How to Prepare Your House for Photography: Stainless Steel

Stainless steel is a material with which we have a love/hate relationship.  We love that with one glance, in seeing stainless steel appliances, we know a kitchen has been updated.  We love its sleek, modern, appeal.  We hate that a closer look at stainless steel often reveals fingerprints and smudge-marks.  

Photographing real estate properties, I see a lot of stainless steel.  Mild smudges may not show in a photograph, but big ones will, and all smudges show in person once the photos have driven traffic to your listing.  

When you're preparing for your house to be photographed, whether it's going in Architectural Digest or the MLS, clean your stainless steel. There are a plethora of products on the market that claim to clean stainless steel - nearly every household cleaning manufacturer has their own version.  Not all cleaners are created equally. Method brand, one of my favorites for a variety of other products, has not worked well for me.  Multi-purpose products like Pledge Multi Surface, have also not cut it in my experience.  

I've seen one home-owner use (and I do not recommend it) WD-40, which actually worked pretty well.  However, I can assure you that you don't want your kitchen smelling like a garage when it's being shown.  You also probably don't want to explain to your spouse why the door handles are so slippery.  

My favorite tool for cleaning stainless steel is Weiman Stainless Steel Wipes:

 

For me, this wipe eliminates nearly all traces of streaks and smudges, and leaves a satin-smooth finish that is absolutely brilliant.  It smells very pleasant too.  Scroll down to see a step-by-step of the difference.   

Here's the original door.  From a distance, it's actually passable in a photo, but the streaks below the water dispenser really show in person:

Here's the door after using Pledge Multi Surface.  In my opinion, these streaks are actually more noticeable than the originals:

Here's the door while the Weiman wipe is being applied.  I rub it in like suntan lotion, and it leaves a white trail; Don't freak out.

5-10 seconds later, the white has disappeared and all that is left is a silky-smooth appearance.

 

Joshua Vensel specializes in real estate photography and photography of luxury interiors and furnishings. Joshua is based in East Cobb county, near Marietta, and photographs properties in the entire metro Atlanta area for real estate agents and interior designers alike.  Call 404-786-5328 or view Atlanta area real estate photography on Joshua's Facebook page.