Declutter, minimize and pay attention to details. Are there lights burned out? Has all evidence of animals, such as food and water dishes been hidden? To assist in the details, we have provided a checklist. Click here to access.

With every home, there is an optimal time of day for photography, based on the position or arc of the sun. We have a program that tracks this arc so we can predict where light and shadows will be. For a simple approach to this, if you were to stand at the front door of the home with your back to the door, what direction are you facing? If you are facing to the East, you would want an AM shoot. If you are facing South, either morning or afternoon will work well but just avoid the noon hour. If you are facing West, it would be best to do the photography in the afternoon. If you are facing North, unfortunately the sun will not strike the front of the home so just avoid the noon hour so the camera is not looking directly into the sun.

Prior to the Photographer arriving, turn on every light in the home. Floor lamps, table lamps, anything with a lightbulb should be turned on. Remove shoes and coats from the entry. Remove any vehicles from the driveway. Hide any evidence of an animal in the home like food and water bowls. If there are things that you will not want in the photographs, please remove them and place them in closets or the garage. The Photographer will do their best work if there is nobody in the home. If the homeowner cannot leave as in they work from home. Plan on staying in your “home office” during the shoot and the photographer will photograph your office last.

It is best if, prior to the photographer arriving, any pets are secured in the garage, taken on a walk or maybe placed in a vehicle. Animals by nature are curious and with a stranger in the home, like the Photographer, they have a tendency to walk into pictures being taken. Some people are adverse to animals so you will want to make sure to eliminate any evidence of animals such as food and water bowls, scratching posts, etc.

This is a new concept that we have put in motion. The originator of any photograph is granted by the US Copyright Office with the copyright or ownership of the image. Typically, within Real Estate, this copyright is passed on to the Agent for the life of the listing. When the listing expires, so does the licensing and use of the image. On occasion, a listing will be cancelled or the listing will expire without the home being sold. In that case, all of the expenses incurred by the Agent, including the investment of photography expires. In an effort to potentially protect the photography investment, with our new approach, the Agent retains the right for usage after the listing expires for an additional one year so they are free to share the images (yes, this can mean sell) to another Agent or even provide a copy of the images to the homeowner.

For every home we photograph, we provide a Slideshow Tour of the home for use in Social Media or any other outreach for your marketing. We provide you with both a branded link and an unbranded MLS link. This provides extra mileage to the photography of the home that is as simple as a copy and paste of the link. We see a lot of use of this in Facebook and direct email marketing. Take a look at an example of this home we did for a very successful agent.