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Original poster

Any tips for house sale photos

18 replies

cat88 · 25/05/2014 08:30

We have the photographer coming round to take photos -we have redecorated, decluttered and rearranged the furniture to make each room seem as big as possible. Any other tips? Flowers in each room? Dining table set?

OP posts:

wowfudge · 25/05/2014 08:46

Who are you trying to appeal to and what do you want to project? Flowers, plants etc are all good and avoid the place looking too spartan, unlived in or unhomely. By all means set the table. Make it look inviting and a reflection of what your target market will be looking for.

Also, have a look at the competition only and see what looks good, what doesn't look so good in their photos. Oh, and make sure the loo seats are down in bathroom shots!

wowfudge · 25/05/2014 08:46

Not 'only' - online!

StarDustInTheWind · 25/05/2014 08:51

probably outing myself here, but my sister put a cuddly giraffe in each room poking up from behind something - just for fun, and the number of people who said "we came to look for the giraffe" was really funny!! Sold the house within 2 weeks too!

Remember to look at what is reflected in mirrors/glass/shiny surfaces too..... that pile of stuff in the corner that you don't want in the pic, might sneak in.....

notnowImreading · 25/05/2014 08:54

Iron/smooth the bed linen. I'm always astonished by the impact the way beds are made has in the photos. An otherwise lovely house can give the impression that 100 drug addicts just died there if the beds are all rumpled. (This may come from watching too much TV where unmade beds are visual shorthand for 'something bad happened here and it probably really smells'.)

Crutchlow35 · 25/05/2014 09:02

Make sure your kitchen work surfaces are clear. Toaster and kettle are fine but if you have blenders, bread makers etc take them off. No rubber gloves, fairy liquid or t towels lying out.

Also nothing in top of wardrobes or cupboards should be visible. Same as under bed. Toilet seats down.

Drquin · 25/05/2014 09:03

I'd also suggest getting the balance of photos right ..... Maybe Its me just bring suspicious, but if you have too many photos of a lovely garden and none of the bathroom, I'm wondering why. Or loads of photos of the smart new kitchen, but none of the bedrooms .... What wrong with the bedrooms ;-)

Even if your bathroom or kitchen probably did need replacing, one photo of it looking clean and tidy so I can gauge size is better than none.

Crutchlow35 · 25/05/2014 09:04

No cleaning products or toiletries lying in bathroom. A nice towel and handwash is fine.

A good photographer will move stuff anyway.

marthabear · 25/05/2014 09:06

Look at the weather forecast and arrange the photos for when it is sunny. You could go even furthur and choose a time of day that you know the sunshine will be flooding in or shining all over the garden.

PunkyBubba · 25/05/2014 09:08

Have the lights on in all the rooms. It makes for brighter lighter photos. When selling my flat I paid extra for 'better' photos. This was one of their tricks. In-laws selling their house recently, photographer did not do this. Photos looked dark and dreary, with lots of dark shadowy areas.

dottyaboutstripes · 25/05/2014 10:30

I'd add that we took photos ourselves beforehand to check for anything that didn't look quite as we'd expected - they showed up a couple of messy spots we'd missed and a dirty mark in the sofa so we had a chance to sort that out

Teaandtoast1 · 25/05/2014 11:16

I know this womt be a deal breaker as such bit please make sure the loo seat is down! I always look and it does annoy me ha.

On a serious note pull back curtains and let light in.

Crutchlow35 · 25/05/2014 12:44

Add message | Report | Message poster PunkyBubba Sun 25-May-14 09:08:59
Have the lights on in all the rooms. It makes for brighter lighter photos. When selling my flat I paid extra for 'better' photos. This was one of their tricks. In-laws selling their house recently, photographer did not do this. Photos looked dark and dreary, with lots of dark shadowy areas.

I am absolutely staggered at this! I am an EA and we never have asked for extra cash for better photos! All ours are professionally taken.

ThinkIveBeenHacked · 25/05/2014 12:47

Dont set the dining table but do put a runner and either a bunch of flowers or a full fruitbowl on it.

Dont entirely declutter - scatter cushions, tea and coffee cannisters, nicer toiletries out is all fine. Dont make it soul less.

ShotgunNotDoingThePans · 25/05/2014 12:56

Don't have loads of family photos on display.
Tbh, the photographer is from the EA - might even be one of them - and he/she will know all the tricks. We had ours done the other day and the EA was more than happy for me to go around with him, moving thi gs around or shoving a bowl of fruit into shot.
He also took 'test' shots so we could see if any quick changes were needed - easily done with a digital camera.
I did sweep away all the toiletries in the main bathroom, apart from a judicially-placed attractive bottle of bath oil. Just realised I didn't hide the loo brush - damn!
Tbh, the DCs' rooms were pretty messy as it was all a bit last minute, but those shots won't be going public .

ExcuseTypos · 25/05/2014 13:04

We've just had our brochure done. I agree to de clutter but not to make it all too souless. My DH would have cleared the whole house- including books etc. No, it has to look lived in and cosy.

Also make sure the garden is tidy and add a few hanging baskets or tubs of flowers if there's nothing flowering at the moment.

PunkyBubba · 25/05/2014 15:29

It was a large EA in the south, covering 3 counties. It was part of a special package you paid extra for, which included the professional photos. They did look very good to be fair. My in-laws don't live in the south, their EA sent an inexperienced young girl who took awful photos. Lucky for them they lived in an area that was very in demand so sold before they had the need to request better photos.

OrangeOwl · 26/05/2014 15:04

Scatter cushions plumped and toilet rolls are white and not about to run out.

minipie · 26/05/2014 16:18

Tuck away any trailing wires - they always stand out in photos even if you have stopped noticing them day to day.

Make sure curtains are opened and blinds are not wonky. Beds made neatly. Cupboard doors all properly closed. Pictures straight. In general anything wonky will leap out in a photo and look unloved.

Lights on - even if the room is quite bright it will look darker in the photo, and everyone else will have put their lights on, so best to do the same to be the same level of brightness iyswim.

Clean the windows - makes a huge difference.

If you think the room looks best from one angle/position, then say so and ask for that to be used. When we sold, we had a living room with a small pillar in one corner. Photographer took the photo from behind the pillar so it looked huge and took up half the photo seriously who does that?

On that note - don't be afraid to ask for photos to be redone - we did.

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