"A photo is worth a thousand words" is especially true for real estate listings. With digital media, everything, including homes, is at our fingertips. In the past, house hunting involved calling an agent, scheduling meetings, and visiting multiple houses, often requiring several days. Now, that process has changed significantly.
Nowadays, you can explore hundreds of houses in just a few days or even less, all from the comfort of your own home! This is a revolutionary change that benefits not only home buyers but also agents and sellers. However, as with any sale, presentation is absolutely crucial! This is particularly true when selling your most significant investment: a home! Unfortunately, in many real estate listings, presentation is often neglected, which can be a major error!
While browsing through numerous homes online, I notice that many agents seem perfectly content with posting unflattering photos of properties. Some of these images are downright terrible! As both a photographer and a home buyer, this really bothers me. There are agents who actually ask their sellers to take photos with a cell phone, or sometimes the agents do it themselves. Agents are supposed to be professionals, and as such, they should collaborate with other professionals. They hire stagers, gardeners, and recommend painters and plumbers, so why not hire professional photographers? Trust me, no matter how good your phone or camera is, lacking photography skills is a significant oversight.
I had homeowner hired me to photograph his property that was up for sale. He admitted that the photos he took himself were "terrible", and upon seeing them, I agreed. The exposure was way off, distortion was severe, and the composition was extremely poor. Fortunately, he realized this. He was not a photographer and he knew better than to list the home with those images. The issue was that his agent tried to dissuade him from hiring a photographer! He told me the agent didn't want to invest a few hundred dollars upfront to assist in selling a $900,000 home. The agent allowed the homeowner to cover the cost of professional photos because she didn't want to pay for them. This was not a property that would easily sell itself.
Don't misunderstand me; there are many exceptional agents who grasp this concept and would never settle for anything less than professional images. I'm not generalizing all agents here. I'm merely highlighting that poor photos of your home can quickly lead potential buyers to look elsewhere. You might not realize how many people bypassed your home due to a lackluster presentation. I know because I've passed over many for that exact reason. With so many homes available, it only takes one click to move on.
For prospective buyers, few things are more frustrating than viewing a potentially stunning home only to be unable to discern any details because of poor images that are excessively dark, overly bright, distorted, crooked, improperly cropped, cluttered, or include other people. The two photos below fail entirely to entice anyone to purchase this home, yet they were used in listings.
Capturing images of a house can present numerous challenges, even for seasoned photographers. There are many issues and details to consider. Most of these aspects often go unnoticed unless the photographer is experienced. Factors such as distortion, exposure, color cast, vertical adjustments, shadows, horizontal adjustments, composition, lighting, focal points, and decluttering, among others, can spoil the photograph and, more critically, impact the sale of the property.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS!
The exterior images are usually the first thing you see, they should make the buyer want to see more.
Let's examine the image above. As a prospective buyer, when I view this photo, my interest fades immediately. While the human eye probably captured detail in person, cameras perceive things differently. This home is backlit by the sun, which can be quite challenging, even for professional photographers. However, a professional photographer would know how to address this problem. As a potential buyer, I wouldn't want to look past this image. It also suggests to me that the seller and the agent aren't invested enough in presenting this home properly.
I captured the next image myself. This was a townhouse and the neighboring unit to the left had a very messy front yard, thus, I needed this angle. Prior to taking the photo, I relocated garbage cans and removed boxes that were propped against the house. Little things like that make a huge difference. The home was backlit by the sun, which was positioned higher in the sky than in the previous image, but still resulting in very dark shadows around the front door. The shadows were so dark, there was little detail showing on the front porch. By using off-camera lighting and post-processing, I was able to achieve the desired exposure and vibrancy. The vertical lines are straight, with minimal to no distortion.
When you examine the next photo, you can see that this is a lovely house, but do you notice any issues? This image has several problems. The main issue is the distortion, which causes the whole house to look as if it's twisting in multiple directions. As a potential buyer, my initial reaction would be to wonder why they didn't take the time to photograph this home correctly. What else might be overlooked?
SHOWCASING!
The kitchen is usually a huge selling point in any home. This is one area you really want to showcase! As a photographer, my goal is always to help make the listing agent shine! The house below had a big, beautiful kitchen with an amazing window that needed to be showcased. Notice the vertical lines are straight, there is very little distortion and the exposure is well balanced. I took my time placing off camera flashes where needed to balance exposure. Using flash not only helps expose properly, but it also helps to represent the true colors and makes it possible to capture the exterior view as well as the interior.
IN SUMMARY
Whether you're selling or listing a home, no matter the price, it's crucial to remember that the initial impression is significant, and it's often your online photos that create this first impression. This impression can determine whether a buyer is interested in scheduling a tour or simply moves on to the next property. Avoid the mistake of cutting corners with your photos. Real estate agents are professionals, and they should ensure every aspect of your sale is handled with professionalism.
If you have any questions or need a photographer for your home in the Mooresville, NC area, or for any other reason, feel free to email me at portraits@glanderos.com or visit glanderos.com/real-estate
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