Did you know that most homebuyers begin their home searches online? That means that before they ever step foot inside your home, potential buyers are forming opinions about it. You want your home to be well represented in your online listing and entice buyers to want to view it in person. To do this, you need great real estate photos. These are six of the most common mistakes you’ll want to avoid so that your home’s pictures shine.
Not enough light
It’s surprising how often this happens, but some real estate photos are just too dark. You want you home to be bright and inviting. This means opening all the curtains and blinds and turning on the lights when you take the pictures. Let as much natural light in as possible and support it with layered lighting to eliminate shadows and dark corners. If needed, use a flash. Otherwise, your home could look dingy, cold, and uninviting.
Strange backgrounds
Ideally, your home should be de-cluttered, cleaned, and staged before you take any of your listing photos. But even then, you might still end up having something in the background that shouldn’t be there. Make sure you can’t see your reflection in the mirror in any photos. Also check for things like laundry baskets and children’s or pet’s toys in the background. And make sure your toilet lid in the bathroom is always down.
Wrong focus
We’ve all seen real estate photos that just don’t capture the spirit of a home because they’re focusing on the wrong things. In each room you photograph, determine where the focus will be. What do you want to highlight? Make that the focus of your image, whether it’s the amazing view from the bedroom windows or the spaciousness of an open concept living area.
Blurry photos
One of the worst things you can do is to use blurry photos of your home. With digital photography, you can take as many pictures as you need to make sure it’s in focus. If you have trouble keeping your hands steady, then use a tripod. Although there are many things you can fix when editing your photos later on, it’s very difficult to fix a blurry image.
Too much editing
On the other hand, you can go overboard with your photo editing. It’s so easy to clean up simple mistakes in most photo editing programs. But you need to know when enough is enough. You can boost the lighting and square off photos, but resist the urge to use Photoshop to actually alter your images. If there is an aspect of your home you dislike, such as a poor view, then you can downplay it other ways instead of eliminating it completely. Otherwise, potential buyers will feel cheated when they visit your home in person.
Not enough photos
Lastly, homebuyers need to see enough of your home to inspire them to visit in person. If your listing only has a handful of photos, it’s not doing your home justice. On the other hand, there’s no need to go overboard. Plan to post around 15 photos of your home to maximize the effect.
