The Value of Great Photographs
If you’ve never been one to need professional photographs for anything, you may not realize just how different a poor-quality photo is from a truly well-taken shot. When generating photos for your rental listing, you aren’t just helping the client to understand what the rental looks like. You are helping them to see themselves there, while also justifying the reason why the rent is at the level where you’ve set it.
As you establish yourself as an investment property owner, you want every single property to have a reputation for excellence, which will support your pricing structure over time, allowing you to maximize profit.
You want to be the most competitive rental application in town, right? If you have your pick of tenants, you can say “yes” enthusiastically to those who are likely to stay long-term, pay on time, and keep the property in good condition. Great photographs will help you get great tenants, so use these tips to ensure you are at the top of your game.
- Hire a Professional Photographer – You’ll be glad you picked someone with a good command of light, shadow, and exposure in photographs. The right professional will help you make even an average rental property look luxurious and inviting.
- Stage the Space – This isn’t possible for every single rental, but if you can, take pictures while the rental is furnished with simple furniture and zero clutter. This effort is especially valuable if your furniture makes it hard to see just how big and roomy it is.
- Draw Attention to Details – Your potential renters are looking at a lot of photographs of empty rooms; include some photos that note the details, from the beautiful backsplash in the kitchen to your favorite design features on the front of the building. Including pictures of your favorite details can also contribute to an overall story about your property.
- Maximize Natural Light – While your professional photographer can certainly “manufacture” acceptable light, your property will shine at an hour or two before sunset, the “golden hour.” If you need to shoot during the middle of the day, throw wide those curtains and let the sunshine in; the rooms will look much better if renters can see clearly that the claim of “lots of natural light” is true, according to HGTV.
- Reduce Wasted Time With a Standard Shot List – Many companies need to shoot new properties quickly, and making sure that customers can compare before they apply can become a high priority. A great tip from Expert Photographyis to come up with a standard shot list that will fit for each potential property you need to photograph. Checking items off the list ensures that everything gets covered.
- Encourage the Use of Flash and Distortion Editing – Photographers will let you know that it can be hard to get an entire room to look great with only natural light or overhead light. They will want to use a flash, sometimes bouncing off a white wall behind them, to get the best possible lighting. Even with the best efforts at the moment, there may still be some distortion in a shot of a room, where each of the items in the room is closer to or farther away from the camera. Make sure you invest in enough photo edits to make those already-good photos into great ones.
- Use, but Don’t Abuse, the Magic of Photography – Your photographer will know some tricks and tips to make rooms look larger, brighter, and nicer than they really are. Some of these tips will add just enough glamour to draw someone in to see the apartment; others will leave people disappointed that the rental property isn’t what it seemed to be. Make sure that, if you were a tenant applicant, you wouldn’t be dissatisfied with the “real thing” after seeing the photos.
- Especially Early On, Aim for More Photos Than You Need – Economy isn’t a virtue when you are shooting pictures for a rental listing; yes, the standard shot list helps you move quickly and confidently, but new listings need a lot of attention. You may discover that certain angles diminish the look of the rental, and if all your shots are from that angle, you’ll end up frustrated. Encourage your photographer to use all their skills to get a diversity of photos, so you have options to choose from.
Want a Sure Thing For Your Rental? Hire a Trusted PM Company
Even with this list of tips, taking your own rental photographs can seem daunting. Property management professionals like Uptown Dallas Properties know their way around rental photographs, leasing agreements, and property maintenance, which means we can offer an efficient, useful way to get your property leased successfully.
Are you interested in speaking to a property management professional? Learn what services we can offer you to grow your investment today! Contact us today for a free consultation.
