Online real estate photography is usually the first point of contact between a buyer and a home, so it’s essential these photos evoke positive feelings and make your house stand out from the crowd.
To put your house in the best position to be photographed, Julian Maddox, Place Graceville Co-Agent to Peter May and Brad Robson, advises that you need to make your house seem as spacious as possible.
“People want to be able to see themselves in the space. They want to see that the house feels easy to live in,” Julian said.
“Decluttering is vital as it makes the space feel bigger and creates an enticing environment for potential buyers,” he says.
Julian says the trick to real estate photography is making each individual room stand out on its own.
“Attention needs to be given to all rooms, not just the main living spaces,” says Julian.
“We suggest placing a mixture of soft finishes and indoor plants in each room to make all rooms look attractive,” he said.
Place Graceville has come up with essentials to focus on when preparing for real estate photography.
Declutter
As a simple rule of thumb, hide anything which has personal sentiment: family photos, clothes, excess children’s toys and jewellery. These personal items hinder potential buyers from forming an emotional connection to the home.
Ensure all surfaces are clutter free. From your desk in the study to the kitchen bench, remove all the junk.
The photographer will not shoot inside the laundry, shed or garage, so use these spaces as a place to store excess belongings.
Staging
Once you have removed all your personal clutter, it is time to make the property feel like a home.
When viewing the house online, only one photo will display at each time. It’s important to create wow factor in each room, so the property looks great in every photo.
Place items like flowers, plants, an open book or a bowl of fruit throughout the home.
These items help the buyer establish a personal connection to the property as they begin picturing their life in the home.
Flow
Arrange furniture so the rooms look as spacious as possible. Play with the furniture and make sure there are clear walk ways which flow from room to room.
Get rid of excess furniture which makes the room feel cramped. Ensure the remaining furniture doesn’t crowd walkways or doorways to ensure the rooms feel open and inviting.
Lighting
Lighting is important visually as it is known to improve people’s moods. It’s important to brighten the property as much as you can.
As far as ceiling lights go, replace any faulty fixtures to ensure maximum lighting and for rooms that lack lighting try placing floor or table lamps to brighten the room.
Gloomy décor can also make a room seem darker, to combat this try adding a mirror to reflect light and use light coloured bedding and rugs to brighten the space.
Good lighting in real estate photography will make a world of difference to potential buyers. 
Cleaning
With many tasks to complete before professional property photos you can fall into the trap of overlooking the most obvious task, the cleaning. Clean every surface in your house to make sure the home looks inviting in the online photos.
As the bathroom has many reflective surfaces, this room needs to be spotless. Marks will easily show up in the real estate photography, so get your shower, tiles and mirrors looking squeaky clean.
If you’ve got a glass pool fence, don’t forget to wash that too! This is one of the most overlooked tasks when it comes to professional photos.
Overall, the property needs to be spotless, this includes being cleaned and decluttered. Make the property appear as large, open, bright and airy as possible.
When selling your house with Place Graceville, we assist you in the real estate photography process to ensure the online photos are of the highest quality, attracting more buyers.