A photo tells a thousand words, and that is especially true for real estate photos.
Before the invention of online shopping, home sellers worried about was curb appeal.
Today 99% of millennials look at houses online before stepping inside. Since Washington D.C. has many residents from other areas, many of them are also looking for homes online.
That’s why it’s important to take great photos of your home. If the pictures make your house look cluttered or small, there won’t be many people making an offer on your place.
Having great staged photos plays a big roll in how long your home is on the market. You can’t ignore real estate photos anymore.
If you want anyone to look twice at your Washington D.C. home, you need to read these real estate photo tips.
Real Estate Photo Tips To Sell Your Home Faster
Some of these tips might be news to you. Others will be old information for a new age. If you follow these tips, you’ll increase your chances of selling your house by 32%.
1. Have a Great Curbside Photo
The curbside photo of your house is the first one someone sees when they go online. It’s the photo of what your house looks like from the outside, so make sure it’s a good one.
You can do this by adding a fresh coat of paint to the exterior or window shutters. Updating the garage door is a simple way to give your house a whole new feel. You can also paint your front door a new color.
Another thing to do is to take a curbside photo in the summer or spring. Even if you don’t put your house on the market until winter, having at least one photo in your collection with green grass will help a lot.
2. Get Rid of the Clutter
If you ignore all our other real estate photo tips, you must listen to this one.
One of the worst things you can do for real estate photos is to leave your clutter out. Clutter makes your home look messy, and it makes the place look smaller.
We’re not only talking about the stacks of local restaurant menus on your countertop.
We’re talking about your cute mason jars full of tea bags in the kitchen. We’re talking about the stack of dolls in your child’s room. Yes, we’re even talking about your fully stocked bar cart in your dining room.
We’re not telling you to get rid of all the parts of your house that make it a home. Except, we kind of are.
The point of moving the personal clutter is to let the house speak for itself. You want buyers to visualize themselves in the house, not peak into your life.
Put that stuff in a closet, or move it while taking photos. You can put it all back later.
3. Think About Lighting
No one wants to live in a cave except for bears. That’s why one of our real estate photo tips is to think about lighting.
You want each room to seem bright and welcoming. If everything looks too dark and dingy, then no one will want to live there.
Not all houses come with big windows and skylights. This means you might have to get creative with lighting.
Open and clean all your windows. Take the photos during the times of the day that works best for each room. Take a few test photos to see if there are any major dark areas, then add a lamp to brighten it up.
4. Focus on the Kitchen and the Living Spaces
Even if the buyers don’t like to cook, kitchens are still important. It’s the room where we want the most utility, space, and style.
Update the kitchen by painting the cabinets or adding new hardware. This will make your photos look nice, and also raise the price of the home.
Don’t forget to highlight big backyards or family dens. Most buyers can only dream of a decent sized backyard, so if you have one make it a selling point. You can add a nice deck chair and mow the lawn before snapping the photo.
Again, don’t let these spots look cluttered! Because everyone wants a big kitchen or a big backyard, you need these spaces to look their best. Clean up your counters, move the kid’s play-set to the side, and make your house look like a million bucks.
5. Line Up the Shot
Here’s something you may not have noticed: most real estate photos are landscape oriented, not portrait. That means if some of your photos are a mixed bag, it’s harder for buyers to look at the pictures.
We understand that it’s difficult to take a nice photo of a small bathroom in a landscape. You might worry that it makes the room seem smaller.
Avoid these problems by lining up the shot the right way. Start by keeping the camera straight. You can use a tripod for this.
Don’t focus on the furniture in the room, because that’s not what’s staying. Instead, include the whole room along with the height of the ceiling.
If you have a special feature like a fireplace, make sure to take at least one photo with that as the central focus. Those are the special details that will sell a house.
6. Don’t Be Afraid to Make Edits
Look, buyers aren’t fools. They know when you’ve used a million Instagram filters on your real estate photos.
That doesn’t mean you can’t touch up the photos a little. Even if it’s only making the room a little brighter, editing can take your real estate photos to the next level.
If you’re not comfortable doing the edits yourself, hire a professional or give them to your real estate agent.
Looking For Tips About Real Estate in Washington D.C.?
We want to help you succeed in the Washington D.C. real estate market. Whether it’s real estate photo tips or finding out how Amazon’s HQ will affect the market, we’re here for you.
If you’re looking for a home in the Washington D.C. area, then you should read this article for first time home buyers. If you’re selling your home, don’t forget to check out the rest of our site.