Preparing Your Home for Photography

Ensuring your photos are the best they can be is a MASSIVE part of delivering a successful sales campaign.  With more home buyers than ever scouring the web looking for their perfect home, the impression you give them first up will be the one that determines if they will proceed with a viewing or skip right on to the next available property in your area. Never before has it been this important to maximise your property photography potential! 
 
Professional real estate photographers have the knowledge and experience (along with high-end equipment) to ensure each photo is captured brilliantly, however there are a few tips and tricks you can follow to help make the process run smoothly and efficiently and ensure you receive the imaging results a powerful marketing campaign requires. This will also save time and money by minimising or even eliminating the need for digital image corrections that can end up being quite expensive.
 
So lets get to the nitty gritty! Here’s our room by room preparation checklist to help make your home shine.
 
Throughout the property

• Thoroughly clean the whole house (vacuum the carpet, mop wooden floors, clean benchtops)

• Clean all your windows

• Turn all ceiling fans off

• Clear clutter off any surface (Tops of fridges, TV cabinets, Dressers, Tables, Outside dining settings etc)

• Turn all TVs and computers off

• Remove all personal photographs you don’t want in the final image

• Ensure all shoes and toys are put away and out of sight

• Open all blinds, shutters and curtains and let the natural light flow

• Leave lights off

• Remove surplus furniture that makes the space feel cluttered - open it up and let the space breathe
  

Exterior of the Property

• Close the garage doors

• Remove waste bins and loose rubbish from the front of the home (Place bins etc behind the fence or in the garden shed)

• Remove your car/s from the driveway and from the front of the property (Park away from the home)

• Clean up landscaping (sweep paths, mow the lawn, trim shrubs, clear dropped leaves)

• Ensure all cobwebs from around the cornices and door frames are removed

• Remove visible garden hoses

• Remove toys & sports equipment etc
  

Kitchen

• Clear the clutter from any benches

• Ensure there is no old fruit in a fruit bowl

• Leave one to two nice appliances on the bench

• Remove everything from the fridge doors including magnets, artwork and flyers

• Hide garbage bins

• Ensure no dishes are in the sink

• Close the dishwasher door

• For a splash of colour a bowl of fresh citrus fruit can make a great centre piece
  

Dining table

• Remove all clutter from the table

• Place a centre piece on the table such as a vase of flowers in a colour that compliments the rest of your décor or a decorative bowl or ornament

• Straighten up any chairs and ensure they are evenly spaced around the table

• Remove high chairs or booster seats
  

Living / Family room

• Remove stacks of magazines, newspapers and mail

• Hide remote controls

• De-clutter book shelves, fire place mantel, television cabinet

• Plump up cushions

• Remove / hide any kids or animal toys

• If you have indoor plants – remove any dead leaves and dust large leaves

• If you don’t have indoor plants consider adding a couple – great for photos and for open homes

• Straighten rugs

• Open and straighten curtains/blinds
  

Bathroom

• Remove all toiletries from the vanity – no toothbrushes, deodorant or clutter

• Remove shampoos, soaps etc from showers and bathtubs

• Ensure toilet seat is down

• Add a new toilet roll

• Add some nice soap, a small flowering plant and perhaps a candle

• Add fresh plump towels

• Pull open the shower curtain
  

Bedroom

• Make all beds neatly…folding corners neatly

• If need be iron bed linen and bed ruffle

• Remove all personal items from bedside tables. A small stack of books, a light and a small pot plant is all you need here

• Remove all family photos from the walls

• Clean under bed, removing items that may show up in the photos

• Remove any wall stickers in kid’s rooms

• Tidy bookshelves and remove some items if it looks very cluttered
  

Pets

• Hide food and water bowls and litter boxes

• Remove pet beds and toys

• Vacuum sofas to ensure there is no animal hair

• Keep pets out of the house

• Ensure front and backyard are clear of pet toys and droppings
  

Highlight special features

• If you have certain spaces that you want to highlight, make sure you tell the photographer. For instance, you may want a feature:

  • Your garden

  • Fire place or fire pit

  • Pool or spa – but make sure they are sparkling clean (remove all cleaners, toys, discoloured umbrellas, pool covers, debris)

And lastly, have confidence in your photographer! No matter how strong the temptation may be, there is no need to shadow him/her on the job, in fact, you will find they are more in the “zone” and able to focus their attention on producing quality results when they are allowed to move freely and without distractions. This is what they do best!