How to prepare property photos for a listing that stands out

Buyers browse listings on their phones, and the first photo decides whether they open the details. That used to mean an hour of preparation before every shoot: tidying up, moving furniture around and waiting for good weather. Today most of that can be sorted out after the shoot. On site, it pays to focus on what can't be fixed afterwards: the framing and the light.

What to focus on during the shoot

• Shoot from the corner of the room. You show more space and the room doesn't feel cramped. Use a wide-angle lens in moderation, otherwise the room gets distorted.
• Hold the camera at chest height. From this height the room looks natural, just as it does when you walk in.
• At least two shots per room: one overall and one detail that sets it apart. The worktop, the view, the fittings.
• Photograph everything, even rooms that look unappealing. Clutter or old furniture is no reason to skip a shot. Buyers want to see the whole layout.

Light and timing

• Open the blinds and switch the lights on. Daylight plus every light in the room. Avoid mixing warm and cold bulbs where you can.
• Shoot interiors during the day, exteriors when the sun isn't shining straight into the lens.
• Don't wait for the weather. A grey sky or an overcast afternoon is no reason to reschedule the shoot.

What you don't need to deal with on site

All of this can be fixed by editing the photo. You save time for yourself and for the owner, who doesn't have to tidy the whole flat for the shoot:

• Clutter and small items on worktops, tables and in the bathroom are removed by the Empty the room · Tidy up edit.
• Old furniture left by previous owners disappears with the Clear completely option. Then you can furnish the empty room.
• A neglected plot gets cleaned up with Tidy the property, and Spruce up the garden takes care of the garden.
• A grey sky becomes blue, blue with clouds or dramatic with Replace the sky.
• Dark photos and blown-out windows are fixed by Improve the light, leaning walls by Fix the perspective.

If the shoot gives you, say, twenty interiors, you don't have to edit them one by one. Batch editing applies one edit, such as the light, to a whole set of photos at once. How many photos fit in one batch depends on your plan. You then review the results photo by photo and download them in up to 4K resolution. A typical edit costs 1 credit, and you don't pay for a result that fails.

The order of photos in a listing

Start with the strongest shot. Usually that's the exterior or the main living area. Then lead buyers through the space as they would walk through the property, and finish outside again: garden, terrace, view. Stagendo follows the same rule when it proposes a video from your photos.

Label edited photos

A tidied worktop or a blue sky doesn't mislead buyers. But for edits that change what the photo shows, such as new furniture or a renovation, let them know it's a visualisation. Stagendo can add a discreet label when you download. Trust is lost faster than it is won.

Quick checklist

• The owner's personal items are out of sight.
• Blinds open, lights on, shot from a corner.
• Every room both as a whole and in detail.
• Clutter, sky, light and perspective get fine-tuned with edits.
• The lead photo is the strongest shot, and the order ends outside.
• Photos with new furniture or a renovation are labelled as visualisations.