7 Common Listing Photo Errors and How to Avoid Them

Common Listing Photo Errors

Do you want to put up your home for sale soon? If so, you might have to take photos of your property soon. The question is, how do you do it right?

There’s no right or wrong when it comes to photography, but there are ways to make photos of homes look more appealing. Aside from tips, we’re going to explain common listing photo errors you should avoid.

This way, you can produce enticing photos when you list your property for sale. Here are seven listing photo lapses to keep an eye out for.

1. Poor Lighting

The key to capturing a great photo is lighting. It reflects how accurately you can present pictures while making them look more appealing.

In real estate photography, your lighting affects how your property looks. When you use better light, it makes your space look wider, fresh, and even more comforting.

Professionals recommend using natural light in photos for your property listing. This way, you can capture how the house looks accurately and pleasantly.

If you’re shooting the exterior, find an angle that produces little to no shadows. When you shoot the interior, keep the windows or blinds open to let natural light in. Another tip is to shoot during the day or when the light outside is not too bright or dim.

2. Lack of Photos

Most buyers want to see proper and high-quality photos of a property. But more than that, they also want to see more of it.

Limited photos can make buyers become uninterested, especially if it doesn’t include photos of all the property’s spaces. Moreover, it gets them wondering if sellers are hiding certain parts of the home.

A good rule of thumb is to take a photo of every area you mention in your listing. For example, your listing description says that there’s a master bedroom and a guest room. Even if the rooms look similar, include a photo of both and indicate which is which.

It’s also good to add images of extra spaces that buyers might find useful or interesting, like a balcony or porch area.

3. Misleading Images

Common listing photo errors usually include misleading images. Some sellers take photos of their property months before putting up a listing. If the house changes over time, it makes the listing photos differ from what it looks like in person.

So, you should keep your listing photos up to date. This way, potential home buyers can set their expectations before they visit your property.

Some people also edit their photos to make the property look brighter or more colorful. While this helps, there are instances when it distorts how the house actually looks.

If you want to edit your property photos, these real estate photography solutions can help you focus on enhancing the quality instead.

4. Too Many Close-Up Shots

Many sellers include unnecessary close-ups of different parts and components of the home, from gardens to appliances. But when you buy a home, you most likely want to get an overall view rather than separate photos of each item.

Unless there are major issues with the appliances or structure, you don’t have to take too many close-ups of your property. Shots like these could also make your listing look less appealing.

Instead, focus on taking clear photos of the spaces in the property. Maintain a flow as you go through each of your rooms. This way, you can let your buyers get a feel of it by just looking at the photos of your home.

If you want to highlight other details, you can mention them when they visit or include them in the listing description.

5. Lots of Clutter

Common listing photo errors many sellers want to avoid are cluttered spaces. If you still have personal belongings and whatnot lying around the house, you might want to put them away before shooting. Otherwise, it might interrupt what your buyer wants to see in the space.

Clean and organized photos increase a buyer’s interest in the property. It also affects their first impression, which is crucial when it comes to real estate.

Remind yourself that the goal of your listing photos is to give your buyers a look at what the property offers. So, you don’t have to spend too much time decorating it. If so, you can consider cleaning it as well.

6. Low-Quality Photos

Some sellers don’t own cameras to take photos of their property with. Even so, you should aim for high-quality images when you take listing photos.

A few things to note when taking photos of your home are as follows:

• Balance light and color
• Avoid grains and shadows
• Keep everything in focus
• Take it within a good distance

You can look up editing tools online if you want to enhance how the photo looks quality-wise. When you do so, be sure to avoid correcting it too much that it looks different from the actual thing.

You can also consider getting real estate photography services that offer access to home advertising tools for better leverage.

7. Choosing the Wrong Lens

If you intend to use a camera when you shoot the photos, you might want to consider using a different lens. Using the wrong lens can affect how your photos turn out and may distort what the property looks like.

Experts suggest using a wide-angle lens if you want to capture the entire space with accuracy. Compared to others, a wide-angle lens includes areas that regular cameras usually cannot reach. Moreover, it does so without distorting or enlarging other parts of the photo, unlike a fish-eye lens.

Prevent Common Listing Photo Errors to Produce Better Listings

Aside from a fair home price, most buyers pay close attention to a property listing’s photos. Potential buyers might consider checking out the house if your listing photos appeal to them.

It helps to know the common listing photo errors to prevent them from affecting the quality of your photos.

You can learn more about these topics by checking out the rest of our blog!