Why is it so important to get photography correct?
With the sheer number of available properties competing for market share, a tenant’s decision to create a short list of potential properties is often made on the strength of the main marketing image – therefore it’s imperative to get it right first time – and that’s before you take in to account the council tax and utility bills that are racking up whilst the property remains empty!
Attraction of the best tenants and a fast, empty property turnaround is vital for a hardworking investment and a high standard of advertising is key to all three.
For example, take a look at the below images. Both of the properties are in the same development, Ropewalk Court in Nottingham City Centre. So, of these two identical properties both at the same price range – which one would you shortlist to view if you planned to view multiples on the same day?
As you can see, this imagery is dark and the camera quality is low. This photo has obviously been taken on a mobile phone and does not fill the frame, therefore not making the most of the available resources. This photograph does not give the viewer a clear and accurate picture of what the living room in the property looks like.
This picture, taken from our website highlights how the correct lighting and a good camera can make a huge difference, by making the property look much more inviting, light and easy to view.
How we make sure our imagery is spot on
To make sure we take the most inviting photographs, we use the following equipment and software.
- A Canon 6D full frame DSLR
- Canon 17mm – 40mm L series lens
- Manfrotto adjustable tripod
- Photoshop and Lightroom for editing and adjustments.
We find this equipment gets the best results and if you fancy doing the photography yourself then we’ve put together some do’s and don’ts that we like to follow to ensure you’re doing it right!
DO:
- Make sure the room is nice and tidy before photos are taken – including making sure the toilet seat is down.
- Have all light bulbs working so the room doesn’t have any harsh shadows.
- Curtains all open and any nets/blinds opened or moved.
- The garden should be clear from any items with the lawn mowed and bins out of view. – repainting fences and sheds is a good idea.
- Don’t worry about clouds, when it’s too sunny it casts large shadows across the garden, clouds disperse the light and prevents this.
- Make sure that bins that display a house number are out of shot when taking a photo of the front of the property as this can pose a security risk
- Ensure personal and high value items are removed from sight, you never know who is studying the images but from a marketing perspective it is important for a would be tenant to be able to picture themselves in a future home and this is harder to do if it feels as though they are encroaching on someone else’s space
DON’T:
- Take portrait photos, they show up poorly on property portals with black borders either side.
- Use too bright a flash, it casts shadows in the property and can make the room look dark.
- Take too many photos, some listings have 30+ images and it bores people when looking through. Such as photos of flowers, teddys etc.
- Take too few photos, it makes people think the worst about rooms which aren’t pictured
- Worry if a cloakroom photo isn’t pictured, in my experience these are best being excluded unless you have a good-sized cloakroom or something of a very high quality.
But we’ll do all that for you!
So, there’s quite a lot to keep in mind and equipment to buy if you want to take on the task of photographing properties effectively by yourself. The alternative is to go for the easier and stress -free option and get us to do it all for you!
With our expertise in knowing how to do things properly, this helps us to continue to market our client’s properties extremely well and we believe this is one of the reasons we are so successful with getting a fast turnaround of tenants so no property is left empty for a long length of time.
