Making Your Home Picture Perfect

Today’s Wiki Wednesday Feature: Photographing Your House Checklist

You’ve heard the saying: A picture is worth a thousand words. And indeed, when it comes to selling your home, it rings true.

When I was searching for my first home, I often overlooked homes that didn’t have pictures online, and found myself gravitating towards the ones that had appealing photos. I swore off homes that had unappealing photos. But was it the actual home that didn’t appeal to me, or was it the lackluster photos that made the home look uninviting? I’ll never know, because I never even considered those homes in my search. That’s why, if you’re selling your house, it’s important to make your house shine in pictures.

In today’s featured article from the Real Estate Guide, you’ll find a handy checklist of tips and tricks to remember when you or your agent (or your agent’s photographer) are photographing your home. Here are a few nuggets of wisdom pulled from the article:

• Shoot your outside photographs on a sunny day, if possible, and in full daylight. The sun should be in the back of you to avoid glare. Try to avoid capturing shadows across the home.
• Include as much of the house as you can in the photo — all of it, if possible — but exclude the stuff that doesn’t really need to be in the shot (the sidewalk, the street, or your neighbor’s tree). Obviously, clear out the bikes, toys, trash cans, and anything else that might detract from the home. Move the cars as well.
• Open the curtains and blinds. Closed curtains = go away. Open curtains = come in!
• Now is not the time to get artsy. You want the house to stand out, not the weird photo angle.

I’d also like to point out that Larry Lohrman, a contributing blogger over at the Geek Estate Blog, wrote a great piece last week on the most important photo you can take of a home. Check it out, then get snapping!

Ed: Wiki Wednesdays is a weekly feature that highlights helpful or interesting articles from the Real Estate Guide.