Nicole Oertel
Hey readers! Nicole here! This post is all about the importance of real estate photography when selling your home in Lake Forest!
Let's take it back a moment first, shall we? I started my real estate career at 19 years old. Sounds crazy scary, doesn't it?! After a few years on that path, I realized that I yearned to do something different and that I wanted to go to school to find what that ‘something’ might be. Believe it or not, I choose Photography! My decision to go to school and my choice of a new career path took me straight to enrollment at the Art Institute of Ft. Lauderdale in sunny Florida!
Now, in today’s world, I don’t think that I’ll find myself back in a darkroom developing film anytime soon. BUT, choosing the path of photography enhanced my artistic abilities, gave me a good eye for detail, and it gave me the ability to create a picture that tells a story. Can you see where I’m going with this?! All of that photography experience translated right over into my career in real estate!
Photos are the first look and the first chance, for a buyer to fall in love with your home before ever setting foot in the door! In real estate, it’s true that a picture is worth a thousand words. Small details or objects in your photos (whether in the background or the forefront) can take a buyer from in love to NEXT in a matter of seconds! In a world where a potential buyer can click a button to be presented with another option, our top priority with the photos for your listing is keeping and holding the interest of your buyers!
Of course, getting buyers to see beyond certain things is another part of our job but when a buyer across the country is looking online at your home we may not have that opportunity. So our approach to your photos is always to start with the best foot forward! Wondering what that entails? Well, it's a lot of "behind the scenes" stuff. Like removing things that are in view of the shot. For example, is a rug covering up a beautiful hardwood floor? Then we may move it out of the way for a photo! Or do you have a gorgeous quartzite countertop but the view is being obstructed by a microwave? That’ll probably get moved around for a photo too! Sometimes it can be little things like small piles of clutter (hello mail that has been sitting there for a week!). Or even a piece of art hanging on the wall that is in a bright distracting tone. Sometimes it can be those luxurious heavy drapes, which can ‘age’ your home in a photo. And let me be clear here - all of this has absolutely nothing to do with your personal taste and everything to do with creating the most enticing scene of your home through your listing photos. In this case, less is more! A potential buyer wants to envision themselves in that space, which means that we have to remove a bit of any pre-existing personality!
Light is another huge aspect of taking photos for your listing! Natural light vs artificial light makes such a huge difference, and a good photographer will already know the importance of showcasing natural light in your space. Turning off the lights and opening up those drapes and blinds will brighten your home and make it look inviting and fresh. This is exactly what you want your listing to look like, especially if you want to sell fast!
It’s proven that listings with professional, high-quality, photos sell faster and more often than not, for a better price, than those with lesser quality photos. Armed with the latest iPhone we all feel like professional photographers, but spend a day shooting listing pictures and you’ll quickly see this is a job where a skilled professional truly makes the difference!