buyer or tenant dream, to make them want to get an appointment for a visit, to help them project themselves and imagine themselves living in your property. Here are seven tips for great visuals.

Prepare the staging

This is common sense but let’s start from the beginning: your accomodation should be clean and tidy, nothing should be lying around when you will take the pictures. You may, however, add pops of color like a flower bouquet on the living room table or a candle in the bathroom. It is also judicious to depersonalize the interior design, that is to say to remove (the time to take the pictures but also for the visits!) the family photos on the walls, the children’s drawings on the fridge, a half-dry plant, the interior design elements which may bother your visitors. Avoid integrating your pets into the scenery: where you see life and good times, your potential buyers or tenants might see hair, smells, scratched floors… Finally, if you have an outdoor space (terrace, garden), it will also have to be highlighted: mow the lawn, remove dead leaves, make sure that the pool water is clean…

Take care of the lighting

It cannot be said enough: the quality of a picture lies in the right lighting. To make your pictures bright, you just need to follow a few simple rules.

• Organise your photoshoot on a beautiful sunny day;
• Bring light into the rooms by opening the shutters and curtains;
• Turn on all the lights in each room, and possibly add candles for a glamourous effect;
• Stand with your back to the light source to take the picture in order to avoid backlighting;
• Do not use the camera flash. The effect is very unsightly and completely dated. If the room is too dark, it’s best to postpone your photoshoot to another day.

Choose a wide angle shot

Position yourself at the entrance or in a corner of the room to be photographed to display as much space as possible on your screen. This will allow you to see the entire room in a single photo, but will also give the impression the volumes are larger! In the same vein, opt for landscape shots, portrait shots will give a feeling of suffocation. A camera with short throw lens is ideal. However, the latest generations of smartphones do wonders with their integrated wide angle lens.

Draw attention to the assets of your property

A breathtaking view of a lake, an old-fashioned fireplace, a jacuzzi on the terrace, ceiling moldings or even exposed beams: don’t hesitate to include pictures of these details in your listing. Once the essential criteria are met, ornemental elements will often attract potential buyers and might trigger a purchase. The heart has its reasons, that reason knows not…

Do not hesitate to edit your pictures

Editing isn’t misleading advertising, just showcasing your property. First, take the time to correct a picture whose horizon is not straight. It can also be interesting to crop pictures which are unbalanced (too much ceiling, too much floor, the open door to the toilets, etc.). You can also bring out the brightness of your pictures and why not very slightly saturate the colors to make everything look warmer. Stay subtle though! Photo editing tools should be used sparingly, especially if you are not a professional. You quickly get a bad taste when the eye is not familiar with this type of exercise.

Try the aerial shot

If you’re looking to sell a house with a nice land or even a building, an aerial view of your property can really help you stand out among numerous real estate listings. Obviously, to take such a shot you will need a drone! It can be a fun experience if the use of such a tool is allowed in your area. Look into it!

Not satisfied with the result? Contact a professional!

If, despite all of these tips, you still fail to do justice to your property through your shots, don’t give up and talk to a professional photographer. We can’t stress it enough: on a real estate listing, what people look at first are the pictures. For properties of equivalent level and price range, and regarless of the quality of the text on the listing, the pictures will most of the time make the difference and will make people want to contact you for a visit.

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