There is no denying that photography plays a powerful part for people looking for a new rental. Prospective tenants are drawn to places with good photos and are more inclined to click on a listing and enquire if the photos are of good quality and are appealing. Quality photos can make or break a listing and if your photos are of good quality and look appealing then the chances of finding great tenants are higher and faster.
A lot of people underestimate how effective good photos can be and a lot of the time this is the main reason for why people choose to not look at your listing and go to the 'nicer' looking ones first. Here are some tips and tricks for taking your photos to the next level!
Prepare the space
Whichever room your photographing, be sure to put the time in to clean it first! No one wants to see an unmade bed or yesterdays lunch plate still on the table. A clean and well-presented place/room will do your photos wonders. Here are a few pointers:
- Declutter items that don't need to be there
- Make beds and 'fluff' pillows
- Remove unneeded objects/furniture to make the space more open
- Make sure no people are in your shots (we've seen some creepy examples)
- Dust surfaces and clean floors
- Perhaps add some flowers or plants to the space to give it an inviting and natural feel
Let there be light
Lighting is the key to producing quality photos. Take your photos during the day, turn all of the lights on, use extra lamps if need be, open curtains/blinds. A lot of cameras and smart photos will adjust for bright spots so be sure to focus away from bright areas such as the windows and direct lighting.
When taking the shots
- Use a tripod (if you have one) to eliminate moving whilst taking your photo.
- Get low — By this we mean get closer to the floor and take some of your shots from there. It'll help show the size and space of the room.
- Shoot in landscape where possible as it's a better viewing expense for potential tenants looking at your listing.
- Flash Off — Keep you flash off. Flash lit photos can look cheap and rushed. Go for a better lit rooms over using a flash.
- Angles — For larger rooms you can shoot the entrance to the room front on. For small Blurry photos are not cool
Even though your high-school photography teacher liked your blurred photos of random landscapes — it won't be the same for blurred photos of your place/room.
Keep them clear, well-lit, and sharp. This will portray the room in a much better way and it gives people a better understanding of the general aesthetic of the place/room and it sets their expectations appropriately.
Highlights
Is there something unique about your place? Beautiful timber floors, Outdoor deck? Heritage features? Be sure to include these shots for your listing as it provides a good overview of the property and helps set expectations to the potential tenant
Apps to use for editing photos
VSCO — Free editing app with great presets and editing tools. Download the app here
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom — One of our favourites. It has basic and advanced editing tools but the app comes with free presets which you can use to enhance your photos instantly. We like to use the ‘Bright’ setting in the presets which helps instantly make your photo brighter and well lit. Play around with works for you :) Download the app here
Apple IOS — Editing on your iPhone is underrated and there are actually some great tools for you to edit your photos. Select your photo and then hit 'Edit' in the top right corner to open the settings. For more editing info on iPhones see this article
Android — Editing photos on android phones is also really simple and can be done by tapping 'Edit'. To add or adjust a filter, tap Photo filters. Tap to apply a filter, tap again to adjust. To manually change lighting, color, or add effects, tap Edit and hit the settings icon. For more editing info on Android see this article
