At NJ Home Girls, we have a major pet peeve: bad photos in a listing. Lots of agents seem to skimp on what is really one of the most important marketing tools they have.  Since today’s buyers are usually introduced to a home by what they see online, the pictures can make the best first – or worst – impression.  Here are the most common mistakes we see and how you can avoid them:

 

– DIY photos: Yes, today’s cell phones are really advanced and can take amazing pictures, but you don’t want to use it to sell your house.  For a couple hundred dollars, it is absolutely worth it to hire a professional.  They have lots of tools, like wide-angle lenses and editing software, to make sure your photos really shine.  Pros also know how to frame a room or an exterior to maximize its appearance.  People zipping through realtor sites are now used to seeing really pretty online photos… if yours are subpar, they might just skip past your listing, so definitely go pro!

 

– Terrible lighting: We’ll say it again… hire a professional photographer!  Otherwise, your regular camera simply won’t be able to adjust the lighting to show off your home at its best.  Rooms can show darker than they might be and shadows won’t show off the special features.  Professionals won’t usually need any extra lighting, but will instead use their advanced camera settings to really make a picture pop.  And when they are editing, they can add filters and other tricks to illuminate the image.

 

– Showing off the mess:  This one is really easy to avoid, and yet we have seen it all: toilet seats left open, crooked bedspreads and pillows, cleaning supplies left out.  These small mistakes can be totally distracting, so buyers will pay more attention to the little things that don’t work, and less on what the home has to offer. When we photograph a home, we scurry ahead of the (professional) photographer to make sure that even the tiniest of details are taken care of.  The rooms are clean, the toilet paper is neatly folded over, towels are straight, smudges are wiped away, and counters are clutter-free.  Try this: imagine that your home is being photographed by a national design magazine.  If you wouldn’t want that in your photos for them, you won’t want it in your listing.

 

– Not staging the room for the photos:  Just because your furniture and accessories look good in your room as they are, doesn’t mean that will translate well in the photographs.  Take the time to adjust what’s in the room so that it shows off the room (not the furniture) in its best light.  If that means you have to angle a chair, or move a table, or artfully drape a throw across a couch, then do it.  These little adjustments can make a big difference in your photos.

 

– Not strategically selecting the photos in your listing:  As a seller you might think that your realtor should include a photo of every single room in your house.  In fact, a good realtor will make sure that the photos that are included are the very best, so maybe skip the unfinished basement or the too-small and not updated half bath.  Keep in mind that if you don’t show certain rooms, like the kitchen or main bathroom, buyers may be suspicious that you are hiding something, like they need major work.  And, finally, your agent should order the picture so that the best rooms are highlighted.  If you have a fabulously updated kitchen, for example, you’ll want to see it before you see the dining room.

 

Just remember – these 20 or so photos are really the first step (after the price) to getting people to coming to see your home.  Good photos can generate lots of interest, and are a relatively minimal investment towards getting the maximum sales price.