What do your listing photos say about your level of professionalism as a real estate agent?

Not only is the listing, AND the photos in it, your most important tool when trying to sell a home, but it also demonstrates the kind of professional you are. If you’re interested in gaining new clients, you need to put your best foot forward. Not news, right? But have you thought about this? “The real estate listing” your potential client’s first and possibly only chance of meeting you, AND the first and possibly last chance you have of selling the home to a potential buyer. Ah yes, that is how important your listing photos are. These are two types of individuals you're trying to reach. 

When you are mapping out your marketing budgets you need to include funds for the one way you can reach the most potential clients and buyers – the real estate listings. When people start thinking about buying a home they don’t necessarily call an agent right away. No, they hit the internet and start browsing listings. If your listing is appealing enough, there is a chance they will call you. Ta daa! I can’t stress enough what a great marketing tool your listings “can” be. But you have to utilize them in the most optimal way or they could actually be working against you. 

I will work with you, as your partner, to help optimize the appeal of the homes in your listings. To do this, I will provide you photos that “accurately and completely” represent your homes. I’m also a skilled graphic and layout designer, so I can help you out with that when and if needed. Show potential buyers that you’re serious about what you do - sell homes.

Call me, 602-809-7710 Michelle

To see albums of my work, check out: https://www.facebook.com/mlfrep/photos_albums
Remember: There’s a house for every buyer, and a buyer for every house…
Pricing for MLF Photography & Design

There’s a house for every buyer, and a buyer for every house…

But if you don’t optimize the visual marketing in your listings, that perfect buyer may never see their perfect home.

Some might think that it would be a challenge to sell a home that is run down, dated or in a not so ideal location. But you'd be working against yourself if you didn’t consider the diversity of buyer’s wants and needs. Sure a home in one of these conditions is not going to sell for the same price as a home that is move-in ready, but it will sell. That is, if it is priced accordingly. There is no reason why a home in one of these conditions shouldn’t get the same amount of attention from you. If you sell it, and quickly, you’re still going to make money, and that’s why you do it, right? So give me a call so that we can show potential buyers a home they can make their own! 602-809-7710 Michelle

*Note: these statements are made with the assumption that the house is in a clean and safe state. And only refers to the offerings of the home.

**Remember, buyers are a diverse bunch. What may appeal to one might not for another and vice versa.

Pricing for MLF Photography & Design

Real Estate Photography: Don't blow your first impression!

If you're a real estate agent and are trying to sell houses in the Phoenix, Arizona metro, give me a call at 602-809-7710. The photos in your real estate listings are crucial. Don't blow your "listing's" first impression!

5) Unrealistic representation due to photo manipulation

I’m going to try to make this short and sweet. I’ve seen “professional” photos on listings that are just hard to swallow. In the back of my mind I’m wondering, “just how accurate is this representation? If I were to go to this house would I be disappointed? Would that space seem smaller or narrower?” You’ve seen these photos. The ones where the rooms seem to go on forever and you’re thinking, “This house is so spacious! How can all this be in a 2200 sq ft home???” All I can say is “smoke and mirrors.” This issue occurs when the wrong kind of lens is used or used inappropriately. When you are trying to sell a home, you need to be representing your homes as accurately as possible. This all goes back to my thought on “not wasting everyone’s time.” The other issue of manipulation, is that, which comes from the mis-use, in my opinion, of post-processing software. When used correctly this kind of software returns a positive outcome by creating an image which mimics what you see with your own eye. However, it can also act as an engine for the “smoke and mirrors” tactic when used improperly. You don’t want to become known as the “deceptive real estate agent.” So let’s keep it real. 

The photos I take for you will show the home in a positive light and be accurate in spacial representation. Potential buyers will be able to get a real feel for the home and hopefully be able to picture themselves in it! 602-809-7710, Michelle

 
To see photos from my most recent listing shoot check out: https://www.facebook.com/mlfrep/photos_albums

In rhythm with the last 5 articles is this one:

AGENTS: Never list your homes with inadequate photos, or worse, no photos at all.

4) From “too many photos of a given space” to “just the right amount of photos for a given space”

So we are over the hump in this series of articles. We are now on problem #4 “Too many photos of a given space.” Keep in mind, this topic could be looked at as subjective. This opinion comes from my perspective as a consumer who has looked at hundreds of listings in search of a house that has what I’m looking for. So here we go.

Ok, listen. If you have an average size home to list, you do not “need” sixty, yes 6-0, photos of that home. I’ve thought a lot about this and I really can’t see that “ever” being necessary. Unfortunately, I have seen this many times. And in those times, I have found myself after five photos, or more, of the same space saying, “enough of the kitchen already, I get it,” or “enough of the pool, it’s nice, let’s move on.” There is no need to take a photo from every angle of a space/room. All you’re going to do is confuse or bore the potential buyer. Believe it or not, this is one time where a little goes a long way.

 
With that said, the final photos you use need to accurately and completely represent the home. You’ll want to show good spatial perspective and overlap to help identify the floor plan layout as well. And that is what I will provide you. With your goal being to sell a home, my goal is to give you photos of every space, giving the buyer a feel for the home and how it will work, or play, best for them. Enlist me to your team and I will help you sell that house! 602-809-7710 Michelle

Click the following link for reason #5 to "How and why I got into real estate photography": 5) Unrealistic representation due to photo manipulation

3) From “a less than adequate collection of photos” to “a complete collection of photos”

I feel like a Negative Nelly pointing out the negative issues of real estate listing photos. But if I’m going to help anyone, I believe it is necessary. This leads us to issue #3 “Less than adequate collection of photos.”  

If you were online looking at a new car, and you didn’t see a picture of the inside of the car or the storage space of the trunk, what would you think? Think about that for a moment. If they are not showing you some aspect of the car what are they saying OR not saying? Are they hiding something they don’t think you’ll like? Are they assuming they know every person out there who’s looking at this car? Or did they simply forget to include those photos? The same questions can apply to the house you are selling. The point is, you don’t know what each buyer is looking for. It’s true, what they are looking for may not be in this house, but that’s not going to change just because you DIDN’T show them some aspect of the house. Give the house a chance. When the house was built originally it obviously appealed to someone. It’s not like you’re trying to sell a dead plant. No matter what you think of the house, if it’s clean and in safe condition there is a buyer for the home.  

With that said your best bet for finding the right buyer, is to “accurately” and “completely” show the home. I can help you do that. I don’t limit the number of photos I take or give you. You will receive photos of every space and they will be in a tour-like order. Check out some on my sample listing photos, https://www.facebook.com/mlfrep/photos_albums, and give me a call. 602-809-7710 Michelle

 

*Remember, buyers are a diverse bunch. What may appeal to one might not for another and vice versa.

Click the following link for reason #4 to "How and why I got into real estate photography": 4) From “too many photos of a given space” to “just the right amount of photos for a given space”

2) From “Bad Perspective” to “Good Perspective”

Let’s talk about probably the most obvious real estate listing photo mishap. That would be issue #2 “Bad Perspective,” from my “How and why I got into real estate photography” posting.

In simpler terms, we are talking about a narrow versus wide shot of a space. It is the difference between seeing a photo of the seller’s furniture versus seeing the room or space the furniture is in. And believe me, it does matter. Your buyers don’t want to see the furniture. They’re not on that webpage looking to buy furniture. They want to see the space and the floor plan of the home so that they can have a better understanding of the flow and functionality. Giving the buyer proper spatial perspective of what the home offers, or doesn’t offer, is going to save you, the potential buyer and the other real estate agent time. Not showing them something in the listing isn’t going to make it go away, and who’s to say that there isn’t someone out there looking for what you’re “not” showing? If the house doesn’t fit, it just doesn’t fit.

By showing photos of each room’s space, the buyers will be able to picture themselves and their furniture in the home. This gives them the opportunity to imagine how they’d use each space. That’s the first step. Then when they see the home in person, they should be “sold.”* That is, if your photos represented the home accurately. And that’s what I can do for you. I will provide you all the photos you need to accurately represent the space of the home. Now check out the sample photos below. 

In the first photo what do we really see? The furniture, right? We have no sense of the space because we can't see the whole room and its surroundings. This photo does not help the buyer get a feel for the home. Therefore, in my opinion, this photo is useless in the selling of this house. In contrast, let’s look at the next photo. Not only can we see the entire space but we can also see some of the surroundings. What this will do is provide useful overlap. Let me explain. When you include tid bits of the surrounding spaces in your photos, it helps the viewer to identify the location of other rooms in relation to one another. This is what helps them see the flow and floor plan of the house. And this is the first step to the buyer imagining themselves in the home. Call me so I can help you achieve this, 602-809-7710 Michelle.
 
*Note: these statements are made with the assumption that the house is priced right or can be negotiated to an agreeable figure, and that it is in a good location in the buyer’s mind. And only refers to the offerings of the home.

Click the following link for reason #3 to "How and why I got into real estate photography": 3) From “a less than adequate collection of photos” to “a complete collection of photos”