How to Prepare a House for Photo Day
To prepare a house for real estate photography, you should follow these steps:
Declutter and depersonalize the space by removing personal items such as family photos, collections, and excess furniture.
Clean the house thoroughly, including dusting, wiping down surfaces, and vacuuming or sweeping the floors.
Make sure all lights are working and turn them on for the photo shoot.
Stage the rooms to highlight their best features and create a warm, inviting atmosphere.
Take care of any repairs or touch-ups that are needed, such as fixing leaks or painting.
Consider hiring a professional real estate photographer with experience and knowledge to take high-quality photos of the property.
Finally, consider hiring a stager to help you with the staging process if you are not familiar with it. They can help you make the most of your space and highlight it's best features.
In addition to the steps above, if the house is empty and doesn't have any furniture, you may want to consider virtual staging. Virtual staging is the process of using computer software to add furniture and decor to an empty room in a photograph. This can be a cost-effective way to make an empty home look more attractive to potential buyers.
Here are some steps to follow for virtual staging:
Take high-resolution photos of each room in the empty house.
Choose a reputable virtual staging company or a professional with experience in virtual staging.
Provide the company with the photographs of the empty rooms and any specific style or design requests you may have.
The company will then use software to add furniture, decor and accessories to the rooms, creating a virtual representation of what the space could look like fully furnished.
Review the final images and request any necessary changes or adjustments.
Use the virtual staged images in your listing, website, brochures or any other marketing materials.
Keep in mind that virtual staging is not a substitute for good photography, it's only an addition to it. The quality and composition of the initial photograph is important to showcase the best features of the property.
