Quality photography to market your Staten Island home for sale

Quality photography is an important part of marketing your Staten Island home for sale.

We have a listing in our office that's been on the market for just over 6 months without an offer.  It's a lovely home and it's priced properly but the right buyer hadn't come along.  We recently updated all of the photos using a DSLR camera with a wide angle lens and proper lighting to produce some really beautiful images of the home.  We uploaded the new photos and 2 weeks later the home has an accepted offer on it.

Before & After

Coincidence?  Maybe.

But I believe that those quality photos helped procure this buyer.  Quality photos of your home and a well written description are what's going to attract buyers to look at your home.

I happen to love photography and I enjoy shooting my listings.  This isn't a cheap endeavor but the investment was well worth it for me and my clients.  Thinking about what I use to spend for a pro to come in and shoot my listings, my investment will pay for itself within a few months.

Here are a few photography tips for shooting real estate :

1.  Use a wide angle lens.  I use a 10mm.  You need to capture the entire room and that's not going to happen with a typical 35mm lens.

Wide angle lens

2.  Lighting.  Try to shoot the home on a nice day.  Natural light is ideal but if there aren't enough windows or the correct angle, get yourself a collapsable light reflector to bring in more light.  They're inexpensive so you can bring more than one.  Why not just flip the light switch on?  Natural light is your best friend.  A reflector helps you make the most of it.

Photography light reflector

3.  Use a tripod.  I can't stress this one enough.  Eliminate blur in your photographs.

Tripod

4.  Take notice of your subject.  I know it sounds silly but think about what you're taking a picture of and what type of result you're looking for.  Once you get that in your head - make it happen.  Stage the room.  Move furniture.  Light the room to set the mood you're looking to convey to potential buyers.  Real estate photography doesn't have to be just pics of a property.  They can evoke a feeling...just like any other quality photograph.

Before & After

5.  Take a lot of pictures.  They're digital.  You can delete the ones you don't want or need.

There are tons of free photography courses online.  I spend about an hour shooting a home, and another two hours in post production, editing the photos with photoshop.  If you don't want to get into photography or simply don't have the time, hire a pro.  Your sellers deserve the best possible marketing from you and it should start with quality photos.

Before & After