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What Makes Bad Real Estate Listing Photos — and How to Avoid Them

There’s no denying it — everyone goes to the internet for everything. That’s becoming increasingly more obvious and true in the real estate world. Buyers are more likely to purchase a house if they’ve seen an ad or post for it online. The desire for photos and videos is also increasing. First impressions and “first looks” are now taking place on realtors’ websites, while the physical walk-through is often just to verify that the house is what a buyer has already seen online.

With such an importance placed on photos for the assistance with real estate listings, there needs to be a line drawn between what should be included in photos and what should be left out. Here are a few examples of real estate photography mistakes to avoid:

1. No Professional Photographer

It may seem like a no-brainer, but it needs to be said — please hire a professional photographer to take the listing photos for your website! The listings that get passed over most often online are photos that were taken with a cell phone or a simple camera.

Hiring an outside photographer will ensure the right composition and exposure is captured while focusing on the most dramatic and appealing angles.

2. Clutter and Disorganization

When people are looking at photos of your house, your dirty dishes and dog’s toys probably won’t do much for them. A majority of bad real estate photos include items that could have easily been cleaned up and moved to another location for the shoot.

There are a handful of ways to dress up the appearance of each room in your house — one of which is simply picking up the floor and clearing off countertops. Take a few extra minutes to scan the perimeter of your room — if anything distracts your focus, remove it.

3. Weird Lighting

Don’t be afraid of lighting options! If you want to learn how to best take pictures to sell your house, you need to pay attention to the way each room is illuminated. Make sure all bulbs are the same brilliance and turn them on. The photographer — because they are a professional — will adjust the direction and brightness to reduce the possibility of glares or unnecessary shadows.

Also, keep an eye on your natural lighting — sunlight can be both a help and a hindrance, especially in an area where there’s a potential for mirroring or a reflection.

How a REX Photographer Can Help

At Real Estate Exposures, we’re trained to not just take beautiful photos — we’ve trained our eye to think ahead and visualize the best set-up and backdrop for a shot. Real estate photography should be a partnership between sellers, realtors and photographers.

As a seller, make sure you are avoiding the above mistakes to ensure your home can be portrayed at its best and capture the eye of any buyer browsing online real estate listings. With your help, we can turn even the most outdated home into a visual dream.