Written by: Benjienen Toledo
Have you ever wondered why some property listings has more viewings and sell faster than others, despite being posted on the same property listing platforms with equal coverage and visibility to the same audience?
The secret lies in a 6-letter word, starts with P and ends with S…
Have you got it yet?
That’s right!
Photos make a big difference!
Ninety percent (90%) of the information transmitted to the human brain is visual; and with our brain processing images 60,000 times faster than text, approximately 2 in 5 people respond positively when visuals are included.
Therefore, having quality images of your resale or rental home clearly holds the key in attracting the right buyers to your property listing and impressing tenants off the bat. On the contrary, listings with bad pictures, or worse yet, no pictures at all, can cause buyers and tenants to overlook your home altogether.
You don’t need to be a professional photographer to capture outstanding photos to add to your property listing. However, you may want to follow some of these simple photography tricks that work like wonders.
1. Schedule a Right Time: Day vs Night
Nothing beats having good natural light in photography, it can help make your flat look crisp, bright and welcoming.
Schedule your home photography on a sunny day, anytime before four in the afternoon so that the sun isn’t too low. Then, maximise existing natural light in your unit by opening all windows, pulling up the shades and tying up the curtains. However, if you’re low on natural light, especially if you own a corridor unit, turn on all the lights in your home.
Shooting on dark and cloudy days must be avoided at all costs, as this makes your interior photos look dull, gloomy and unappealing.
Things to remember:
- Shoot with natural light
- Turn on all the lights if necessary
2. Know Your Orientation: Landscape vs Portrait
Social media channels may prefer a square or a portrait image, but that’s not the case for real estate photography. Your home is simply too wide to fit into a portrait, so use horizontal landscape instead of vertical portrait display.
The idea is to capture your property for sale into the entire frame of the camera and to do it in a way that is visually interesting. The human eye sees the world in two common aspect ratios of the standard 4:3 and widescreen 16:9. Hence, our brain tends to find horizontal landscape displays more pleasing.
Things to remember:
- Use horizontal orientation
- Choose what to include and what to exclude from your photos
3. Find the Right Level & Position: High vs Low
Take a knee-when you are taking a snap of your space. This allows you to take wider shots by bringing you to the right level, thus, making your home look more spacious. Standing tall while taking your shot, may capture too much of either the ceiling or flooring in the finished product, which is not interesting nor appealing to the home searchers.
Consider other creative angles such as taking from the feet of the bed or from the side of the bed such as hotel-styled room photographs.
Frame your shots! DO NOT tilt your phone or camera while taking photos of your home, as this will distort your photos and make it less attractive.
Things to remember:
- Kneel down when taking photographs
- Not too much ceilings or floorings
4. Declutter & De-Personalise: Less is More
Homes with less furniture show up better in photos, or even during open house viewings. Rearrange your bedroom closets and storage cabinets. Dispose all unwanted furniture or consider putting them away in a temporary storage unit to showcase the purpose of each room and allow plenty of space to move around.
You want your buyers to imagine themselves living in your house, they can’t do that if all your personal items are still there.
Things to remember:
- Keep just sufficient furniture in each area
- Clear out those personal photographs and family heirlooms
5. Feature Each Room
You need to remember that the photos on your property listing serve as a virtual tour for your buyers. During an open house viewing, buyers will get a glimpse of the room through the door, and not through the windows or anywhere else. Similarly, when you are shooting a bedroom, photos should be taken from the doorway, pointing towards the interior of the room.
Our top tip for bedroom photography would be to take a photo that emphasises each room’s selling point, whether it is the natural light in the room, the spaciousness, or the little nook in the corner that will make buyers curious to see more (Tzoubari, 2016).
Things to remember:
- Take photos from the doorway
- Feature each room’s selling point
6. Feature the Kitchen
The kitchen can be the most challenging room to take photographs in your property. The key for a great photo of your kitchen is to declutter and make it sparkle. Clean off everything on kitchen counters. Remove the little things that may distract the viewers, such as fridge magnets and business cards. Add a bowl of fruits, a flower vase or some essential condiments to add a pop of colour to your kitchen.
Things to remember:
- Leave your kitchen almost empty
- Add a pop of colour
7. Feature the Bathroom
Potential buyers or tenants are aware that your house has bathrooms. Unless this area adds value to your listing, for instance, your bathroom is newly renovated with polished tiles and warm lighting, otherwise it is not necessary to include in your listing. Ensure that the countertop, mirror and any glass surfaces are spotless. Hint: Newspapers work magic in making glass mirrors shine!
Things to remember:
- Put toilet lids down
- Hide all toiletries
8. Enhance your Photos if Needed
Take a second or third look on your photographs, try cropping to improve your photos by eliminating distractions or glaring lights.
If you have a desktop computer or laptop at home, it is worth your time to do a little quick editing to make your photos look even better. One of the best free beginner-friendly photo editors we have discovered is PhotoScape. While many photo editors have interfaces that are similar to Photoshop, PhotoScape is completely unique on its own. Snapseed is another mobile or tablet application with dozens of different attractive effects to choose from.
Things to remember:
- Crop to eliminate distractions
- Use free beginner-friendly photo enhancement tools
Ultimately, shooting interiors isn’t that hard as you think it is. Try to include colourful items in your photos such as paintings, flowers or potted plants, as these elements not only add colours to a neutral coloured atmosphere, but also adds life to your property listing.
No one knows your home better than you do. Taking photographs of your property resale is giving the potential buyers a glimpse of your home’s best feature. Make your property listing outstanding. Shoot away now!
Once you are ready for your home viewing, schedule an Open House using the Ohmyhome App.
Sources: Activerain (2017), Denbow (2017), McCue (2013), O’Neill (2015), Hargis (2016)
