How to use great photography to lift your brand and make more sales

I’m constantly astounded by the poor quality of photgraphs on real estate ads.

Many are taken with cheap cameras on automatic settings. Rubbish bins and broken down cars are common foreground features, even on ads for expensive homes.

These photos sell the home and the agent short. They let everyone down.

Great photography starts with quality equipment used by an expert. Professional photographers are worth their weight in gold. Many specialise in property and know how to get the best possible picture.

Consider having the home shot in low light conditions, either at dawn or dusk. With this type of light home photography becomes a work of art.

Make sure the home is clean and tidy before the photo shoot. Never use the home being tenanted as an excuse.

Any clutter on bench tops and tables will instantly detract from the shot. Hand bags, mobile phones and dirty dishes are a definite no!

Don’t skimp on the number of shots. Practically there’s no limit to the number of photos that can be uploaded to the portals (in reality it’s around 25 depending on which portal), so upload lots. Take a shot of each of the main rooms and from multiple angles, especially the kitchen, living areas, bathrooms and master bedroom.

If you still believe that providing less photos will make people call, I have one word for you. Dinosaur.

That trick might have worked in the eighties. It doesn’t today. If people don’t like what they see online, or they don’t find what they’re looking for, they’ll move on. The few that do call will already have a negative view of your personal brand, so forget about doing business with them.

And please, never, ever, ever load a property to the web without at least ONE photo. There’s no worse look than “Too new to photograph”. Everyone knows that it really means “Agent too Lazy!”

If you want to make a real impression try a professional property video. While they may be a little more expensive the cost is often justified with the extra exposure achieved.

Property videos can be uploaded to your YouTube channel and shared on Facebook. That’s something that rarely happens with photos.

Consider having your photos cleaned up and optimised for the web. There are good reasons for this.

Have you ever noticed how the cover photos on glossy magazines are so crisp and clean and full of detail? Simply, they’re touched up with software such as Photoshop. There’s no need to go to Marie Claire lengths but it’s important the saturation, balance and contrast be adjusted to make the photos stand out. It’s amazing how much an image can be improved with a few tweaks.

Adjusted photos can be used in their high resolution format for print advertising. Good quality, high-res images make property brochures zing!

Always use high-res images for print advertising. Small, low resolution images pixelate when resized to fit large print ads. They look awful!

It’s easy to make an excuse for poor property photography. Don’t! Sharp photography speaks volumes about you and your brand. Make sure it’s saying you’re a true professional.

Image: Marshall White