When selling your property, an essential element of an effective marketing campaign is a great set of professional photographs.

In most instances, gone are the days where an agent takes their own photos on their smartphone and uploads these to the major real estate portals.

But like any service, you get what you pay for!

I’m very lucky – I’ve used the same photographer for more than 11 years now.

In my opinion, he’s the best real estate photographer in Brisbane and the best part is that his fees are very reasonable.

Before this time, I went through 10-12 photographers over the period of 5 years and I struggled to find someone that was highly skilled, cost-effective, consistent and punctual.

I’ve always been rather picky with the photographers that I’ve selected (some of my team would say a little too picky ) but I know how important it is for the photos to be as good as they can be.

We know the importance of making a lasting impression within the first few seconds of a buyer casting their eyes upon the advertisement…and if the first few photos don’t grab the buyer, they simply won’t come back to the advert.

I can’t tell you how many times we’ve been approached by a seller that has already had their property on the market with limited success…only to list with us and we didn’t start by doing much more than improving the standard of marketing and all of a sudden, buyers (many of which have been in the market for some and didn’t even notice the property for sale previously) have made offers above what the property was first listed at.

So what makes a good photographer and from a sellers’ point of view, what are the things to look out for when choosing an agent based on their level of marketing?

Firstly, it is vital to engage a photographer that does not manipulate the images to make a space to look much bigger than it actually is.

I wish I had a dollar for every time a buyer has told me that they inspected a property with another agent but the rooms were a lot smaller than what the photos suggested – this is a sure-fire way to create unpleasant situation at an open home if a buyer storms out in anger and loudly let’s everyone else at the open home know how unimpressed he or she was about the marketing – I have seen this happen and heard of it happening many times.

If the photographer uses a very wide-angled lens, the photos will usually be quite distorted.

Secondly, it amazes me how few agents will engage their photographer to shoot a property on dusk…a time where the contrast of light maximises the appeal of the property and creates a real depth of colour.

Most properties (usually any with an attractive front facade or rear entertaining area) are prime to be showcased with photos as the sun is going down, and in many areas, I think that agents don’t seem to take the time to think about how a property is best presented as they rush to get the photos taken and then placed quickly on the market so that they can get paid their commission as quickly as possible.

Thirdly, even if the property is best shot during the day, it frustrates me to see how many times the main photo is heavily influence by shade and dark areas as the agent obviously didn’t even take the time to figure out the orientation of the property and the photos were taken at the worst possible time of the day when the sun was in the wrong position.

If you see a property advertised like this, you have a solid clue that the agent couldn’t care too much about the quality of their marketing.

Finally, is every photo complimentary of the property…and are there enough photos to ensure the buyers have a good understanding of many of the home’s features.

There are limitations on how many photos can be loaded onto the main real estate portals but on most family homes, it is vital to have a bare minimum of 17-20 photos that provide a detailed snapshot of what the home has to offer.

You know how human nature works – if there isn’t a good photo of the kitchen, the vast majority of buyers will make the assumption that the kitchen must be a train wreck so it’s vital to include as many different photos as you can.

In saying this, it’s very hard to make a spaces like a separate toilet or an inside of a standard garage look appealing, so we usually avoid photos that don’t provide any positive points for a property.

If you scroll through many internet listings, it’s relatively easy to see the agents that understand the power of as good photographer and quality marketing compared to the agents that don’t have any idea.

An agent who doesn’t take the time to market the property well is very unlikely to be an agent who takes a huge amount of time and effort in negotiating the highest possible price for their sellers so if you’re buying, you may find a few bargains amongst the properties that are poorly marketed.

Until next week, Happy Listing & Happy Selling.