I take a lot of photographs in my personal life. I have three children, and I am one of those moms who always has her camera ready. Since I consider it a hobby of mine, and something I am pretty good at, I have spent the past few years learning how to take better pictures. I am now trying to use that in my real estate photos and I wanted to show you some examples of what better photography can do for a room.
All of these examples are of my own house. We bought our house in November of last year, and I had told my husband that if we didn't buy it, I was going to offer to retake the listing photos, since it was listed with another agent in my company. This is not a problem unique to real estate photos, but since I had good before and afters, I thought they would make good examples. Please note that the pictures are not staged at all, but notice the differences.
First example. The Family Room, pulled off of the MLS. My absolute favorite part of this room is that big wood burning fireplace. Not only does this room look dark, it is blocked by that chair.
A picture I took of that room when we came for a showing. As a seller, wouldn't you want that feature highlighted? Also, look at the color difference a little light can make!
Second example, we actually referred to this house as the house with the horrible couch when we were looking. When you look at this basement shot, it is all you see.
Same basement, same couch, different angle, lights on, with my flash. Not a perfect shot (I am even reflected in the mirror - pet peeve), but what do you see back there? A mirrored dance floor! You can notice the fireplace, and not just the couch.
And last example. This is now my son's room, it is one of the upstairs bedrooms. When we came to the house, there was a feature in that room that I fell in love with that you don't see in this blurry photo.
That window seat. Also, this bedroom faces the back of the house, so there is a wooded view out that window. Notice how much warmer this room looks with a different camera, and a good flash.
I have gone back and forth about posting photos that I pull from my local MLS. I don't want to offend anyone, and I will honestly say in my case, it was a HUGE advantage to us that our house was not photographed by someone like me! In our case, I think it was overlooked by people who couldn't see past the photos.
Three points then to leave you with.
If you are a homeowner looking to sell, don't be afraid to ask your realtor if there is a professional photographer they work with. Offer to take the pictures yourself, or at least ask your realtor to come during daylight hours. The pictures of your home are what buyers want to see.
If you are a realtor, get an external flash, and get a good working knowledge of your camera. A few little tweaks, and your photos can improve by leaps and bounds.
And last, if you list with me, know that part of my job is to make your house look its best, and I have the tools and the background to do better! I am by no means a professional, but I do hope that my sellers understand that listing with me is not settling for bad photos!
Have a great weekend!
Jennifer
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