Better Property Photography
Posted by John Durrant on Tue 1st September 2009 at 03:07 PM, Filed in Estate Agents'
Are your skills good enough? Are you missing out?
The fact is that many property photos taken by estate agents do no justice whatsoever to the homes they’re selling. Not long ago it was reported that there isn’t now a town in the UK with an average house price that is less than £100,000, yet the standard of photography used to sell many of these homes wouldn’t be up to promoting cabbages let alone a client’s most valuable financial asset; take a look through Rightmove if you don’t believe me. Despite their importance to the marketing process - photos are usually the very first thing that most potential buyers will look at when deciding which properties to view – it’s truly amazing how many agents give no thought to their photography or are even aware that they are missing out on being instructed to sell their area’s best looking homes because they lack the ability to adequately represent those properties visually.
Most vendors of great-looking homes would rather have their feet roasted against hot coals than instruct an agent with only limited ability to visually get across the essence of the property they are selling and the hard work that they have put into it! Yet many agents turn up to a house with a totally inadequate handbag compact camera and devote no more than ten minutes carrying out one of the most important functions that an agent has, which is also one of the main reasons people use agents rather than sell privately – making sure that their property is visually presented to the market in the best way possible!
You’ll see from these opening paragraphs that I’m not writing these articles to win friends; that’s not what I’m about. My mission is to help those agents who care enough about their housing stock and their own company image, to improve the way they present their homes to the market. Agents who take trouble over their photography will help enhance the way they are perceived as professional marketing people (which is what estate agents are in reality – you’re your clients’ marketing department) as well as their chances of improving their instruction levels. Let’s face it, until a client has used you they cannot know how good an agent you are. The most tangible evidence for them to make their choice between other agents and you is the quality of your property marketing details and your advertising in papers and on the Internet. Cracking photography really can, therefore, help you stand out from the competition so that you’ll attract the best-looking homes; and it will help your homes stand out from those of the competition so that you can attract the best buyers as well!
With this blog I’m going to share with you tips, tricks and techniques that I have used over thirty-seven years as an agent, and latterly as a professional photographer specialising in interiors, exteriors and mast photography; and if you read and use them, I genuinely believe they could help improve your business.
The blog will cover Photographic Equipment, Knobs and Dials, prepping the client, exteriors, and Interiors and Lighting. Read these articles, take them to your heart, put them into practise and you’ll soon see an upturn in your business; I’m absolutely certain of it.
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