Property photos when selling your home: Why They Matter. Let’s talk about property photos when selling a house.
Photos are crucial to get right before you instruct your estate agent, because they’re one of the first things potential buyers will see when they find your property online.
When you’re choosing an estate agent, I highly recommend asking what they do when it comes to property photography.
Do they take the photographs themselves? Do they have a photographer in-house? Or do they use an external photographer?
It can often depend on the value of the house, but I would definitely ask the question and have a look at some of their previous property listings.
At the end of the day, the photos are one of the biggest marketing tools used to sell your house.
Why are property photos so important when selling a house?
Property photos when selling your home don’t just need to be good quality. They need to show your home at its best.
A good property photographer will make sure the lighting is right and will notice the smaller details that might be out of place.
They’ll think about the angles they’re taking the photographs from and what will actually make the room look its best.
They won’t simply put everything on a huge wide-angle lens to make sure the room looks bigger than it really is.
There’s a skill to taking good property photographs, and it’s about much more than just having a good camera.
The order of Property photos when selling your home matters too
Something else that I think is really important is the order the photographs are put up.
I’ve seen many properties where the second photo is of the downstairs toilet.
Or you’re looking at an untidy garage.
Really?
If you’ve got a beautiful kitchen, lovely garden or another highlight of the house, surely that’s what you want people to see when they’re flicking through the photographs?
You have seconds to make an impact when someone is scrolling through Rightmove or another property portal.
If the first few photographs don’t grab their attention, they may simply move on to the next property.
It’s not necessarily about having as many photographs as possible either.
Believe it or not, too many photos can be just as unhelpful as too few. People get bored and loose concentration easily
You want to give potential buyers a good idea of the property without photographing every single corner.
Should you use drone photography when selling your house?
If you have a large property or a particularly good-sized garden, it’s worth asking whether the photographer offers drone photography.
Aerial photographs can be a great way of showing the size of the property and the grounds, particularly when that’s one of the things that makes your home special.
Again, it’s about using the right photographs to show what your property has to offer.
Look at the estate agent’s previous property photos
If you’re choosing between estate agents, don’t just look at their fees or how many properties they’ve sold.
Have a look at some of the properties they’re currently marketing.
Look at the photographs.
Ask who takes them and whether they use a professional photographer.
If they use an external photographer, have a look at some of their previous work.
You may find there is quite a difference between one photographer and another.
This is particularly important when you’re considering property photos when selling your home, because the quality and presentation of those photographs can affect whether someone stops scrolling and looks at your property in more detail.
How much should property photographs be enhanced?
It’s also worth asking whether they enhance their photographs.
Personally, I think there’s a big difference between making a photograph look good and making the property look completely different from reality.
If it’s a really dull day and they want to put a tiny bit of blue into the sky, I think that’s understandable.
If the photographs though are heavily edited and give a false impression of the property, that’s another matter. What happens when the potential buyer comes to view?
If the house doesn’t look anything like the photographs, they’re going to be disappointed.
And if they’re thinking, “Hang on, this isn’t what I saw online,” they may start wondering what else isn’t quite as it was described.
Your photographs should show your home at its best, but they should still give a realistic impression of what a buyer is going to see.
Don’t let poor property photos undo all your hard work
If you’ve gone to all the trouble of getting your house ready to sell, both inside and outside, make sure the photographs do it justice.
You’ve got one opportunity to make that first impression when someone is scrolling through properties online.
So when you’re choosing your estate agent, don’t forget to ask about the photography.
Who takes the photographs?
How many will they use?
Do they use a professional photographer?
Do they offer drone photography?
How do they decide which photograph goes first?
Can you see examples of their previous property listings?
Your photographs aren’t just there to show people what rooms you’ve got. They’re part of your marketing strategy, and they need to make people want to come and see your home.
If you’re preparing your home for sale and you’re not sure where to start, that’s something I can help with. I can look at your home with fresh eyes and help you work out what needs doing before the estate agent and photographer arrive – whether that’s a few simple changes or a more detailed plan.