How to Stage and Photograph Your Home To Sell Fast
Posted in: I'm Moving, Buying & Selling a HomeSo you’ve decided you want to sell your house…congratulations! You have a lot of excitement (and hard work) ahead of you.
In today’s market, most homes are discovered and even sold over the internet, so that means you’re going to need a good set of photographs to showcase the spaces in your home. We don’t care if you have the coolest house on the block, if you have terrible pics that bad boy may be on the market for a long time. Today we’re here to help you with a few staging and photography tips.
This list will help you garner the attention of house hunters searching on the internet, and hopefully you’ll have some open houses in no time at all. So, without further adieu, here is how to stage and photograph your home to sell:
Tip #1: Get rid of the junk
Before you even pick up your camera and snap away, you’re going to need to seriously purge the rooms in your home (Check out some of our tips in this post.) Right now, we’re solely focusing on prepping for your home’s “photo shoot.” So no need to clear out every single drawer and closet just yet (that time will come!). Right now we’re focusing on making each room you photograph appear less cluttered.
The above picture is pretty dreadful, right? It looks dirty, cluttered, and small. Who would want to sleep in this master bedroom? Yuck.
This photograph is much better. The bed is made, the pillows are fluffed, and everything is neat and tidy. We also pared down many personal items, like the frames and the books. This master bedroom looks the way it should…calm and serene.
Tip #2: Don’t make it personal
You want the potential buyer to envision themselves living in this home and don’t want to scare them away by putting your stamp all over it. As much as that picture of you and your mom is adorable, either take it down or replace it with a not-so-personal touch for the time being. Try switching out your frames with scenery pictures, hometown pride, general art, free printables or even old greeting cards. This is a budget friendly trick that will help mask your memories while also keeping the potential buyer from creeping on every detail of your life.
Tip #3: Bring in Something Alive
Plants or flowers add a nice touch of color and life to any room. Even the bathroom in this case can be beautified with a simple bunch of flowers…
Tip #4: Use Natural Light (AVOID THE FLASH!)
There’s really no way around it…take pictures of your home during the DAY and do NOT use the flash! Your home may be a great catch for buyers, but taking pictures in the dark is not flattering to showcase its beauty. Taking pictures during the day allows natural light to highlight each room and makes your home look far more like it belongs in a magazine and far less like it’s a dark, scary cave.
Suggestions…
-Open up the blinds and let light in!
-If you can, have the primary source of light behind you. (In this case that would be the window.)
-Dusk is a great time to photograph windows.
-Mid morning and late afternoon are usually good times to photograph most rooms.
-Avoid harsh sunlight streaming directly into the room. It will create shadows.
Overall, these tips can really make a difference when attracting potential buyers. Check out this dramatic before and after and think twice when prepping your home to sell.
This picture is ALL wrong! The picture was taken at night with no lights on in the house while using the flash. (all no-no’s). There’s unnecessary clutter present, the pillows are a mess, and it’s just generally not highlighting how amazing this space can be.
This next picture is still a mess! This picture was taken at night with the lights ON in the house, using the flash. The clutter, disorganization and pillows are still a problem.
Same space, different strategy here. This last picture was taken during the DAY; blinds OPEN, door in the background open for more natural light, no flash. The homeowner also de-cluttered the place and added a series of fluffy pillows to highlight the coziness that this room has to offer. I don’t know about you, but I’m far more sold on this space now!
So there you have it! A few general tips for you budding photographers out there. Good luck with your photo shoot. Let the open houses begin!