Pictures That Sell Your House

We’ve often said that pictures are your most important marketing tool, yet most pictures we see on line and in the newspaper aren’t very appealing. They’re either too dark and you can’t see the room, or the shot is poorly composed, or the house isn’t presentable and should not have been photographed in that condition!  Pictures that don’t show your house at its best send buyers to your competition. To create pictures that sell, you and your REALTOR® must work together. Your job is to get the house staged and ready to be photographed. Your REALTOR® is responsible for the pictures.   

To learn about creating better pictures, we talked with two experts, photographers Kirk Gollwitzer of Natural Light Photography in Mill Spring and Barbara Weinkle of TCM in Asheville, a firm that specializes in virtual tours and photographic slide shows. Barbara said that fewer than 5% of the houses she photographs are staged and ready when she arrives, and usually she must make the best of what she finds.

Kirk and Barbara agree that the standard point and shoot camera isn’t up to the job of producing pictures that help you sell. Professional photographers have invested in premium equipment and developed the expertise to create shots that present the house at its best. In addition to site work, they spend crucial post-production time editing the images to overcome problems like inadequate lighting or glare. Professionals know how to work with natural light, as well as how to use equipment to bounce light around a room, illuminating it without creating glare or shadows.

Kirk talked about creating interest with close-up shots or by framing a shot with an interesting detail in the foreground to create depth. Barbara offers the option of editing the image of an important window to insert a separate photo of the view from that window, which otherwise would appear as white glare. These techniques, among others, can transform the standard view of a room into a more attractive and inviting one that will make buyers want to see your house in person. The cost for a professional to shoot the twelve images for the MLS listing is usually less than $125. Options like “enhanced windows” are an extra charge.

Special thanks to Kirk Gollwitzer, Natural Light Photography (828-414-7765) and Barbara Weinkle, TCM (828-712-8159).