Real Estate Photography Matters

There are many important tools at Realtor’s disposal, and few are more important than access to a great real estate photographer.  When we invest in professional real estate photography we’re putting our listings in their best possible light, no pun intended.  The photos are one of main reasons that people setup appointments to view a listing.  The iPhone has has a great camera, but that’s not sufficient to shoot our client’s most important investment.  Nobody wants to go view a home with dark rooms, and ugly photos unless they’re bargain shopping for a fixer-upper.  I also know that our clients do not plan to sell their homes for fixer-upper prices!

A professional photographer offers an artist’s eye and attention to detail.  When listing a home we’re working to appeal to a buyer’s emotions.  No buyer wants to see a real estate agent in front of a bathroom mirror trying to take a photograph for the listing, that’s tacky and unprofessional.

Listing photos with aerial photography is the standard in my book!  It costs more to shoot aerial photos, but these photos give our listings a place, so to speak.  Buyers are not simply buying a house, they’re buying a neighborhood too!  It’s important to show the surroundings of the homes we’re selling.  These photos help to create interest in our listings too.  We have 360 degrees of backdrops we can choose to place the home in.  Additionally, using the aerial shot as the main listing photo allows our listings to standout when consumers are flipping through listings online.

You only get once chance to make a great first impression so we never put a listing on the market without professional photos, or a note in the listing that says, “professional photos coming soon.”  The minute a property goes on the market the market time clock starts ticking.  We find it well worth the wait to use the professional photos.  If the client is in a hurry then we can swing a favor with our photographer.  Additionally, If the interior is not ready, but the exterior is, then we’ll do the shoot on two different days.

If you ever see a listing online with important photographs missing there is probably good reason.  More often than not, the missing photos are from rooms that a seller doesn’t want you to see.  It’s possible those rooms have not been remodeled, or they’re used as storage.

It’s a proven fact that listings with professional photography sell for more money.  That’s reason enough alone for us to invest in hiring a great real estate photographer.  This is a service that we offer, and there is not charge to the buyer.  I’ve had great amateur photographers for clients, but very few have experience with real estate shoots.  It’s still worth our investment in this case.

Many of our clients ask us for copies of their photos when their home is sold.  We’re always happy to provide them.  Additionally,  we have gotten into the habit of providing a nice surprise to our clients while in escrow.  You’ll find out all about this surprise when you sell your home with us!