With digitization decisions to vet a house with a physical visit are being made basis the photographs of the property. In other words, photographs may help make or break your house deal.
Real estate consultant Ranjit Trivedi shares “In the past, home sellers used to count on curb appeal to make a good first impression on potential buyers. Now, with 95% of home buyers starting their house hunt online, how good a house looks in photos posted on the internet, is taking over as the top way to impress buyers, Realty surveys claim that homebuyers rate photos as the feature they use most when searching for a home on the web. In such a scenario online listings with bad pictures – or worse, no pictures at all – can cause buyers to overlook your home.”
What this basically translates into is that the professional house photographs set the stage from the beginning for how much activity and what kind of offers your house will get:
So what’s the next step? Well, you have three options:
01. If you’re selling through an agent, he may have on his panel professional photographers thereby leaving you with hardly anything to do except for cleaning up the house clutter to ensure that it looks pic savvy.
02. In case you are selling directly then you could simply commission the photography work to a professional photographer and pay the moon for his services!
03. The last and most creative option is taking a stab at photographing your home yourself. Well it’s YOUR house so who knows its pluses and minuses better than you, right? Moreover, in the smartphone and tablet era, all of us have been blessed with basic photography skills.
In case you are game to option 3 then Gharpedia eases your task by sharing cues with you on the three different stages of the photoshoot – prior, while and post. Use these tips to take outstanding professional house photographs …
Before You Photograph
Well agreed that your I-phone has been an option but for your house shots you need to invest in a decent camera if quality shots are what you are looking out for. Any point-and-shoot digital camera with five megapixels trusted shooting device or more will produce good photos. In case photography is your hobby then you can invest in a digital SLR which offers more settings and allows you to use a variety of lenses. Do remember to invest in a tripod for taking sharp photos.
Prepare your home. The thrust here needs to be on space rather than décor as the latter is more personalized and your potential buyer may not find it of much interest either! So clear out items like – toys, refrigerator magnets, mail box et al before you embark on the photo shoot. House looks dull, eh? No worries you can add in fresh flower vases.
While You Photograph
Maximize natural lighting by drawing open the curtains and switching on all the lights to make a room seem bright and open. Here’s to know what wonders can natural light make in your homes and how can you achieve it:
Use the camera’s built-in flash as less as possible for the simple reason that it creates unattractive shadows and reflects off mirrors and windows. Completely refrain from clicking pics on rainy days or at night unless you wish to lend a gloomy and eerie hue to your house! When it comes to exterior shots (balcony, lawn, backyard, patio et al) take photographs on an overcast day to nullify the chance of the sun casting dark shadows on your house.
Select the best angles and compositions. Professional photographer MahinThakker counsels “The best way to show off a room is to shoot from a corner or doorway to include as much of the room as possible. Not only does this lend context but it also makes the room look more spacious than a tight shot does.” Then again while photographing the exterior of your house aim to stand at an angle to the home rather than straight-on; this would allow prospective buyers to view the depth of your house. Ascertain that you refrain from photographing objects like poles and wires that obscure your home.
A golden rule to remember while clicking pics is that yes your pics are going to draw your buyers … but the purchase decision will materialize only post a physical visit … so never dupe them. Go ahead and showcase your house in the best possible way but never ever strive to make your home look like something it’s not … because disappointed buyers are the worst form of publicity! Say for example photographs taken with a wide-angle lens may make a cramped living room look deceptively large and lure buyers to come for a house visit – but seeing the small living room may leave them irritated and disappointed as it’s been a wasted trip for them – and for that matter a waste of time for you too!
Take lots and lots of photographs – trust us even professional photographers do this! The best part is digital cameras give you this freedom so go ahead and experiment with lots of angles and camera settings; you can later review the photos and select the ones that best showcase your dream house.
After You Photograph
Even well-established artists give finishing touches to their creative pieces! So touching up the photographs you’ve clicked is an absolute mandate. Post selection of your best photographic attempts, remember to tweak them using image editing free online tools to adjust brightness and contrast; correct colours; crop out items like poles, your inquisitive neighbour peering over the fence, dangling wires, et al.
Now you’re ready to go live… but a good question to ask here is where? For buyers to be able to see the amazing photographs of your house, they need to be listed on a website that’s user-friendly and easy to find through search engines. Just ascertain that the site looks up to date, is easy to navigate and uses large, high-quality photos. And hey…don’t forget to pair the photos with an apt, catchy description that creates an appealing picture of your home.
Hard-Core Photography Cues
Well with none of us being professional photographers, here’s sharing some technical pointers on taking shots:
- Recommended photography settings:
– Aperture: Between F/8 – F/11
– ISO: 400 or lower
– Shutter Speed: 1/60
- Use a tripod and try to keep your camera or smartphone straight up and down (parallel to the walls) when you snag your shots
- Refrain from “fish eye” lens and super-wide angles
- Well we just can’t say this enough! Use natural light when available so schedule your photography expedition during the early morning hours or the late afternoon, when light is best in your home.
- Use one type of lighting per photo
- Avoid mixing different temperature and lighting types in one photo – table lamps and light fixtures off or dimmed low are a good option
- Using your camera flash is a strict no-no!
- Get low while clicking pics so that your camera is about four feet off the floor
- Gently wipe away any smudges or dirt from your camera lens with the help of a microfiber cloth or even an old tee-shirt
- Well prospective buyers are more interested in understanding the amount of space rather than the design or arrangement so please strive to take “whole room” shots and at least one horizontal room shot
- House photographs can do without – your LED; wires; laptop and phone chargers; open toilet seats; creased pillows; et al.
Hope these photography cues help you showcase your house in the best possible way and get you a buyer who treasures your house just the way you have…All the best!
After photographing your house, if you are planning to sell your home, here we have some hassle free solutions for you:
Image Courtesy: Image 1, Image 2, Image 3, Image 4, Image 5, Image 6, Image 7, Image 8
Author Bio
Huta Raval – An English Literature and Journalism Topper, Huta Raval has graduated from the L D Arts College, Ahmedabad. Post serving for 23 years in the NBFC and Public Library Sectors her desire for ‘writing the unwritten’ brought her to the creative field of content writing. Her clientele comprises of NGOs, Blogging Platforms, Newspapers, Academic Institutions, et al.
