A Florida grandmother recently went viral after her granddaughter posted her real estate photos on the Internet. Eighty-six-year-old Yolie Ball was so determined to sell her home that she staged a photoshoot featuring her humble abode— and herself.
Grandma Ball managed to photo bomb every single photo, appearing everywhere from her kitchen to the back porch. Surely, these shots made for a hilariously unique real estate listing, but is this method of staging your own real estate photoshoot always effective? Unfortunately, it’s not.
With so many home buying searches now occurring online, the value of good real estate photography weighs more heavily. Decided to list your home without including any photos? Don’t expect any buyers.
A listing that doesn’t include photographs of the home is likely to be skipped over and later forgotten about. To avoid being overlooked during a home buying search, it is important to recognize who your audience is. Real estate photography matters not just for the buyers, but also sellers and other realtors.
Real estate is a highly competitive market, so a home listing needs to instantly appeal to buyers. To do this, grab their attention immediately with captivating images of the home shot with a high-quality camera. Using a professional-style camera versus snapping photos with a smartphone makes a huge difference. In fact, it could just mean the difference between a potential sale and an overlooked listing.
But it’s not just buyers you need to cater to. Sellers actively scour real estate sites in search of real estate agents. This means that by presenting your “For Sale” homes in the best light, you are positively advertising yourself to the seller at hand. By simply putting in that much extra effort into your real estate photography, you can obtain new clients while simultaneously selling a home.
Fellow realtors make up the last piece of your audience, and catering to them could result in a beneficial and long-lasting agent-to-agent relationship. Networking is a primary aspect of real estate, and agents should pay attention to how they are presenting themselves to their colleagues.
So, what exactly makes up a good real estate photo? For one, the photographs should be well-lit. An all too common mistake is when photographs are posted of beautiful homes in dim lighting. Not only does this come off as unprofessional, but it hinders the home buyer’s ability to see the true quality of the home.
Two more important qualities of a good real estate photo are quality and quantity. Each image should be of high quality—both in style and resolution. The quantity of photos you provide on a listing also make a difference. From a home buyer’s perspective, it is much more comforting to see too many photos of the home rather than too little.
To guarantee that you achieve the essential characteristics of good real estate photography, consider investing in a quality camera. This doesn’t mean that you have to spend thousands on professional camera equipment. Some brands offer high-resolution point-and-shoot cameras, like the Canon Powershot ELPH 350 which currently retails at around $200. It offers 20.2 megapixels, low-light assistance and a wide-angle lens.
A small monetary investment for high-quality photography can equal a large payoff in the long run. If you’re inexperienced in photography, think about taking a photography class at your local community college or hiring a professional photographer for your high-end listings.
By following these tips, you will be well on your way to ensuring that your next listing stands out among the rest.
