We've all seen the horrible photographs of bad MLS listings from funny websites like Lovely Listings but the fact is, photographs are a huge factor in driving traffic to your house for sale. Furthermore, we believe it is a major responsibility of the listing agent to market the home to the best of their ability and taking good photos is key in good marketing. Look at the success of Pinterest! Pinterest is actually getting close to Google in
our "entry sources" bringing people to our website!
That is incredible.
Simply standing in the doorway and snapping a photo of each room "as is" without making any attempt to style the photo is really doing your selling attempt (and the client for that matter) an injustice.
Photo styling is all about positioning the "product" in its best visual setting. Since our product is a HOUSE, it can be challenging to bring focus to the features of the house instead of the things inside the house. If a professional photographer is not part of the marketing plan, there are certainly some VERY BASIC tactics that can easily be implemented to ensure that the house photos are the best they be.
(Did I mention VERY BASIC? And typically free?)
HOUSE STYLING TIP: Open the Doors
If you really want to take your photos to a higher level, open the doors and let that natural light shine in. Once you get the hang of it, you will notice right away what a crazy difference it makes.
Check it out:....OPEN DOOR
Closed door....
Open door.....
Closed door...
And the interesting thing about this one is that it is such a great room but imagine
the visual impact of having that door open on a sunny day!
Same thing here. Imagine if that door were open, and the wreath were on
the other side reflecting in the mirror. It would make the space seem so much larger. Ugh!
And this is a magazine shot! duh
Love this open door from the outside
Even if the weather is snowy outside, it can work! Just need some sun.
White space needs an open door to bring in life and energy.
I want this door to be open so badly.
Inside the house is a great opportunity to shoot with different door angles.
Bad bathroom photos drive me BONKERS!
If you have a toilet shot in any of your photos, I urge you to re-think your options.
Keeping in mind that we are selling the lifestyle, I love how this photo demonstrates the
functional, organized, awesomeness of the closet! Instead of shooting the closed door and toilet.
Do our closets look like this?
Of course not, but for your listing photo, it would take 20 minutes to style this look.
Perhaps from the outside in?
Or the inside out?
Next time you are photographing your rooms, play with the doors and see what you get.
And remember, what looks good through your eyes may not translate as well through the camera frame, so move things around and show the features of the room instead of the things in the room.
Even a little peek will make a buyer want to see more!
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