Importance Of Professional Photography

95% of today’s buyers shop for homes online and the Internet is a visual marketing medium. Therefore, the way your home appears on the Internet is going to have a direct impact on the number of appointments you receive and the ultimate success of the sale of your home.

Consequently, quality professional photography needs to be an integral component of every home marketing plan.

The Benefits Of Professional Photography 

A picture is worth much, much more than a thousand words. According to one marketing study, people process images 60,000 times faster than words and they remember images better, and for longer periods of time, than words.

Photographs are the buyer’s first impression of a home. Remember: “You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression.” According to a NAR survey, most home buyers got their first glimpse of the home they ultimately bought on the Web.

Buyers scan the photographs before anything else. There are thousands of homes online competing for the home buyer’s attention. As home buyers scroll down the numerous web pages of listings, interesting and attractive photographs are the key to making them stop and seek more information about a home.

Online photographs allow buyers to “virtually visit” homes. The photographs will either get buyers excited to visit the home or they will cause buyers to eliminate the home from consideration.

The manner in which your home is displayed on websites is essentially your home’s online resumé and, just as with your personal resumé, having an attractive professional photo accompany the resumé is extremely important.

Would you use your driver’s license photo in your resumé?
Of course you wouldn’t but using poor quality snapshots to sell your home, instead of professional photographs, is equivalent to using your driver’s license photo to secure a quality job.

Fundamentals Of Quality Real Estate Photography

1. A home must be properly staged prior to the photo shoot.

2. To create dimension, depth and appeal, exterior photos must be shot from an appropriate elevation and angle. Standing at the curb directly in front of a home will, most likely, not result in a photo that will pique a home buyer’s interest.

Exterior photographs of the front of a house should be shot at the same elevation as the front door, (or slightly higher). Extreme uphill, extreme downhill, or cockeyed angle shots will discourage buyers from considering the home.

3. Quality photographs need to be properly aligned. The walls of the rooms must line up with the sides of the picture frame.

4. Wide angle photography is essential for interior photographs. Interior photos must display the entire room and all of its features (i.e. skylights, cathedral ceilings, architectural details, etc.). The only way to capture the “whole room” is with wide angle photography.

5. Proper lighting is essential. Exterior photos need to be shot at the proper time of the day (not at the photographer’s convenience).

And interior photos, (especially wide angle photos), need supplemental lighting to eliminate dark areas or shadows and to ensure the colors display correctly online.

6. Multiple photographs are expected. Most online home buyers won’t even consider listings that don’t display 15 - 30 photos.

As a matter of fact, homes that display a very limited number of photographs create the perception that
      a) The home doesn’t have anything worth featuring
      b) Or something is deliberately being concealed.

NOTE 1: A portfolio of professional architectural photographs cannot be compared to “a few snapshots” taken by an amateur.

NOTE 2: Expensive cameras & smart phones don’t necessarily take good photos. Professional photographers do.

NOTE 3: Quality photographs are so important that homeowners should be wary of any agent who is not willing to pay a professional photographer to shoot the photos of their homes.

SUMMARY
Homes displaying poor quality photos are perceived as poor quality houses and, as a result, poor quality photos encourage lowball offers.

On the other hand, quality photographs attract attention & create interest.

So in the end, quality photos could result in thousands of additional dollars in the sale price (& in your pocket).

READ THIS ARTICLE - Plan Ahead - Shoot Your Exterior Photos When The Time Is Right - Take Your Outdoor Photos When Things Are In Bloom

© Copyright 2007 Bill Boeckelman Publications