Pimp Your Home – Photographing Your Home to Sell

By Lisa Trocchi

Most people are familiar with taking photographs of people and do not realize that real estate and architectural photography is a whole new ballgame. In the course of several years of photographing homes to sell, I have used many techniques which I would like to share with you.
The primary purpose of real estate photography is to present the property in the most favorable and inviting light, in order to grab the attention of the viewer, and entice them to want to view the home in person.
Almost 90% of potential home buyers look to the internet first before deciding to visit, and they base their decision on whether a property deserves a second look mainly on the photographs.
Your property has only a few seconds to stand out from the rest of the list and the only way to ensure that it does, is to have professional looking photographs.
Here’s how you can do that:
Photograph your home with as wide a lens as you can can “beg, borrow or steal”. Or you may have your own!
Photographs taken in the “magic hour”, just after dawn and just before sunset, will have low contrast and lovely lighting. The next best is overcast weather which also reduces contrast and makes it easier to view your home.
Turn all the house lights on for a warm, homely feel.
Get rid of all non essentials and clutter. This also applies to pets, cars, garden hoses etc.
Take lots and lots of photos and only choose the best once they are downloaded.
Photograph each room from at least two different angles.
Look at the photographs with the critical, uninvolved eyes of a stranger.
Use a tripod to prevent camera shake, especially indoors.
Experiment with turning off the camera’s inbuilt flash, especially when there are no windows in your frame.
Read up on “staging” your home on the internet.
When all else fails – my link in the author box below will give you all the information you need, backed up with before and after photographs.
Good luck and great sale!

Lisa Trocchi is a real estate photographer living in Johannesburg. See her DIY real estate photography guidelines at http://www.realestatephotographytips.info to make your property stand out in the real estate listings.
No photo editing software of editing skills are necessary – just plenty of before and after photographs to help you choose the best angles, best lighting and best perspective to make your home look amazing.