How to prepare your home for photography
This is a very important step in marketing your home properly in order to sell it for the asking price. Maximazing your photo potential is always translated in the final price. First impression matters and you don’t want your buyers to skip your advert. This is the main reason you are hiring a professional real estate photographer. Although the photographers, in general, or myself in this case, will provide you with great images that will help you in selling your home, the way you prepare your home for photography is affecting the overall quality of the photos. You probably want to do your best in preparing the house but you don’t know how or what to take in consideration. The video above shows you some great ways to make your home ready for photographs and in this post I will detail some of them and not only. Feel happy to ask for a free quote and please read a few tips about how to prepare your home for photography:
General guidelines
- Clean the entire house by vacuuming the carpets, clean all the windows, mop all the floors etc.;
- Remove all your personal items like photographs of you, a doll that you like etc.;
- Replace all the light bulbs that are burned out;
- It’s great to have all bulbs of the same temperature ( either all incandescent, either all fluorescent );
- Open all your curtains and blinds, people like to see the natural light that comes in the room;
- Make the beds in all rooms;
- If you have pets it is better to have them in a separate room;
- Remove the clutter from every room.
How to prepare the interior
Just before the photographer arrives you should turn on all the lights including the cabinet lights, all the lamps or the lights on your appliances ( e.g. cooker hood lights ). The lights need some time to warm up so it’s better to have them turned on before the arrival of your photographer. Make sure you turn off all your TVs and computer screens.
Kitchen
- Clear counters completely, you may leave out just one small appliance, e.g. a toaster or a coffee maker;
- No dirty dishes, leave your sink empty;
- Remove all your magnets, photos from your refrigerator;
- Move your bin out of sight and close all your cupboards;
- Hide your pets’ food bowls if you have any;
- Clear away your cleaning products, tea towels, dish racks etc.;
- It is always good to add a bowl of fresh fruits.
Living / Family Room
- Arrange your furniture pillows;
- Collect all electronic items like remotes, DVDs, game consoles;
- Arrange the furniture in a way that creates a comfortable space;
- Remove rugs and small carpets to show the wooden or tiled floors;
- Don’t forget to hide all toys;
- Consider to hide as much as possible all the cables;
- Start the fire if you have a fireplace.
Dining Room
- Arrange the chairs neatly around the table;
- Add a beautiful centerpiece on the table, e.g. a floral arrangement;
- Don’t leave leftover dishes and wipe the table;
Bedrooms
- Make the beds and arrange them in order to compliment the room;
- Clear nightstands of personal items;
- Look at pictures in magazines for inspiration;
- Include decorative pillows;
- Remove personal photos from walls;
- Check under your bed and make sure nothing shows up in pictures.
Bathroom
- Move everything from the counter, makeup, razor, soaps, etc.;
- Remove shampoo, soap, baby toys from shower or bath;
- Move out of the room the toilet brush, laundry baskets, bathmats, scales etc.;
- Put the toilet seat down;
- Choose towels to compliment the room and arrange them neatly.
How to prepare the exterior
It is important to cleanup around the house, to make everything looks good. Buyers want their new home to look great both inside and outside. Prepare your home for photography is not only about interior, the exterior matters in the same measure.
Front Exterior
- It is desirable to have the shoot in a bright, sunny day;
- It is better to have the shoot at sunset or dusk and if so, don’t forget to turn on all the interior and exterior lights;
- Move cars from the driveway or from the front of your house;
- Trim the lawn;
- Remove outside clutter such as hoses or bins;
Back Yard
- Clean up after animals;
- Make sure the pool or the hot tub is uncovered and clean;
- Remove all hoses, bikes, garden tool, etc.;
- Wipe your outdoor furniture and and make sure all the cushions look good.
The effects of not taking your time to prepare your home for photography will reflect on an unprofessional look of your images and your listings will not look good. If your home is looking very bad then the photographer may decide to charge you for his/her time and reschedule another photo shoot. Invest your time in preparing the home and your photographer would have what to work with and this can only end up with great images of your house. Now that your house is all ready for shooting all you is to contact the photographer.
