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How important are photographs?

Photographs are extremely important to help draw people in to see your listing when selling a house. Many people elect to have professional photographers take these pictures, but many realtors cannot afford to pay for this type of service. What is a realtor or consumer to do?

First the realtor needs to have a camera that is made specifically for wide-angled pictures or have a lens that does that. From a previous blog I found that most people like the D40 from Nikon. Although many other cameras can serve the same purpose and have as good picture quality. The settings need to be on the best quality pictures if you choose to take your own photographs. The wide-angled lens makes the rooms look a lot larger than they actually are, and makes people want to go see the house. Most realtors realize that it does not look as good in person, so the pictures and the room need to look absolutely fantastic in the pictures.

Next, the photograph needs to have a purpose. You would not believe how many listings of houses out there where a picture is taken of a toilet. That is a waste of a picture of the bathroom. If they need to declutter, make sure that it is done prior to taking pictures. Otherwise it is wasted. In addition you want to select picutres that flatter the area. Don't show a picture of a torn-up back yard and have that as your focus. Focus on the positive attributes of the house.

Finally, make sure that the photographs have the right lighting. Many times I use wax paper to help with the glare of the flash and make sure the right amount of light is used. If I don't have to use a flash, then I try to have all the lights on to give me the best looking picture possible.

These are just a few hints for consumers and realtors trying to take their own pictures. The key thing is to make sure that the pictures look professional. Otherwise people (agents and buyers) will not bother wasting their time to go out and look at your listing.

Posted by Matthew Zgonc, REALTOR® for Modesto, CA on 01/23/2008 04:27 PM

Comments (13)

listing, buy, sell, modesto, photographers, photography, realtor, picture, house, selling

This post has been included in California Information Stanislaus County, CA Information
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13 Comments on How important are photographs?

I like to take tons of pictures, so i can weed out the bad ones later. I try to include atleast 12 pictures of each listing.

01/23/2008 04:36 PM

by Chris Frantz (Exit Success)

Nice post. Pictures are definitely important when marketing a home. Only one question, how do you use wax paper?

01/23/2008 04:36 PM

by Linda Tremblay, Bucks County Real Estate (Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc, PA License #AB065488)

I can't agree with you more about the importance of "good" pictures. I work with both investors and renovators and sometimes pictures are all either of us have to go by when considering a property and time is of the essence. I always try to preview properties for my clients but it is not always practical or feasible. Photographs, or lack of are often the reason a property is omitted from a search.

01/23/2008 04:50 PM

by Chris Bosworth (Village Real Estate Services)

Excellent post! I have blogged myself about the very topic a couple times because the bottom line is that good photos sell homes. You should check out the RE Agent in Conneticut Blog and his bad MLS photos of the day. I find the captions quite entertaining.

01/23/2008 04:58 PM

by Megan Barber, Real Estate Virtual Assistant (Barber Virtual Assisting Solutions, LLC)

Funny, I see this blog I was in a seminar all day today and the subject of pictures came up. Actually the altering of pictures and removing of power lines and cracks etc. Just wanted to bring it up to beware not to alter pictures, apparently there have been some issues. I know you can understand as to why,

but the creative photography at different angles..gotta love it.

01/23/2008 05:38 PM

by Kathleen Lunsford (ERA The Holden Group Realty, Inc.)

Good pictures are of the upmost importance....

I have a Samsung Pro815 and my old Samsung Digimax L50. Both are wide angle and do a great job for visual tours too.

01/24/2008 01:45 AM

by Roland Woodworth "Ft. Campbell Area Realtor" (Exit Realty Clarksville)

I like 12 of each listing. I probably take 300-400 pictures of my listing from every conceivable angle.

Kathleen: Absolutely l understand that the photo needs to be non-altered. As you learned the wide-angles make the rooms look twice as big as with a telescopic angle.

Megan: That blog inspired me to do this one.

Linda: You can use wax or tissue paper and you hold it partially in front of the flash on the camera to help with the lighting. I tend to get a little too much glare from my camera, so it is extremely helpful.

Chris: You make my point. Without photographs people usually will not bother looking at a property

Roland: Very nice camera. I know people that have it and they take great pictures.

01/24/2008 09:37 AM

by Matthew Zgonc, REALTOR® for Modesto, CA (ERA Village One Real Estate)

For those of you who do not own or want a SLR camera my wife and I have had great success with the Kodak EasyShare V570. It is a pocket sized 5 mega pixel digital camera with both a standard and wide angle lens built in and the transition between the two is seamless to the user when they zoom in/out. If anyone is in the market for a new camera I recommend checking it out.

01/24/2008 12:15 PM

by Chris Bosworth (Village Real Estate Services)

I also find that photographs help me. When an agent calls and says "Are You Really Sure That The House Has Gas Heat", I don't even have to think about it. I go to my computer, open the file, and look at the picture of the furnace and the HW heater that I took.

01/24/2008 03:22 PM

by Kevin McGrath - Fredericksburg VA Real Estate (Coldwell Banker Elite - Fredericksburg/Spotsylvania)

That is a great way of using that. Good idea, Kevin.

01/24/2008 04:05 PM

by Matthew Zgonc, REALTOR® for Modesto, CA (ERA Village One Real Estate)

Absolutely Matthew! 85% of homebuyers are searching for homes on the internet. If a the pictures don't show an inviting space, that house might be overlooked!

01/26/2008 11:15 PM

by Renton, Fairwood, Maple Valley, REALTOR ~ Design Professional ~ Julianna Hind (Keller Williams Realty - Southeast Sound)

Hi Matthew,

Great post. I like the wax-paper and tissue trick. This works the same way as a diffuser does on an external flash. I am a real estate photographer and find that the best way to shoot a home is during dawn or dusk. Any time you have to "fight the sun" you will never get the richness of color. I shot the below photos with a Nikon D200 (the D40 big brother) and a 12mm -24mm wide angle lens.

You can see the difference from shooting the room during the day versus night. The sunlight yellows the room and takes away from the color. Here are some more examples of Dawn and Dusk shoots.