Preparing for Pictures
When it comes to preparing a home to be professionally photographed for a listing, or other purposes, there’s lots of things that are both common sense and not even thought about. We all know the normal concepts of cleaning a house. But there’s extra little things that go beyond that for pictures because what the viewer sees will effect them psychologically as well. And so we have some helpful tips to give you the best chance at success. Not everything will be possible, or even apply to every home, but this will give you something to start with.
You can also download a PDF version of the below list to print about and put your info on and provide to your clients.
Outside
Make sure house numbers are easy to see so we can find your house!
Mow the grass and blow off the driveway and walkways
Pick up debris and remove it
Avoid toys, trash, and other misc items laying out
Turn on any outside lights
Leave on inside lights that can be seen thru the windows
Remove trash bins and worn out furniture when possible
Ensure hoses are picked up
Ensure outside fans are turned off
Avoid having vehicles parked right up to the house. Instead park them further back away from the house such as at the end of the driveway, on the road, or at another location.
Mold on siding and pavement will show and will not be retouched out, so make sure any pressure washing is done before hand.
Livingroom
Turn all lights on, including lamps
Make sure fans are not spinning
Turn TV screen off
Remove excess clutter from table tops and other surface areas
Clean windows and open shades. We’ll adjust as needed.
Hide small trash bins, throw blankets, and any other items that will help simplify the space.
Kitchen
Clean all surfaces
Hide trash bins
Clean and put away all dishes
Put dish soap under the sink
Remove everything from the front, sides, and top of fridge
Don’t have towels hanging on appliances or cabinet doors
Hide things such as papers, keys, charging cables, etc.
Bedrooms
Turn on lights, opens shades, and ensure fans are not spinning
Remove trash bins and laundry baskets
Make bed
Hide excess items from all surface areas
Hide charging cables when possible
Most closets will not be photographed. If your closest is being photographed, ensure it is cleaned up and organized.
Ensure overall room is neatly picked up and that the floor space is as open as possible.
Avoid having extremely graphic horror related things in your home.
Bathrooms
Remove toiletries and other excess items from the counter tops
Clean mirror and counter top, and shower glass if applicable
Hide trash bins, plungers, bowl scrubbers, spray cans, tissue boxes, wet wipes, laundry baskets, etc from bathroom completely
Toilet lid down
If able to see into tub or shower area, hide excessive bottles and other items from view
Garages & Basements
Most garages are being used for storage and are not able to be photographed. Of those that are photographed, they are so varied that it’s hard to give guidelines. Some garages are standard sized with not extra features and so not worth the extra trouble. But if it has features such as painted floors, shelving or cabinets, storage room, or any other kind of unique feature, then it’s worth photographing. Generally we would recommend removing vehicles, but there are occasions when leaving a vehicle actually helps show off how much space the garage has. But in either case, if we photograph the garage, it is recommend that the floors be cleaned up and clutter be moved towards the walls as much as is possible. Otherwise, cram as much in there as you can to clean the rest of the house for pictures.
Laundry Room
If photographing the laundry room:
Remove laundry and baskets from room
Close washer and dryer lids
Clear and clean the tops of both washer and dryer
On glass front loaders: DO NOT have laundry in the machine because you will see it thru the class. If leaving laundry in the machine, use a black clothe to cover the laundry.
Hide trash bins
Ensure shelves are neat and not cluttered
Remove cleaning appliances and items such as mops, brooms, vacs, etc
Avoid having close hanging if possible and minimize hangers
Other General Notes
Clean and simplify your home so that potential buyers can see themselves living in the home you’re trying to stop living in. If they can’t see past your junk in order to visualize themselves living there, they’ll never buy it.
In order to help avoid dating your listing photos, it’s best to avoid holiday decorations when possible. If your home takes longer than expected to sell, viewers may see Christmas decorations in June.
Because everyone is different on pets, it is best to avoid any signs of animals in your home if at all possible. This of course is not always possible, so we just recommend it as much as is possible. Also, we are not responsible for managing your animals if in the home while being photographed, so please be preparing to manage your pets, contain them, or remove temporarily if need be.
We will help with small things here or there that we see, but we will not move large furniture or do full on staging. Minor changes only on our part. The rest is up to the property owner.
If you have any items you do not want seen, hide them in a closet, or some other space that will not be photographed. Please don’t ask to have items retouched out of a photo after the fact.
Please leave all lights on till the job is finished
Finally, please do not turn off the utilities in order to save a few dollars. It’s worth the extra few dollars to leave the electricity and water on.
Drone
Part of what you need to do depends on the property, and whether we’re doing drone pictures only, or if we’re doing video also. Generally speaking, when it comes to drone pictures only, things are pretty forgiving, including the yard. But if we’re going to be doing any drone video at a lower level, then you’ll want to follow all the same guidelines as outlined for outside pictures.
One other factor when preparing is the weather. Clear sunny days are always going to be the best. When a cloud covers the sun, it creates a number of problems, so avoid cloudy/overcast days is best when possible. Especially for video. Cloudy weather looks terrible in video. And of course we cannot fly in the rain. So if we have days that the weather is being a challenge, it can throw the schedule off, or require a reschedule.
The last factor most people don’t think about is airports. If you live with 5 miles of an airport, authorization is required to operate the drone. So the closer you live to an airport with routine activity, the harder it may be to get authorization to fly a drone around your property.
Note for agents: please provide CRS data so we can pull property details.
Virtual Tours
Most of getting ready for a virtual tour is going to be the same as with pictures. The biggest difference is that you can’t hide yourself or your stuff behind the camera, and doors must be open to all the spaces that will be captured. The Matterport camera system spins in a 360 in order to capture both images and 3D information. So you have to be in another room or out of the property all together, along with any pets you don’t want seen. Also, it is not like a photo in that it can be edited afterwards. What it captures is what it will show. We have the option to blur, but not to edit anything. If you have not seen a virtual tour, I recommend going to our gallery to see some examples.