Homeowner's Guide to Preparing For Real Estate Photography

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To help showcase your home, we need light. As much light as we can get. Take a moment and visit each room and turn on the lights within your home. Replace lightbulbs where needed. The photographers don't always know which light switch does what, so it's helpful to have lights turned on ahead of time which helps expedite the capture process. 

Lighting is important for photography. Take a moment to walk around your home and open any blinds or curtains that may be restricting natural light from entering the building. Also, if your windows are dirty, take the necessary time to clean them. The photos that we take are high resolution and will pick up dirty windows.  

Rotating fans don't capture well within a photo. Take a moment to visit each room and stop any rotating fans. Remember, keep the lights on!

Remember, the goal behind this photoshoot is to highlight your home to its greatest potential. Take a moment to visit each room and remove any excess items or furniture that you don't want included in the photo. A good example is a folding table, storage boxes or excess furniture temporarily stored in a corner. 

Be sure to take the necessary time to clean your home prior to the photoshoot. This includes items like wiping down tables and counters, sweeping, dusting, vacuuming, etc. Make your home as presentable as possible. Some folks go as far as having their carpets professionally cleaned. Remember, these photos are being used to showcase your home which will likely be going on the market soon. Once on the market, you'll hopefully have plenty of folks looking to schedule on-site visits. Cleaning now will save you time later. 

One other thing to note, our photographers capture your home using high-resolution imagery which pick up stains, dust, and other messes. Starting with a clean home makes the process quicker and helps showcase your home better! 

Be sure to put away items like shoes, coats, remotes, reading glasses, drink glasses, video game consoles/controllers, newspapers/magazines, pet toys, etc. to ensure a clean and fresh capture of your home. 

Take a moment to visit each bedroom in the house and make the bed. If needed, take the time to wash your bedding. Oil stains, pet hair, etc. can be noticeable in some lighting situations. Also, put away any remotes, reading glasses, drink glasses, laundry, slippers, shows, fans, medical devices (CPAP, oxygen cylinders, etc.), air purifiers or humidifiers. Also put away any kids toys. Clean and organize any desk or shelf space. Remove garbage cans and tissue boxes. 

Specific to the kitchen, it's best to put away countertop appliances such as toaster ovens, air-fryers, coffee makers, etc. If you have undercabinet lights, make sure bulbs are working. Our photographer may turn on the undercabinet lighting if needed. Remove any soap, sponges or wash cloths from the sink. Remove any magnets or other personal items from the refrigerator. Put hand towels away or neatly fold them. Remove any highchairs or booster seats. Remove garbage & recycling cans. 

Bathrooms are commonly overlooked when preparing for a photoshoot. Start by cleaning. Remove any stains from the sink, shower, tub or toilet. Wash the floor. Wipe off any horizontal surfaces (counters, toilet tank, etc.) to remove any dust. Put away all items like bar soaps, shampoos, conditioners, lotions, medications, etc. Remove any soaps, lotions, shaving or make up items from counter tops. Remove any plungers or toilet brushes. Put a fresh roll of toilet paper on if it's empty. Remove any garbage cans or reading material. Put away (or fold nicely) any handle towels. Remove floor mats if you have nice flooring. Put away any tissue boxes or scales. Clean mirrors or any glass. 

In today's market, office space is widely sought after in a home. To help showcase your office space, turn on lights, open shades, remove clutter and clean. Wipe down surfaces. Vacuum. Remove any personal or sensitive items. Put away stacks of paper, remove garbage cans/shredders and straighten books & misc. items on shelves. Turn off any computer monitors. Consider cleaning up any power, computer or any electronic cable messes. 

We all love our fur babies; however a couple of things to think about as you prepare your home! Please tuck away those animal toys! And yes, that includes the cat jungle gym. Secondly, please hide or dispose of any litter boxes or piddle pads. Buyers don't get too excited when they see those in the photos! As you're relocating those items, please clean up around those areas to ensure everything is clean and ready for photos. 

While we're on-site, we ask that you remove your animals from the home. Yes, we've been known to pull out the laser to draw a curious cat out of a photo a time or two, but it's much more efficient if we can skip that all together. We commonly get asked about just putting them in a cage. We'd prefer not, as we likely will need to photograph that room. There's nothing more disheartening then taking a photo of a room, with a dog in his kennel giving you those cute little puppy eyes and wanting out.  

When preparing your outdoor space, start by walking through the yard and picking up debris, pet toys, pet waste, kid's toys, etc. Also, put away any hoses, hose reels, gardening tools, sprinklers, etc. Remove any cars from your driveway (and the visible street from your home - aka don't move your car from your driveway to the street immediately in front of your home - park it down the block so its out of sight). Mow the lawn. Put away your garbage and recycling bins. Ensure all windows, doors and garage doors are closed. Sweep your driveway and any deck or patio surfaces. Make sure all outside lights have working bulbs. If it's winter, shovel driveways and sidewalks.