3 Easy tips for getting the best photos of your Charlottesville Area home
November 18th, 2009 categories: For Sellers, Helpful Tips, STR Market Info Blitz
This post is part of the Strong Team REALTORS Market Info Blitz. We’re heating up the Winter market by giving you three-months worth of the information you need, November through January. Check out the latest posts in the blitz, here.
Good listing photos are important!
Quality pictures are one of the most critical pieces of your home marketing.
You might have a wonderful home, but if the pictures aren’t enticing enough, or worse– they turn people off, selling your home will be that much more difficult.
We quickly discovered how important good photography is to successfully marketing a home. That is exactly why we have spent a lot of time, money and effort learning how to make our client’s homes shine. When people are looking for the home of their dreams in Charlottesville or Lake Monticello, we want to do everything we can to make sure that the pictures they see of our clients’ homes match the pictures they have in their dreams.
We have taken literally thousands of photos for our listings over the years. During that time, we’ve learned some tips that you, as a homeowner, can follow to help your home look its best when it is time for photography.
1) Timing matters– The time of day that photos are taken can make a great deal of difference in the quality of the photos. Houses face different directions, and the sun shines on them accordingly. If your house faces west, it won’t be a good idea to take photos in the morning, since the sun will be behind the house, making exterior pictures difficult by making the front of the house dark. The opposite is true if your house faces east. No matter which way your home faces, if it is sunny outside, taking pictures around noon is usually best. This way, sunlight isn’t shining directly into any of the windows, or into the camera. Very honestly, one of the absolute best times for interior pictures is around dusk, as dusk usually provides the best lighting conditions. Now, we fully understand that dusk isn’t the most convenient time to take pictures, but try to make sure that your home is available and ready for whatever the optimal time of day is.
2) Light it up– When it is time to take the pictures of the interior of your home, turn on all the lights. Doing so will ensure that you have the best lighting conditions you can create. Some lights will be turned off by your photographer, but turning them all on to begin with will help put the home in the best possible light. Another thing you can do is change your regular incandescent bulbs to the “bright white” bulbs. Regular incandescent bulbs tend to give off a very yellow light. While the yellow color cast can sometimes be removed by digital photography software later, it is best to use the bright white bulbs so that the lighting looks as natural as possible.
3) Let people see– DE-CLUTTER, DE-CLUTTER, DE-CLUTTER! This is something that can’t be stressed enough. You want people to look at your house, not all of the things in your house. If they see too much stuff in the pictures, they won’t be able to concentrate on the home itself, which is what really matters. This means that you should put away or hide anything that isn’t absolutely necessary. Your walls don’t have to be barren, but consider limiting hangings to only the most necessary. Clean as much as possible off of all your countertops and tables. Make sure beds are made. Put away anything that doesn’t absolutely need to be on the floor. Chances are, whoever takes the photos of your home is still going to do some of this at the time the pictures are taken, but the more you can do beforehand, the better.
By following these 3 very easy tips, you’ll be well on your way to having great pictures of your house that you can be proud to show other people. There are a lot of homes on the market in the Charlottesville area. One of the best ways to help your home stand head and shoulders above all the rest is with great photos. So if you really want your home to jump off the page to potential buyers, these simple tips are easy ways to make that happen.
photo credit:
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
