The photo shoot will take about two to three hours depending on the square footage and exterior features. We will photograph both the inside and outside of the house, including all major rooms, bathrooms, laundry rooms, and walk-in closets. We do not photograph small closets, so these are good places to store things. We normally do not photograph the garage unless it has special features.
If you have special features of your home that are not obvious, please inform the photographer about these so we can include them in the shoot.
Contain pets in the garage or out of sight. Put pet food and water out of sight.
Remove all vehicles from driveways and do not park directly in front of the house.
Move garbage cans so they cannot be seen from the street. In fact, the best place to put garbage cans is in the garage since photos will probably be taken of the entire exterior.
Remove all garden tools, including hoses and sprinklers.
Remove all children's toys from the yard.
Sweep driveways, sidewalks and patios.
Clear off counter tops in kitchen and bathroom areas.
Remove photos, notes and papers from the refrigerator.
Remove any wall hangings that contain legible print. Viewers’ eyes are drawn to print, which will distract them from seeing the space.
Remove all personal photos (such as wedding and child photos). Decorative photos and wall hangings are okay.
Confirm that all lighting fixtures, inside and outside the house, are functioning and have no burnt-out bulbs. All bulbs in a fixture should have the same color (yellow vs blue).
Really want to make rooms appear bright and clean? Switch out all of your orange incandescent light bulbs for daylight-balanced LED bulbs. (Daylight-balanced is important. If the package says "warm," then that means orange, just like the incandescent bulb you're getting rid of, and you won't get the desired effect.) The white light will make all the colors in your house look truer and more natural. The same goes for fluorescent bulbs. Their light is blue or green, and they are often used in closets, which is the very worst place to use them because they will not show the true colors of your clothes. (It's why you have to take your clothes to the window to see what colors you're really wearing.) And yes, there are LED bulbs that fit in fluorescent fixtures. And yes, LED bulbs are more expensive than the old-fashioned stuff, but it's a negligible cost in the overall scheme of things. Plus, with LEDs you'll be able to boast that your lighting is highly efficient and environmentally friendly (none of the mercury found in all fluorescent bulbs, even the little pig-tail ones).
You do not need to turn on all interior lights when photography is scheduled. During photography, the photographer will turn lights on and off as needed. To aid the photographer, remove all timers from lamps.
Turn ceiling fans and televisions off.
Make all beds and tidy bedrooms. Put all clothes out of sight.
Leave shower curtains open so we can see tile and fixtures, if practical.
Remove piles of newspapers and magazines.
Remove or hide power cords, speaker cables and other obvious wiring whenever possible.
Tuck all indoor trash cans out of view.
Inform the photographer if your home contains valuable works of art that cannot be easily removed. We can edit photos to make these items unrecognizable.
Overall, think minimalist. We want to remove as many distractions as practical while still showing how furniture and appliances might fit into the house.