What I Ask Sellers to Do Before the Photographer Shows Up
Photos are where your listing gets its first showing, and most buyers decide in about four seconds whether to keep scrolling. The good news is that the prep work costs very little.
I walk every listing with the seller a week before the shoot and we make one list. Nothing on it is a renovation. It is clearing surfaces, fixing small things, and getting the light right so the rooms photograph the way they feel in person.
Start with the counters and shelves. Kitchen counters down to two or three items, bathroom counters clear, personal photos and collections boxed up. Buyers need to see the room, not the contents.
Then handle the small repairs. Dead bulbs, loose cabinet handles, a sticking door, scuffed paint by the light switches. None of it is expensive, but together it decides whether a buyer reads the house as well kept.
Light does the heavy lifting. Open every curtain, clean the glass, and put matching warm bulbs in every fixture in the room. Mixed bulb colors are the fastest way to make good photos look off.
Give every room one clear job. A spare room stacked with boxes confuses people. The same room with a desk and a chair reads as an office and adds value in the buyer’s head.
Finish outside. Sweep the walk, trim what is overgrown, move the bins out of frame, and clear the entry. The exterior shot is usually the thumbnail, so it is worth an hour.
Do those five things and the listing photos will look like the house on its best day, which is exactly the point.
