As a real estate agent, landing a new listing is a big deal. You want to get everything right so the property will sell fast and for a high price. The listing pictures are vital to your success.
If you make mistakes when taking listing pictures, you might not sell the property very fast. It could also impact the final price the property sells for. It’s best to simply avoid the mistakes commonly made by real estate agents when taking listing pictures.
The first step to avoid the common listing picture mistakes made by agents is becoming aware of these mistakes. Let’s look at the top mistakes made, so you can avoid taking bad listing pictures.
1. Wasting the Best Pictures
Sometimes, agents hire professional real estate photographers, but they don’t use the best pictures. They might decide to use lower-quality pictures instead of the best pictures given to them.
If you hire a professional photographer for listing pictures, ask your photographer which pictures they think are the best. This can help to ensure you use the best pictures for the listing and for marketing the property on social media.
2. Blurry Pictures
If a picture turns out blurry, don’t use it. You only want to use high-quality images for your listing pictures. Any listing with a blurry picture will make you look bad as an agent.
It’s important to make sure you only use high-quality listing pictures. Using a tripod can help ensure you get the best pictures without any worry of blurry pictures.
3. Not Using Light When Shooting Pictures
Without enough light, your listing pictures may not turn out very well. You want to make sure you have additional lighting sources, such as strobes or a flash. It’s best to take advantage of the natural light, as much as possible, but you may need additional light, too.
You should also make sure you’re shooting with the window light and not into it. If you try to take listing pictures into the window light, they will be very low in quality.
This mistake happens when agents try to show off the entire room, but the light isn’t good enough to do so. It can often be better to accept that you might not be able to show off everything in a high-quality way. Of course, adding your own light can help.
4. Not Hiring a Professional Photographer
If you’re not good at taking pictures or you don’t have the time to do it properly, hire a professional. Getting a home sold requires excellent listing pictures. You don’t want to take average or low-quality pictures because you’re too busy.
It might cost a little bit to hire a good real estate photographer. However, it will make a big difference in the images you show off on your listings. A big listing picture mistake agents make is thinking it’s only about this one listing.
When potential sellers start to research you and they see high-quality listing pictures on every listing, you will look great. However, if you only use a professional for some of your listings, they will likely notice the difference. Then, they might question whether you will give them the best pictures or just average pictures you took without a professional.
5. Avoid Pictures of Ceiling Fans
Yes, this happens and it’s a listing picture mistake for sure. Agents will show off a picture of an average ceiling fan. This isn’t a huge amenity for buyers, so don’t take pictures of the ceiling fans on their own.
If the fan is in the picture of the room, there’s nothing wrong with that. If it’s a very unique fan, that’s also a different story. However, if it’s a run-of-the-mill ceiling fan, it doesn’t deserve its’ own picture.
6. Avoid Clutter
Sometimes, there isn’t much you can do if the homeowner hasn’t removed clutter. However, if at all possible, avoid using listing pictures with clutter in them. This includes personal collections and items.
It’s best to have the homeowner remove any personal items, if possible. You can move clutter around, as you take listing pictures, to ensure you get pictures without clutter as the showcase, too.
7. Not Using Drones
While a drone isn’t necessary for every listing, it can be a very helpful tool for many types of listings. If you have a listing with several acres of land, a drone can be very helpful. It can also be used to show off a neighborhood or even just to get a better angle of the property.
Some real estate agents have stopped charging extra for drone shots because they can be so helpful. They want their clients to have all the benefits of drone photography since it can help so much with listing pictures.
8. Using a Fish-eye Lens
While most agents know this is a big listing picture mistake, it still happens, on occasion. It’s rarely a good idea to use a fish-eye lens for listing pictures. This type of lens will distort the shape and the size of the room, which is never a good idea.
Instead, you can use a wide-angle lens to more accurately capture the room. This type of lens will allow you to capture the room without distorting it and making it look larger than it really is.
9. Dating Pictures
You want to make sure you avoid allowing dates to be placed on any listing pictures. This is tacky and can also outdate the property. Buyers will likely be turned off by dates found on the photos. They may also wonder why it has taken longer than normal for the property to sell if the dates are a few months ago.
10. Capturing People in You Listing Pictures
Of course, you know not to take pictures with people in them. However, this happens sometimes with mirrors. You might even capture yourself in a picture, if you’re not careful.
Real estate listing pictures should be all about the property. There should be no humans or pets in the pictures, ever. This can be a huge turn-off for potential buyers, especially if it was an accident and you caught someone in an odd position or making a crazy face.
Watch for pictures around mirrors, framed artwork, and any other reflective surface. You might think your picture is great, but there’s a reflection of you somewhere in the picture.
There are plenty of listing picture mistakes agents make. You can avoid all these mistakes by hiring a professional real estate photographer. If you plan to take listing pictures yourself, make sure you have the proper photography equipment. Also, keep these listing picture mistakes in mind when you’re taking your pictures.
