No Toilets: 10 Tips for Picture Taking

As a professional photographer and also a licensed real estate referral agent, I frequently come across pictures that do a disservice to the property for sale. Using my photographer’s eye, and my knowledge about what sells a house, I’ve put together some simple tips for agents. Agents, you don’t have to incorporate all of these ideas at once; try one or two to start.

1 ) Keep surfaces neat

The camera picks up every detail. The best idea is to clear all clutter off surfaces before shooting. Have a few decorative items, but no personal ones (ex. Flowers on a kitchen counter vs. dish soap and a sponge).




2 ) Exterior shots should be taken closest to the main part of the house, rather than from the driveway.

A natural inclination is to park your car in the driveway, get out and start taking pictures. Instead, try this idea. A) park your car on the street away from the house, B) instead of standing in the driveway, walk on the lawn to the opposite side of the yard and take pictures there. You don’t even need to have the garage in the picture; what’s important is an attractive shot of the main part of the house. You may want to take many shots so you have options. Finally, try not to repeat the same angle that everyone else has (shots taken from the driveway with part of the realtor’s car etc…).

Also, because exterior shots are very important (generally the reason that buyers look at more pictures or decide to move on), try to only shoot the exterior shots either early in the morning or late in the afternoon, for the best light. Midday light tends to be too harsh. This picture was taken late afternoon/early evening.

3 ) NO TOILETS EVER

In the bathroom, only take pictures of the sink/vanity, and preferably take pictures only of the master bathroom. I generally only take pictures of bathrooms if there is a really nice vanity, if it’s new construction and done very well, or if there simply aren’t many other photogenic aspects of the rest of the house.

4 ) As with most photography, the most important component to a good picture is how natural light is used. I try to never use a flash, make use of the natural light and realize the best pictures are ones where the main source of light is behind you, illuminating the object you are shooting.

5 ) Try to take at least one picture at every angle there is in every room. Go to every corner of the room you are in and take a vertical and horizontal shot. I generally shoot over 100 pictures for a house just so I don’t have to go back and do more shots. I never spend more than 45 minutes shooting a house; what tends to be more time consuming is coming back and reshooting.


6 ) Rooms can be livened up very easily with some staging materials.

I generally try to utilize three fake plants that I bought for under $20. This simple staging also gives the consumer something to focus on, rather than blank walls and floors.

7 ) Just as I mentioned above about the use of natural light, make sure to turn all the lights on in every room, making each room warm and inviting.

Be careful about windows, shoot using that light (with the windows behind you) otherwise the room will be very dark. These pictures below I had simply forgotten to turn n the overhead light.

8 ) When a house isn’t professionally staged, we often come across furniture that is overwhelming, too large for the room.

I take a picture of only part of the furniture (i.e. a corner of the bed) in order to give the essence of the room, rather than the whole piece.

As well, sometimes the feeling of a room can be conveyed in a very small detail.

9 ) I’ve found that buyers like a clear idea of what they are looking at that tells a specific story (example: a warm and inviting living room). These rooms are what the buyer wants to see in order of importance;
*Exterior,
*Kitchen,
*Master bedroom,
*More kitchen,
*Living room,
*Dining room,
*Other rooms as necessary (less is more).

10 ) Photography is a creative art. Use this idea to your advantage. If you don’t have a great exterior shot, (or have a ranch for sale amid the other 56 ranches for sale), take your best picture and use that as your primary shot.

The picture below I have is the primary one for a subdivision project I co-listed. I wanted to show the potential buyers the cathedral ceilings, open floor plan and great use of space this house has which wouldn’t be immediately apparent from an exterior shot.

Have fun and enjoy! Remember to try one idea and work from there, so as not to get overwhelmed.