Real Estate Photography Staging Tips
- How to Improve Real Estate Photography: Pay Attention to the Details
- How to Photograph Bedrooms to Enhance Their Appeal
- Composition Tips for Photographing Real Estate Interiors
- Real Estate Photography Tips for Consistently Great Photos
Photo by Francesca Tosolini on Unsplash
Selling a home is one of the most stressful events one can undertake.
That being the case, homeowners often need a little assistance when it comes to getting their homes market-ready. That's where you come in.
Real estate photography staging is never as difficult as buyers think it's going to be, especially if they follow advice from the pros.
So, if you're looking for tips on how to stage a house for photos, give the following quick and easy tips a try.
Don't Forget that Cameras Can See Through Windows
Photo by Bulgac via iStock
As I discussed in this real estate photography tutorial, one of the biggest challenges photographers face is wide dynamic range - super bright windows and darker interior spaces.
When you bracket your exposures and blend them together, you get an image like the one above, in which the room and the view out the window are both well-exposed.
A related problem is that sometimes the view out the window might not be all that pleasant.
From utilitarian items like unsightly walls, power poles, or trash cans to backyards littered with kids' toys to a busy street lined with traffic, there are many things that can ruin that all-important view.
Photo by Francesca Tosolini on Unsplash
So, when staging the home, it's important to remember that the camera doesn't just see what's inside the house, but what's outside as well.
Some well-placed patio furniture, exterior rugs or curtains, fresh landscaping, and so forth can make the view out of the home's windows equally as beautiful as the view inside the home.
Besides, these elements can also help mask less-than-desirable features, and that's certainly better than them being on full display!
Learn More:
Keep Bright Colors to a Minimum
Photo by Francesca Tosolini on Unsplash
I tell all of my clients that their color schemes need to tend toward neutral. What this means is that you can have as many whites, browns, beiges, and other neutral colors as you want, but only one bright color that draws attention to itself.
The above photo is a great example of this concept. The blues in the throw and the artwork pop and bring attention to themselves, but not so much attention that they become a distraction.
Remember - the purpose of interior real estate photography is to highlight the space, not what's in the space.
Imagine if a the footstools in this image were orange or red - it would simply be too much. Instead of looking at the size of the room or the natural light coming through the large window, potential buyers might instead find themselves looking only at the bright, overpowering colors of the furniture.
Quick Tip: One of the most impactful staging tips you can recommend to clients is that they paint interior walls with a fresh, neutral color. New paint has an immediate, positive impact on how a room looks and potential buyers will appreciate that they don't have to take the time to re-paint!
Sweep The Carpets!
Photo by Francesca Tosolini on Unsplash
Obviously, properties need to be neat and tidy when you arrive to photograph them.
But aside from being clean, there needs to be an extra level of attention to detail to make the space pop.
For example, if there are carpets in the room, they should be freshly vacuumed. This removes footprints and streaks from moving furniture around and makes the carpet less likely to draw attention away from the room itself.
In the image above, notice how the area rug is perfectly clean, but also fluffy. Buyers can imagine kicking off their shoes and feeling the softness of the rug under their feet. This might not be the case if it's covered with footprints!
Learn More:
Steam Everything
Photo by Christopher Jolly on Unsplash
The above photo is a perfect example of what not to do...
Those wrinkles on the bedspread don't affect your sleep at all, but they do affect the perspective of a potential home buyer.
This room, instead of looking well put together, now looks like the staging was an afterthought, even though the rest of the room looks quite nice.
Again, it's the attention to small details like this that will make your interior photos of real estate shine.
And don't forget about things like curtains too. Anything that can be steamed to get rid of wrinkles should be steamed!
Quick Tip: In bathrooms, make sure that bath towels and hand towels are neatly folded. This is a small trick, but the clean, crisp lines of a neatly folded towel can go a long way in making the bathroom feel more luxurious and well put together.
Remove Furniture If Need Be
Photo by Eoneren via iStock
Buyers want a home that has good interior space - room to hang out with friends and family without being cramped.
If you're photographing a property that has small rooms, it might be prudent to recommend the seller omits some of their furniture in order to make the room look bigger and have improved flow.
The same can be said for large rooms with too much furniture. Editing the pieces in a room can go a long way toward making the space more appealing.
Besides, if the rooms you're photographing are stuffed with furniture, your job of getting images from varying angles will be that much more difficult!
Learn More:
Staging Tips for Real Estate Photography
Photo by Django via iStock
Though some homeowners might think that staging is a luxury they don't need, as I've shown here, simple, inexpensive fixes can have a lot of positive impacts on how buyers perceive a home.
As a real estate photographer, you only have one chance to help the homes you photograph make a good impression. That being the case, pay attention to the issues raised above and strive to implement these quick staging tips so your images have improved appeal.
Be sure to consult the Learn More links throughout this article for more tips and insights that will help you improve your real estate photography.
