How to Prepare a Home for Real Estate Photos
Photographers get about an hour in most apartments. What happens in the twenty-four hours before that hour decides most of what the photos look like.
None of this is about staging the place into something it isn’t. It’s about clearing the noise so the rooms read clearly, and about not spending the appointment moving a laundry basket from room to room, one step ahead of the tripod.
The single best predictor of a good shoot
Not the apartment. Not the light. Whether somebody told the seller what to expect.
The agents who send a short prep note a week out get properties that are ready. The rooms are clear, the bulbs work, the dog is at a neighbor’s. Those shoots run early and the photos are better, because the time goes into angles instead of tidying.
The agents who don’t want to impose say the place is “basically ready” and hope for the best. Then a photographer is standing in a stranger’s kitchen asking whether the dish rack can move, which is an awkward request from a stranger and a much easier one from the agent who sent an email six days ago.
Send the note. It’s the cheapest thing in the entire process.
Less in the room
Decluttering does more than any other single step. Not minimalism, just removing what competes with the room.
Worst offenders, roughly in order:
- Kitchen counters. Small appliances, dish racks, soap, sponges, the knife block.
- Bathroom counters and shower ledges.
- Entryways. Shoes, coats, umbrellas, the pile by the door.
- Open shelving, which reads as visual static in a photo.
- Nightstands and dresser tops.
- Patios, balconies, and yards, which get forgotten until the last minute.
The goal is showing the space, not the storage. A room with fewer objects in it photographs larger, every time, without a wider lens.
One note on where things go: the bathtub is not a closet. It gets photographed. So does the shower. Give the seller a real destination, a bin in a closet, a basket in the car, or the stuff simply relocates to the next place the camera is pointed.
Fix what the camera exaggerates
A camera is less forgiving than an eye. Small maintenance issues that nobody notices at a showing turn into the thing you can’t stop looking at in a photo.
Worth handling before the shoot:
- Dead and mismatched bulbs, which is the most common one by a wide margin
- Loose cabinet hardware and crooked switch plates
- Carpet stains and scuffed baseboards
- Peeling paint and visible patch work
- Broken or bent blinds
- Water stains, mildew, anything in a bathroom that suggests a problem
- Leaves, debris, and dead plants outside
Photography documents a property. It doesn’t repair one. An hour of small fixes is worth more than any amount of editing afterward.
Day-of checklist
- Clean floors, counters, glass, and mirrors
- Every lamp and fixture on
- Bulbs replaced, matching color temperature within each room
- Ceiling fans off: moving blades blur across the whole ceiling
- Televisions and monitors off
- Blinds open evenly, all the way
- Beds made, pillows straight, nothing under the bed that shows
- Shoes, coats, trash cans, pet bowls, and loose cords out of sight
- Toilet lids down
- Personal photographs down
- Cars off the driveway and away from the front of the building
- Patios and yards swept and arranged
The exterior counts as a room
The exterior is often the first frame a buyer sees. Mow, sweep, and put away the hoses, bins, tools, and toys.
For apartments and co-ops, find out early what the building allows. Some let you photograph the lobby, the roof deck, and the hallways. Some don’t. Some require a certificate of insurance and only permit weekday hours. That’s a conversation to have with management before the appointment, not with a doorman at nine in the morning.
Say what matters about the property
Tell the photographer what’s worth the extra frame: the renovation, the view, the terrace, the original millwork, the closet system that cost real money. Also the practical details: parking, access, elevator rules, when the light hits the front of the building.
Nobody can photograph a feature they walked past.
The short version
Clean it, clear it, fix the small stuff, turn the lights on, and tell the photographer what matters. That’s the whole method. The listing photos end up looking like the property on its best ordinary day, which is exactly what they should do.
Related: what sellers should remove before photos and the room-by-room checklist. Outside reading worth passing along: NAR research on how buyers search online and Redfin on staging for photos.
Hudson Heights RES shoots real estate photography, floor plans, and virtual staging across New York City and the nearby metro area, usually delivered the next business day. Packages and pricing, or get in touch to schedule.
National Association of Realtors research on how buyers search online is worth a look if you want the research behind why the photos carry this much weight.
Related reading: the room-by-room checklist, the lighting rundown, and what agents should confirm before booking.
Chris Leary is the founder of Hudson Heights RES, which photographs listings across New York City and the nearby metro area.
