We have been in the Property Marketing game for 5 years now and it still surprises us how many High Street Real Estate Agents are using their own photographs to try and sell or rent a home.  The online estate agents, we understand, as the primary goal of sellers selling their homes online is to save costs... 

As a home owner, the only way to achieve your desired sale price is with a great real estate agent and an outstanding marketing campaign. If you want to give yourself every opportunity to get your asking price, then you have to start with the one thing that impacts upon almost everything else – the photography of your home. You want to know when all is said and done that you did everything in your power, to make sure you got the best possible price for your home.

As a real estate agent, you need great photography because you want the house sold quickly, for the highest possible price, and because you want more homes to sell and to make more money.

The bottom line is that if your listing doesn't look good online people aren't even going to bother coming to see it. Nobody wins in that scenario. 

Here are some very valid pointers as to why hiring a professional real estate photographer is so very important, and worth their weight in your house price!

Listings with professional photographs sell at a higher value, and sell faster.

92% of homebuyers start their search online, and, if your photographs are not up to scratch, the house will be completely overlooked. A good photo can get the buyer through the door - first impressions are essential.

Professional real estate photographers understand lighting and can utilise it to show off a room, mastering angles and lighting is the professional photographer's full time job.

Professionals use the latest DSLR camera's, tripods and wide angle lenses which can best showcase every aspect of the room - especially helpful if it is a small room and you are trying to sell every square inch of the property.

We don't just take photographs from eye-level, we utilise masts and drone to get aerial photographs to really give that WOW! factor.

Professionals will compose the photographs correctly, paying attention on where to focus attention to the room and where to create vertical and horizontal lines, drawing the buyer through the room elements.

Professionals will enhance the photographs post production, editing the photos to ensure that colours are enhanced, rooms are bright and shadows are reduced. This involves fixing grass patches, adding blue skies and much more.

When you go onto a site like Zoopla or Rightmove for example, the professional photographs definitely stand out, they are brighter and draw you in. This is what truly matters, as we have said before, first impressions count for everything.

Professionals don't make silly amateur mistakes, like leaving the toilet seat up, or capturing their reflection in a mirror. Other simple mistakes that make a big difference are leaving doors shut, preventing buyers from seeing how the space flows together, not turning lights on (this makes the home look warmer and more inviting), not opening blinds or curtains to maximize natural light, and taking photos of unattractive areas of the house like a small, crowded laundry room or the garage.

Professionals also have an eye for detail - plumped up cushions on a sofa, using curtain tie backs, hiding away any clutter on surfaces, turning on bedside lamps, adding a throw onto a bed to add some styling to the shoot.

The Photos You Need

Professional real estate photographers will take photos that appeal most to buyers. The first photo a photographer should focus on is an exterior of your home.  That first photo is the most important photo, (again, first impressions count!) because it is going to be highlighted in search engines and will be the first image seen on Rightmove or Zoopla.  After you have an enticing exterior shot, make sure the key areas that help sell your home are covered; 

Kitchen

Master bedroom

Master en-suite bathroom

Unique features like Aga cookers or beamed ceilings, leaded-glass windows or built-in bookshelves

Small areas like the office or laundry room

The Garden or outdoor spaces

Other tools in the Property Marketing Tool Box

Aerial Photography and video used within a spectacular video walkthrough of your home could just be the best way to showcase your home to its very best potential.  Videos bring listings to life  - your audience will get the sense they're actually walking through the property which makes it more real and amplifies emotional attachment.   Alternatively (or as well as) a 3D Matterport virtual tour where potential buyers can literally walk through your home from room to room and explore it from wherever they may be. The advancement of technology now allows us to come and 3D map an entire property.  Matterport's 3D and VR photography solutions bring listings to life and adds amazing value.  With one shoot you'll get all the benefits of incredible photographs and the power to immerse potential home buyers in the experience of a property so they can create both an emotional and intellectual connection with the property.

These marketing tools are invaluable in that it is saving the seller the hassle of constantly tidying and making their home look show-home-immaculate every time a potential buyer comes to see the house, and at the same time saves the real estate agent time as only truly interested parties will ask to see the property after feeling a connection with the property. You can see  a sample Matterport Virtual Tour here or a sample video walkthrough here.

If you are selling your home, or if you are a real estate agent wanting to see the difference in images that sell a property, do get in touch with us at Press Play. We guarantee a friendly and professional service with property marketing imagery that is guaranteed to impress.