How to get great photos for selling your home!
If you are selling your home, please have all repairs, touch ups and painting done several days before the day your photographer arrives for your shoot. Those pictures will be your first showing, so everything needs to be perfect. Here is a wonderful checklist provided by Jennie the Happiness Wrangler at MLS Delivery Photographers. www.mls-delivery.com:
While our photographer is at your home please be aware of where the lens is pointing. Our photographer uses a wide-angle lens, so staying behind him best. If you or your pets are moving about please stay out of the lens’ view. If the photographer is taking pictures outside please stay away from the windows. The photographer must wait until you or your pets are out of the view of the lens to take a photograph. Just before your photographer arrives turn on all the lights, but make sure every fan is turned off. Open all drapery, pull up the blinds. Let the light in! In addition to having your home in ready to show condition here are few things you can do to help make sure your home is beautifully photographed.
Exterior
- Clean your windows.
- Stow away trash cans, yard signs, decorative flags, seasonal decorations, etc.
- Move cars out of the driveway.
- Remove all seasonal decorations.
- Store water hoses and garden items in the garage.
- Remove toys, cleaning supplies, recycling bins, tools and other items. An excellent place to store things is in the garage or laundry room, unless you want the room photographed.
- Clean and arrange the outdoor furniture how you would like to have it photographed. If you have an umbrella, open it.
- Remove the grill cover! A Dirty grill looks better than a black blob – a majority of the dirt doesn’t show anyway.
- Sweep decks and patios and stow away any items such as toys and pool equipment.
- Have the pool cleaned if you have one, clear blue water looks stunning. DO NOT shock your pool the day of the shoot.
Interior
- Clean your windows.
- In common areas pull the blinds completely up to show your views. Bedrooms that do not have a private view of the back-yard leave them open but down; the photographer will adjust the blinds for the light in your home.
- If you have any burnt-out light bulbs, replace them. Install decorator globe bulbs in the exposed bulb lighting fixtures commonly used in bathrooms. Most importantly make sure all bulbs are the same type (incandescent, florescent, etc.) or it will look odd.
- Remove all seasonal decorations.
- Make the beds and tidy up rooms, remove ALL personal items and names from walls.
- Remove all rugs and mats, we need to show the beauty of your floors. Surprisingly, people will use it to judge the scale of your room: small rugs make the room look smaller. However, put them back after the shoot. Leave room defining area rugs in place.
- Clear the kitchen counter of everything: small appliances, paper towels, soap dispensers, decorative items, absolutely everything! Even the smallest kitchen looks huge without items blocking the line of site.
- Remove all refrigerator magnets. It’s OK to leave discrete decorator items on the top of the refrigerator.
- Clear bathroom, counters, showers and tubs of ALL personal items, cleaning items, towels, hampers, scales, trash cans, again absolutely everything.
- Hide the TV remotes, small items, photographs, and knick-knacks from surfaces.
- Hide away pet’s dishes, dog crates, litter boxes, etc.
- Remove personal items, Knick knacks, and family photos from the walls and furniture. A general guideline for anything but large or necessary furniture: if you’re not selling with the house stow it.
- Clean the fireplace, and if seasonally appropriate, light it just before the photographer takes a picture of it.
- If you have large photos of your family, especially children, we recommend taking them down. We do not want images of your family displayed on the internet!
