Do you have a good camera?
I read a blog today that listed a series of questions sellers should ask when interviewing an agent to list their home.
A lot of the info was good and then came THE question:
Do you have a good camera?
Seriously? That’s like asking a carpenter, “Do you have a good hammer?” or a surgeon, “Do you have a good scalpel?”
The actual camera used isn’t as important as the skill of the photographer and his/her LIGHTING equipment. The most expensive camera in the world does not have the dynamic render the light coming in a window and the dark areas of the room. This is why real estate photos typically show dark and dreary rooms with properly exposed windows or properly exposed interiors with ‘atom bomb’ windows and lens flare. It takes skill to adds supplemental light to a room so everything is balanced between the interior and window light without harsh shadows and flash balls in reflective surfaces. ANY camera with a built-in flash will not render proper results.
Quality interior photography is a job best left to seasoned professionals.
The question is ridiculous on its face. The very best agents ALWAYS use professional, architectural photographers. Revlon has never used an ugly woman in an advertisement, heck they never even use ‘average’ women in their ads.
NAR reports that nearly 100% of buyers reported that the first exposure they had to the home they purchased was ONLINE. Every penny of the budget to market a home should go into a compelling online presentation and that means photos – the very best that you can get. Anything less simply hobbles your sales efforts. It makes less than zero sense to make your listing look anything less than perfect and amateur photos do just that.
Buyers want to be blown away – they’re looking for homes that reflect the images they see in magazines like Better Homes and Gardens, Dwell, Country Living, Architectural Digest, and yes, even modest homes benefit from excellent photography.
Any agent that says, “I can’t afford good photography” is either lying or uninformed.
