SOLD IN A WEEKEND!

If you are selling your home the first thing you must do is start thinking about how it will photograph. In today's market, people are shopping for homes online before hey ever set foot inside.  Making it easy for buyers to visualize your home starts with quality photographs that give buyers a sense of space, comfort, amenities, and organization. 

Your images will serve as your for sale sign on sites like Zillow and the MLS.  No matter if you are using a Realtor or selling it yourself, you must have stunning images to open the door for your potential buyer.

When you hire a true "Professional Grade" photographer you are making a sound investment for yourself, or if you are a realtor, for your client.  View your photographer's online portfolio and ask his about experience photographing real estate and his partnerships with other realtors first.  A strong group of images will sell your house fast! 

5 Reasons to Hire a Professional Photographer:

• Did you know that listings with professional photos sell for more money? Not only that, but they sell faster.
• 92 percent of homebuyers (according to realtor.org) use the Internet as part of their home search? That means that listing photos are a critical factor — it will determine the selling price of a home, how quickly it sells and whether it sells at all. 
• Professional photography isn’t only about homes ranging above $1 million; this applies to all homes priced at $200,000 or more. It increases the sales price and gets buyers in the door.
• The first impression is essential. If homebuyers aren’t sold on the images, they see online, chances are they will move on. It can also affect their perception of a home prior to seeing it. A good photograph will have a positive emotion associated with the home.
• Emotion drives the homebuyer, give them something to fall in love with!

An experienced real estate photographer will wear many hats.  Many times the photographer and seller have to collaborate and get their hands dirty, moving items, organizing scenes, hiding cords and imperfections and setting up rooms to capture only the best features of a home.

What you get when you hire an experienced professional:

1.  Art Direction- A shoot captures the right images, not toilets or ceiling fans.  Expect about 10 total images.  That's right! 10 interiors and 10 exteriors are all you need.  Anything else is useless.

2. Staging-  A staged home is essential for eliciting that warm fussy feeling in a buyer.  Plus it will sell for more money.

3. Capturing the Right Angles- A professional should be a master of composition and angles.  Professionally lighting areas that need accents should be part of the package.

4. Preparation- Scouting is needed.  A good photographer will scout the shoot days in advance being aware of angles and time of day.  The most beautiful images take a lot of planning to get the right natural lighting, it will also take some waiting around to accomplish.

5. Post Production- The client should receive only the final jpg images ready to upload for marketing.  These will be the best of the best and edited to pull the most impressive elements to the forefront.

Rod Mikinski is a professional photographer specializing in commercial, wedding, portrait and fine arts photography. Serving Tucson, AZ, and Manhattan, KS.