"Are professional photos worth it?" This is the question most homeowners and realtors ask themselves when selling their home or taking on a new listing. The short answer is YES!
It is very much worth the time and money to get great quality photos taken.
Now, if that's all the reassurance you needed, great! Go ahead and book your appointment with a credible photographer right now! Shameless plug: a great company for professional photos is Sharp Eye Visuals if you are looking for one. If you would like to find out more about why professional photos are worth the investment, then by all means keep reading.
Grab the Home Buyers Attention
According to National Association of Realtors, 90% of home buyers have searched online at some point during their home buying process. If you are not trying to grab the attention of that 90%, that is a missed opportunity.
One of the best ways to grab the attention of a buyer online is with nice, clear photos. Below you will see and example of two different photos of two different homes during the same time of the year- which one grabs your attention the most?
Most would agree that the image to the right is way more appealing. This is the difference between professional photography and a photo taken with a cellphone camera. When someone is searching for homes online and see's a professional photo as the main image, it will draw much more interest in to viewing the rest of the images included in the listing. When an entire home is photographed professionally, it highlights all of the great features of the home and entices the viewer to see the home in person.
The photos alone do not sell the home, selling is the job for the home owner/realtor. The photos do get home buyers in the door. Ask yourself, do you want more potential buyers walking through the door of the home you have listed?
Shine the Best Light on You and Your Listings
When it comes to marketing there is plenty of ways to reach more clients, especially with professional photos and videos. Facebook is a terrific platform to market your company, your listings and your brand as long as you are putting in the time and effort to making all three the best they can be. If you post sub-par photography and listing information, people will not hesitate to compare you to the competition ( e.g. other realtors and/or listings.) More likes and views means more potential buyers! As you can see, everything flows down river starting with what people see.
At Sharp Eye Visuals, whenever a client buys any of my packages, they come with a wealth of marketing material. To start, there are clean and crisp professional photos. There is also the virtual tour. Some people will say they have used virtual tour players in the past but I would say for them to check ours out! These virtual tours are perfect for posting to Facebook and sending in emails. We offer both the branded and non-branded versions to post to the MLS boards.This feature offers a great experience for the viewer both visually and functionally.
Additionally, all of the photos taken and selected for the listing are arranged into a beautiful slide show. All of the property information and amenities are listed, which includes the listing agents contact information.
In addition to the pristine photos, virtual tour and detailed listing information, we include flyers as well. The flyers show a couple of the photos along with the property information/ amenities and agent information. These are perfect for printing out and sharing at open houses or leaving by the front door of your agency.
The largest part of our packages is the walk-through video combined with aerial footage of the property. These aerial views taken with a drone are an amazing way to show off the surrounding area of the home. The walk-through videos offer a realistic view of the home when it comes to social media, a video is the best attention grabber even above photos since it is an easy way for viewers to engage with the realtor.
Among those mentioned, there are an array of other top-notch services that Sharp Eye Visuals offers. If you're looking to gain more followers and sell more properties, please think about the increased potential by just getting professional photos and videos done!
Even Vacant Homes Can Look Sexy
"Sexy" isn't really a word to use when it comes to homes, but hey, it probably grabbed your attention! Sometimes vacant homes can be a bit of a pest to sell especially with non-professional photos. Homes with no furniture in them make it hard to get a good perspective on the size and depth of a room. Of course, there is a solution to this problem!
First, professional photos are still important to have taken. A seasoned photographer will be able to show the true potential of the empty rooms and enhance their features by using a flash. Some editing of the image to bring out the best aspects of a space can be done as well. Although this is a good start, the second part of this solution is where things really make a huge difference.
Second, have your professional photos be virtually staged. What is virtual staging you ask? Virtual staging is the process of adding virtual furniture and fixtures to a still image. This is an extremely cost efficient way to give perspective of rooms size and allow home buyers to better visualize the space. By the way, when I mention cost efficiency, I am referring to the price comparison of physically staging a home which can be hundreds upwards of a few thousand dollars vs. virtual staging, which at Sharp Eye Visuals we do for just $35 a photo. You might be wondering, "what does virtual staging look like?" I provided some examples below. Click through to see the before and after a virtually staged room:
Virtual staging makes a huge difference in the lackluster feel of empty space to the vibrancy of a photo with complementary furnishings. In addition to looking good there are some other great benefits to virtually staging a home. Check them out:
83% of staged properties sell for the asking price or higher.
Offers better visualization for the buyer to see the potential of a home.
Homes that are staged sell 75% faster than those that are empty.
I am often asked if if the same photographer needs to take the photos and stage the home. The answer is no! A photographer can simply take the photos and go else where for the staging (coughcough Sharp Eye Visuals coughcough.)
Time To Wrap This All Up
There are so many beneficial reasons to having professional photos and videos taken
of your listings. From bringing in more traffic to your properties to gaining more followers on social media, hiring a professional real estate photographer is a great way to truly show off a home and and help you sell! I hope that you found this article helpful. If you have any questions please feel free to send me a message:
Tom Feis
Owner, photographer, videographer, drone pilot
tfeis@sharpeyevisuals.com
