“What can I do to prepare my home for the photo shoot?” ~ A question I often hear from my clients
Or if you are an agent and want some ideas to help inspire your clients to take their homes presentation to the next level, this may be helpful too.
Most likely you want to present your home in the best possible light to prospective buyers so de-cluttering would be my first priority.
The simpler the home, the better the shots will turn out in general.
That being said, I am not likely going to be highlighting your laundry room as the main image on your dedicated marketing webpage so prioritizing is key. Focus most of your energy on the main living areas and highlights of the home that will be most likely featured. You only have so much energy so properly harnessing that is the key.
Here is checklist of things to address:
- Spend time on the lawn making sure the basic maintenance and mowing is taken care of. Flowers and colorful shrubs will make your main home and yard photos really pop!
- Pressure washing or hosing down dust and dirt from the driveway and homes exterior can help the shots tremendously but only if it has time to dry before the shoot.
- Move all cars or equipment away from view. This includes garbage cans, hoses, garden tools, yard decorations and especially hide anything pet or animal related.
- Go around and check to ensure all bulbs are working.
- Hide any clutter from throughout the home. You can pick a room that will remain un-photographed as storage for all the little things such as toys, clothing, towels, etc.
- Have the carpet freshly vacuumed. My high definition images will even show the angle of the carpet fibers so uniform vacuum lines go a long way.
- Make all counter surfaces as clean and empty as possible, particularly the kitchen.
- Carefully make the beds.
- Cabinets closed, toilet seats down.
- Hide the trash cans and anything that personalizes your home.
- Remove everything from the refrigerator; this includes magnets and anything on top.
- Uncover, clean and clear out the pool and surround area if applicable.
- Open all blinds and turn on all lights prior to the photographers arrival.
- And the biggie: HIDE ALL CABLES AND CORDS!
Our goal is to produce a set of images that leaves a lot to the imagination of the prospective buyers so they can fill in the blanks with their own plans and dreams 🙂
The more prepared the home is, the more I can concentrate on producing awesome images to inspire buyers to come through the doors.
Leave a Reply