A real estate photo checklist for home owners

Most buyers meet your house on a screen before they ever see it in person, so the listing photos do a lot of heavy lifting. Whether a professional photographer is coming or you are taking them yourself for a private sale, the preparation is mostly on you. The good news is that it is cheap, mostly just tidying, and it makes a visible difference.

Here is the checklist we would work through.

A week or two out

Fix the small things that photos exaggerate

Cameras are cruel to tired details. Before shoot day, look for:

Blown bulbs (and mismatched bulbs, see below)
Scuffs on skirting boards, doors and walls near light switches
Mouldy silicone around the bath or shower
Dripping taps that leave stains in the basin
Wobbly curtain rails and broken blind slats
Sagging gutters or a missing fence paling in the front view

None of these are big jobs, but each one draws the eye in a photo far more than it does in person.

Match your light bulbs

A room with one cool-white bulb and two warm-white ones photographs with odd colour patches. Buy a few bulbs of the same type and swap them in so each room glows evenly.

Start on the garden

Lawns take a while to recover from a mow, and fresh bark or mulch looks better after a few days of settling. Trim hedges, edge paths and clear the moss off the front steps.

The day before

Declutter harder than feels necessary

The aim is for buyers to imagine their own things in the space. Go room by room:

Kitchen: clear the benches almost completely. Hide dish racks, sponges, magnets and paperwork on the fridge.
Bathroom: remove toiletries, bath toys and bins. Fold fresh towels.
Bedrooms: make beds tightly, clear bedside tables, hide laundry baskets.
Living areas: remove excess cushions, remotes, cables and kids’ toys.
Everywhere: take down personal photos and anything with names, addresses or school logos on it.

That last point is also about privacy. Listing photos are public and stay online for a long time, so keep children’s faces, mail and anything identifying out of frame.

Clean the glass

Windows, glass doors and shower screens catch light and show every smear. Clean them inside and out, and do mirrors too.

On shoot day

Exterior

Move cars off the driveway and away from the front of the house
Put wheelie bins out of sight
Open the garage door only if the inside is tidy
Pull the hose away and coil it up
Sweep the deck and front path
Turn on outdoor lights if the photographer is doing a dusk shot

Interior

Open all curtains and blinds evenly
Turn on all lamps and lights unless the photographer says otherwise
Put toilet seats down
Turn off ceiling fans and TVs
Keep pets out of shot (and out from under the photographer’s feet)

Timing

Ask the photographer when they want to come, as the best time depends on which way the house faces. A north-facing frontage often looks best in the middle of the day here, while a house facing south might be better photographed on a bright overcast day. Many photographers prefer a dry day for exteriors, so be ready to reschedule if a front rolls through.

Keep it honest

There is a difference between showing a house at its best and showing a house that does not exist. Good listing photos tidy, light and frame the property well. They do not remove power lines, swap in a fake blue sky over a neighbour’s construction site, or stretch a small room with an extreme lens until it looks twice the size.

Buyers notice when the real thing does not match the pictures, and it sours the first viewing. Licensed agents also have rules to follow on this. The Real Estate Authority’s code of conduct says a licensee must not mislead a customer or client. If you want to understand how agents are regulated and what buyers and sellers can expect from them, the Real Estate Authority has plain-English information, and the government’s Settled site on buying a home shows the process from the buyer’s side.

A few edits are generally fine and expected: correcting white balance, straightening verticals, brightening a dark room, removing a stray power cord. If an edit would change what a buyer believes about the property itself, leave it out.

Doing it yourself

If you are photographing for a private sale or a rental listing:

Use a tripod and keep the camera level so walls stay straight
Shoot from corners at about chest height
Use your phone’s HDR mode or bracket exposures so windows are not blown out
Avoid the ultra-wide setting for small rooms
Take a couple of detail shots: benchtops, a nice door handle, garden beds

There is more on interior and exterior technique in our architecture photography posts.

The final walk-through

Right before the photos start, walk through every room as if you were a buyer seeing it for the first time. Stand in each doorway and look at what the camera will see. Then move that one last tea towel.