With nearly all buyers beginning their home search online, you already know how important listing photos are for getting your listing noticed. You already know the lessons about avoiding images on a cloudy day and making sure not to get your reflection in a mirror. Making your listing photos stand out requires only a few simple enhancements to really gain attention and get your listing noticed.
If you’ve ever been disappointed that the color in your picture doesn’t match the reality, you’re not alone. A few simple edits with color enhancement, either through filters or a more complex edit with editing software, like Photoshop, can bring those colors to life and make them look as vibrant on the screen as they do in real life.
You do your best to take pictures on sunny days but sometimes the weather won’t cooperate. A seemingly simple change is to swap the gray sky out for a blue sky. Other colors and filters may need to be used to make it look more natural but the overall image will look much better and more eye-catching for potential buyers.
Did your images come out a little dark? Are some details missing? With better and more vivid lighting effects, your images will look more striking. The colors will also be more realistic and potential buyers can focus on the details of the home. No more clicking away because the pictures don’t do a listing justice.
While pictures should be taken during the day with the best lighting, an evening sky at dusk is absolutely beautiful. Just like a cloudy sky can be swapped out for a blue one, so too can dusk be added in. Of course, the lighting and colors have to be adjusted so the image looks natural, but it’s worth it for the beauty of the image.
Did you take a picture with a personal effect that doesn’t need to be there? Editing lets you take it out. Are you trying to market a vacant home and the owners can’t afford staging? Virtual furniture can be added to an image to give an idea of what a home will look like filled with furniture.
If you love editing photos and you’re good at it, use whatever software you love to enhance your images. Most real estate professionals don’t have that kind of time or know-how. Companies like BoxBrownie.com offer these image enhancement services as well as others. You can have better looking images without a lot of hassle or stressing out about how to do it yourself.
One word of caution before you edit and enhance your listing images. The final product should accurately reflect what the property looks like. Don’t allow a key feature to be removed or change the colors of the interior or exterior. Image enhancement should be used to make a photo look more like the real thing when it’s at its best. Do too much editing or change something in a drastic way and you could be accused of false advertising.
The images you use for your listings can be what makes the difference between multiple showings and being ignored online. Taking high quality photos is only the first step in the process. When needed, the next step is to make those pictures as clear and beautiful as possible so potential buyers can’t help but click on your listing.
Former Communications Director for a local Realtor Association and a big cheerleader for all things real estate related, Michaela is now a full-time freelance writer specializing in real estate and other business industries. When she's not writing the serious business-y stuff, she's likely to be found writing about the hilarity of being a Mom to two rowdy boys.