One of the most critical elements for preparing any effective real estate marketing effort is pictures. Home buyers want to ‘shop around’ using the pictures they’ve seen, even if they have seen the actual house; and many buyers won’t even consider looking at a house if there are not any ‘pre-view’ pictures available. Attractive pictures will help get a “SOLD” sign on the home quicker, make the client happy, and put a commission in the agent’s pocket.
Here are five quick tips for getting attractive pictures to include in your marketing campaign to get that home sold.
1) Get a decent digital camera.
You’re in a profession with high dollar stakes involved, and the images you use should reflect that. You do not need to invest thousands of dollars in a high-end SLR camera; however, your camera phone just doesn’t cut it to take professional-grade photographs. Purchase a decent camera that takes shots with at least 5.1 megapixel capability, with storage cards for easy ‘reloading.’
2) Take a lot of pictures.
And I mean a lot. Hundreds if necessary. Try them with and without the flash. Take pictures from a variety of angles, even if it means just moving a few inches over. There’s no additional cost involved if you bought the right camera in choosing which pictures to use, so give yourself plenty to choose from.
3) Only take outside pictures on a sunny day. Outdoor shots should be bright and cheerful, not with the sky dark and gloomy. Wait a few days, the weather will change, and you can do the outside shots at any time of the day – but make sure you do so when the sun will be behind you, and make sure your shadow isn’t showing in the pictures!
4) Use your flash unit sparingly, if possible.
The glare that can come off of surfaces you hadn’t even thought of can ruin a shot. Be sure to take shots in rooms with lots of windows and mirrors on angles so the bounce-back from the flash doesn’t show up.
5) Buy a decent image editing program.
This software is available at anywhere from $99 to thousands of dollars, but you do not need to have the high end software for your purpose. You can create contact sheets with even the lower end software and involve the client in choosing which pictures you will use.
If you follow these basic pointers on taking photographs instead of snapshots, you will put in your arsenal an important tool for selling homes more effectively. A picture says a thousand words, so the adage goes – and it’s true!