How are your property photos looking?
There are three key areas to focus on when selling your property. These are price, presentation, and promotion (marketing). All these elements need to be working hard for you so that you get the best chance to sell for the maximum price within your timescale.
Today we are going to look at property photography which is one of the vital parts that makes up your promotion or marketing. Property photography is fundamental in selling your home. In order to sell your property, you need to get viewings and to get viewings, you need to draw and incise potential viewers through your marketing. The photographs give your potential buyers a glimpse of what their future lifestyle could be. Get the photographs wrong and you, in fact, could put people off. Here are our top tips to really make your photographs work for you and get viewers through your door:
Review – firstly, cast a critical eye over your current photography. Think about the type of buyer who is likely to purchase your home. What would they be looking for in the home of their dreams? Does your photography appeal to them, will it draw them in? So, say if you thought your home would appeal to a young family, chances are they would want more space, open living, nice garden, bigger bedrooms. Do your photographs show how spacious your house is? Does it show off the biggest rooms? Do they do the garden justice? If not, make a list of areas you think the images could be improved, ring your agent and ask them to arrange for a photographer to refresh the images as soon as possible.
Keep them in season – Spring is such a lovely time of year, Daffodils and Tulips start to flower, the grass starts to look a lot greener and trees are once more start to show signs of life. If your photographs are not in season, the outside shots maybe looking a bit gloomy, lacklustre and greenery maybe spare. Now is an ideal time to ask your estate agent to refresh your photography and breathe a bit of life into the marketing. Be careful, though, whilst it’s nice to get more greenery on the pictures, actually having flowers such as daffodils in the photographs can put the out of season very quickly indeed. It is a fine line between the pictures looking brighter, lusher and greener without making it obvious that they were taken in a specific month. Another bonus about redoing the images in Spring is that the light will also be better inside your home this time of year;so, it’s a great opportunity all round.
Ambience – creating the right atmosphere through the photography is essential in portraying your home as warm, bright, and comfortable. Too often I see photographs where the photographer has simple ramped up the exposure that much that the rooms look like they are glowing. Whilst this will make the home appear bright, it also can make your home look completely unnatural and that white that it appears to look cold. On the other end of the scale, I have seen countless images that are dark and give the house an appearance of being gloomy and small. A good photographer will know the right balance and will edit the pictures after to give a true representation of the ambience and light in your home.
Home staging – following on from the above tip, home staging can really help create ambience. Home staging is a whole subject in itself. If you want to find out more see our previous blog ‘What is Home Staging’ – http://austinsestateagents.co.uk/post/home-staging
Home staging and good photography go hand in hand, the both together are a match made in heaven if done correctly. Home staging really enhances your photography. Through this, the photography can really help appeal to your potential viewer’s dreams and aspirations of a certain lifestyle they may be desiring. Such a draw is far more likely to get those viewings booked in. As we know, the more viewers, the better chance of an offer or multiple offers you have.
Work with your photographer – you know your home better than anyone. You know what time of day the light is best, when the sun is on the front of the house and what little quirks and features may be good to photograph – help your photographer bring out the best of your home. Use your imagination, offer suggestions, follow the photographer around and clear anything out of the way that should not be in the pictures. Ask your photographer if there is anything you can do to help them get the best pictures they can. Sometimes small things like moving a microwave or a TV out of the way can really help open up a space further. A bit of teamwork can go a long way and your photographer should really appreciate the help.
Quantity – along with the quality of the images check the number of pictures you have. An average 4-bed house that is about 2000 square feet should have no more than 13-15 images. Anymore and a reader could get bored. Any less and they won’t get the feel of the house. You want to also leave a little to the imagination so that they feel the urge to see more and book a viewing.
So, how do you think your photographs are looking? Want a second opinion? Get in touch, I would be happy to help.
Email me on anu@austinsestateagents.co.uk or call 01902 244200
Until next week, goodbye for now
Anu