How to Sell Your Home in The Right Light by Raleigh Real Estate Photographer
So, you’re tasked with the charge of selling your home? If you’re selling your home, it’s important to capture it with a keen eye and if you’re tasked with taking photography of your home, there’s some things you need to know. Lighting, composure, and the staging of your home are very important to the photoshoot. By understanding those parameters, you’re sure to present your home in the right light for any seller-based website like Trulia or Zillow.
Planning the Shoot
You’ll want to create a plan for how you intend to capture the pictures of your home. Take a walk through your house to notice the character of the place. Are there beautiful vaulted ceilings? Are the moldings pretty? Taking close-ups of the character of your house will help others find your house memorable. Plan to focus on these features in your shoot. However, do plan to avoid ceiling fans and other “eyesores”.
Another thing to consider is shooting your home for a walk-through video for Trulia or Zillow.com. If you’re planning to do this, make sure you organize your shoot in a manner that will make photos easier to edit. Begin at the front, and shoot your way through.
Oh, and: mirrors. If you are planning to shoot a bathroom or a room that has a mirror in it, make sure to shoot it at an angle. That way, you won’t be in the focus and help the bathroom or room seem spacious. Just make sure you won’t be in the shot!
Lighting
Professional photography always seems to have that little bit of extra warmth. By choosing the right light for your pictures, you’ll create softer, warmer photos that will be more appealing to potential buyers. Try and organize your plan to take pictures of your home at a time when the natural light will expose the beauty of your home. This kind of lighting infuses the pictures with warmth, helping your photos tell the kind of story you want your potential buyers to be able to see themselves as characters in. Early evening, late afternoon, and dawn produce some of the best natural light.
Staging
Some professionals argue that staging in a photography shoot can take away from the actual pictures. The consensus all around the board, though, is that simple is better. Present a focal point with one pop of color. You can do this with magazines strewn on a coffee table, pink flowers on the kitchen table, or something else that is subtle. While you might love those throw pillows or the cushions on the kitchen chairs, it’s best to leave most of the personal touches out. You want the people looking at your house to be able to see themselves in it. Let the house speak for itself through your lens, and let people build their own story.
Composition
Be sure to shoot straight. Don’t tilt your camera upwards, downwards, or otherwise because it takes away from the depth of a room. If you need to capture something higher or lower, move the entire camera instead of tilting it. You want to show your house in its best light, right? If you don’t have a tripod, you can try kneeling. Kneeling will help make the room look bigger, give it more depth, and stabilize your hand if you don’t have a tripod.
You can utilize your hands to create a frame of a picture if you’re curious how something might look before you shoot it. You can also use the preview function on your camera, but the framing will help you figure out where you want to focus.
If you are selling your own home, we recommend that you hire a professional photographer like Raleigh’s best: https://scalaphotography.com/galleries/real-estate/