Spring and mud season are here in the Adirondacks! With the weather not quite right for sunny outdoor fun just yet, many Adirondackers use this shoulder season for spring cleaning around their properties. If you are looking to promote a house for sale or rent, taking advantage of these spring cleaning tendencies to get some photos when the property is in top shape can be a big win-win.
With a freshly cleaned and organized home, capturing high quality images can be a snap. Whether you are the homeowner or the real estate professional taking the photos, here are some top real estate photography tips to help you with the process:
1. Touch Up Any Imperfections
Along with cleaning up your home, plan to touch up any details in areas that are showing wear throughout the home: re-touching paint, fixing baseboards, or any repairing any other imperfection/damage that you notice. Most homeowners have a backlog of projects that get put off and overlooked. Now is the time to fix them up.
While minor imperfections can be fixed in Photoshop, this is not recommended as a top real estate photography tips method. It is better to complete the fixing of any blemishes before you start advertising your home. Depending on the imperfections, homebuyers may notice them in the photos and question how well the home was maintained. They may decide not to ask for a showing because they are concerned about what other imperfections they will discover while going through the home.
2. Light Rooms As Brightly As Possible
Lights! Camera! Action! Lights are always your friend when photographing. Having the right amount of light could be the difference between getting a showing on your property or not. Poor lighting in photos can make a home look dark and small, when in reality it is actually bright and open with great natural light. Getting your light right is one of the most important top real estate photography tips to lead you to a high quality set of photos to promote your property.
In the Adirondacks, it can be tricky to plan your photo shoot to get the timing right for perfect light in your home. One of the most helpful top real estate photography tips is to tune in to the weather forecast and schedule your shoot for a sunny day. However, scheduling around the weather may be difficult to pull off. Many real estate agencies look for quick turn around on a tight schedule, so there may be pressure to get the photography done quickly to list the property ASAP. If this is the case, turning on every light in the home can also be helpful in making sure you have enough light for your shoot.
Some luxury home sale situations may have a more relaxed schedule allowing the photographer to plan a whole day around taking photos. Generally, during these photo shoots, the photographer will plan on taking the exterior photos either early or late in the day to take advantage of natural light and where it falls on the layout of the home. The interior photos are taken throughout the day when the lighting is brightest in each room. Additional flashes can be used to balance out the light if it is dim in one area or too bright in another.
3. Minimalist Look Throughout The Home
Clearing out all the clutter and shooting for simplicity with your room aesthetic can help with photography. When taking real estate photos, less is more in your rooms. Minimalistic rooms in photos provide the opportunity for potential homebuyers to picture themselves living in the home, and imagine what they might add to or take away from the space.
When homes are cluttered or completely bare, it is hard for buyers to figure out how much space there actually is. The clutter fills up the space making it look small with limited possibilities. At the same time, a completely empty space can leave the buyer wondering how large a room is in reality. An example of an empty space being hard to gauge is a living room. The photo may make it look like a large sectional could fit the space, but in reality, it might only allow a couch and a chair to fit in the area.
Setting the home up with a minimalistic look finds balance between these two extremes. Most homebuyers will have a general idea on sizing of different furniture. Seeing a few pieces of furniture placed in the space gives them a better idea of possibilities for their own furniture choices in the home.
This concept of decluttered minimalism also applies to the exterior of your home. Removing extra outdoor furniture, bikes, toys or other clutter can help make the space look more inviting. Most real estate agencies are currently using drones to take more expansive photos of properties inside and out, so having the exterior cleaned and organized will just add to your property’s photo appeal.
4. Positioning For The Perfect Real Estate Photos
One the home is cleaned, decluttered and set up with minimal furnishings, it’s time to take the photos. In order to show how spacious a room is, the ideal vantage point is to set your camera up in the corner of the room. This provides the best angle to show the room’s layout. While placing the camera right in the corner is not always an option, finding a spot closest to the corner will also create the perspective you are looking for.
One of the smartest top real estate photography tips is to plan for whole room photos as well as feature photos. Whole room photos help show the space in its entirety, while feature photos offer a closer look at a feature the owner might want to highlight. These feature photos might include a more squared photo of the room with a central subject like a fireplace or custom built-in. Photos from the corner perspective allow the real estate photographer to highlight beams or architecture as well as close ups of features found in specialty cabins or Adirondack décor.
In conclusion, homebuyers are visual, so providing the best photos for your property leads to more showings and attention. When you follow the 4 top real estate photography tips above, you’ll enjoy a leg up and advantage over other homes that might be available in your market. If you plan on having an agency list your home, ask about how their agents might be able to assist with photography. This could be a major difference between agencies that leads you to pick one over the other.
At Adirondack Premier Properties, our sales record and experience of our agents help us stand out among our competitors. Give us a call today for help promoting your property or finding your dream home. If you are just getting started in thinking about the sale of your home, consider our top real estate photography tips above, and call an agent today to get started with your listing.