There are a ton of marketing tactics you can use when listing a property for rent. One of the most valuable is using images and videos. People want a clear picture of what you are offering for lease, and there’s no better way to show them than through images. While anyone can take a picture, there are strategies you should keep in mind to ensure your images are depicting the most notable features of the property.
Want to take better rental listing photos? Check out our go-to guide for increasing your rental’s exposure using quality images.
Reasons to Invest in Quality Images
We’ve got a number for you to remember: 94%. What does this mean? Well, listings peppered with images receive 94% more views. Just adding photos to your listings isn’t quite enough. You need pictures that accurately depict your rental and entice viewers to take a second look.
Quality and quantity are both crucial when using images to market your property. Prospective tenants want to look at as many pictures as possible. Depictions of each room are ideal, as are lots of photos of the property’s exterior.
High dynamic range (HDR) photography will complement your marketing efforts and has a significant impact on being able to keep your vacancy cycles to a minimum. With quality images, can showcase your property in the best light possible.
4 Ways to Take Better Rental Listing Photos
Maximize Your Lighting
Lighting plays a vital role in how well your images turn out. You need proper lighting for each photo you take. The best pictures are captured during the daytime when there is a lot of natural light. However, not all rooms have windows, so you must create your own light in those rooms. You’ll also need to adjust settings on the camera, regardless of the room you occupy.
Always remember that digital cameras naturally adjust themselves to the brightest light; the rest of the image is going to appear somewhat dark. You must shoot pointing away from the windows to capture the best lighting and to create a balanced photo.
Keep Clutter to a Minimum
Another key to taking the best photos possible is to minimize clutter. You want to show the potential renter all of the space available and how it can be used to their fullest advantage. For example, in large rooms, make sure to showcase large couches to give them an understanding of the size of the space. In small rooms, keep furniture to a minimum to ensure the room looks uncluttered.
Most importantly, make all beds and remove dirty laundry or any random items lying around. Clutter impacts the quality of the image because you have light bouncing off objects; this can cause an image to look blurry.
Stand in the Corner of the Room
You want to ensure potential renters can see every bit of space that a room has, so take photos from the corners of each room. From there, you can pick which two pictures provide the best views.
Each image should have only two walls in it, as well as only a bit of the ceiling and just a tiny view of the floor. When you include more than two walls in a photo, it ends up making the room look smaller.
Hire a Professional Photographer
The easiest way to produce quality images for your rental listings is to hire a professional who excels in taking photos of rental properties. This person will understand the complexities of photography. They can capture your property’s most notable features and amenities in each photo.
A professional photographer will know the right way to stand when taking photos and what angles will best enhance them. For example: If the home features an indoor balcony area that overlooks a large living room, the photographer will know to shoot from the balcony area that looks down into the living room; this is the best way to highlight the view from the balcony to the space below.
Hire a Property Management Company
Another simple way to ensure you end up with quality photos is to hire a property management company to rent your listing for you. The property management company can handle all aspects of the rental cycle, including taking photos, marketing the property, screening tenants, performing maintenance and more.
If you’re getting started as a landlord and looking for a Dallas property management company to take photos of your property? Contact us today for a free consultation. You can also download our free “Guide to Finding the Best Dallas Property Management Company” for helpful information you can use to interview property management companies in Dallas, TX.
