21 July 2020

BOXBROWNIE.COM – REAL ESTATE MARKETING HEALTH CHECK EPISODE 2

Introduction:

In this blog, we are continuing our series of Real Estate Marketing Health Checks where we analyze real listings and provide tips and tricks of how the property photography could have been improved. 

As real estate agents, we are often so close to the property that it can take an outsider’s opinion to highlight some key areas of our marketing that can be improved. If a FREE Real Estate Marketing Health Check sounds like something you’d be interested in, you can submit your request via the button below to get started.
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Today, we will be analyzing a live listing for an Alexandria apartment on Zillow, so let’s get started with a few of the property’s key marketing images.

Image 1 – Hero Shot – Building Frontage

1. Vertical lines. With any real estate photography, it’s always a good idea to keep your vertical lines straight. This example is fairly good however the angles are a little crooked which can be distracting for the potential buyer.
2. Horizontal lines. Similarly, always try and keep your horizontal lines straight so the image doesn’t appear crooked. This is obvious here with the slant of the garden beds.
3. Too much blank space. Currently, there seems to be too much of the driveway captured in this shot. By angling the camera up, more of the building could have been captured. 
4. Day To Dusk. By using our Day To Dusk edit, the image could have been transformed to appear like it was shot during the twilight hours. When used as the hero image, this effect has been proven to deliver up to four times more clicks than a standard daytime shot.

Image 2 – Kitchen

1. Heavily cropped. By taking this image a few steps further back, the photographer may have been able to capture more of the refrigerator in frame. 
2. Keep the lights on. It’s fantastic to see the photographer has turned all the lights on both with the main light and the under-cabinet lighting. This ensures the room feels bright and welcoming. The cabinets are also closed and tidy which is great to see.

Image 3 – Kitchen (Alternate Angle)

1. Adjust the angle. By adjusting the angle of the image, the photographer could have captured less of the washer and dryer and more of the doorway to highlight the openness of the apartment.

Image 4 – Living Room

1. Remove unnecessary items. Even when shooting a vacant property, it’s important to remove any unnecessary and potentially distracting items. By using our Item Removal edit, this can be done virtually once the images have been taken. 
2. Open the door. Creating a sense of space and flow when shooting a property is incredibly important. By opening this door, the photographer could have created more of a connection between the interior and exterior living zones. 
3. Adjust the angle. This wall does not need to be captured and doesn’t bring anything to the shot. If the angle was adjusted slightly, this could have been removed. 
4. Window detail is unclear. The white haze that is produced from the windows is potentially distracting and limits the potential buyer’s ability to see what is outside the windows. By using the bracketing technique, this can be greatly improved. To learn more about bracketing, check out our previous blog on How To Shoot HDR Bracketing.

Image 5 – Living Room (Alternate Angle)

1. Remove unnecessary items. As mentioned previously, removing all unnecessary items from the image is an important step and can be completed using our Item Removal edit.
2. Adjust the angle slightly. By angling the image upwards, the photographer may have been able to shoot over these wires to limit any potential distractions for the viewer.
3. Too much wall captured. There is no need to capture this much vacant wall in the image. Instead, the angle could have been adjusted slightly to the right to show the size of the room.

Image 6 – Meals Area

1. Unclear window detail. Using bracketed images combines multiple exposures of the one shot which are then combined into one final image. This allows for maximum window detail to be captured which could have improved this image. You can learn more about bracketing here.
2. Item removal. Once again, always be sure to remove any unnecessary items from the shot or let our team of professional editors take care of it for you using our Item Removal edit.
3. Keep the fan off. The photographer has turned the fan off for the shot and the light on which is great to see.
4. Adjust the angle. If the shot was angled slightly to the right, more of the living room could have been captured which would highly the open flow of the space out to the patio area.

Image 7 – Bedroom

1. Unclear widow detail. Bracketing your images can help improve the window clarity and remove any light flares that may occur. This can also be improved slightly using our Image Enhancement edit.
2. Straighten any blinds. This crooked blind can be distracting. Always be sure to adjust blinds and curtains so they are straight and convey a neat and tidy feel.
3. Limit overexposure. The ceiling appears slightly overexposed which could be caused by the camera’s flash. This can be improved with our Image Enhancement edit to help bring clarity to the finished shot.

Image 8 – Bathroom

1. Photographer removed. The photographer has removed himself and the camera from the mirror reflection in the editing process which is a really good step.
2. Neat and tidy shot. It’s always really good to see the toilet seat is down and the lights have all been turned on. These are the small details that make all the difference in real estate photography.
3. Use bracketing. As with previous images, the use of bracketing could have improved the clarity of the mirror reflection to help bring out the detail in the window.

Image 9 – Second Bedroom

1. As mentioned in the previous bedroom, the blind could have been adjusted slightly to ensure it is level across the window.
2. Capture the window detail. Bracketing is a powerful tool for photographers and allows maximum detail to be captured by using different exposures. You can get started with bracketing by checking out our previous how-to blog.
3. Virtual staging. Selling a vacant property can be tough. It’s often difficult to tell exactly what a room could be used for without furniture and it can be tricky to convey the scale of a property that is empty. By using our Virtual Staging edit, our team of editors can add digital furniture to the shot to help give a potential buyer a better feel for the space. 
4. Blown out ceiling. Once again, by using bracketing, the light flaring and blown out effect on the ceiling could have been reduced in the final shot.

Image 10 – Second Bathroom

1. Ensure all items are straight and neat. The toilet paper roll could be straightened slightly or even replaced to help ensure the image feels neat and tidy. 
2. Widen the shot. By tightly cropping this image, the bathroom feels very small and pokey. You can tell the toilet is in the bottom left corner however you can’t see it properly so, if possible, it would be best to take this shot using a wide-angle lens.
3. Close all the cabinets. The photographer has done a good job here of ensuring all the cabinets are closed properly and appear even and tidy.

Image 11 – Outdoor Area

1. Remove unnecessary items. Wherever possible, it’s best to remove unwanted items in person prior to taking the shot however this could also be done using our Item Removal edit by our team of professional editors.
2. Day To Dusk. This image would look fantastic as a Day To Dusk edit. By transforming this finished shot into a twilight image, the entire feel of the area would have been changed to be more inviting.
3. Virtual Staging. As with the interior, our Virtual Staging edit can be a powerful tool for exterior shots. Once again, this would help create an inviting space that potential buyers could see themselves enjoying with friends and family.

Image 12 – Outdoor Area (Alternate Angle)

1. Edited sky. This shot has had the sky edited which is great however there is some ‘blue noise’ which is clear on the tree trunk. All in all, this is a good edit and it’s great to see the sky has been brightened and enhanced.
2. Virtual Staging and Day To Dusk. Once again, our Virtual Staging edit and Day To Dusk edit could improve this shot significantly and bring this fantastic outdoor space to life. As one of the major selling points of the property, a real focus should be made to ensure this outdoor space feels as inviting as possible.

Image 13- Outdoor Area (Alternate Angle)

1. Remove unwanted debris. The editing process could have removed these unwanted marks and debris from the outdoor space to improve the overall appeal of the shot. This can also be done using our popular Image Enhancement edit.

Image 14 – Dining Room

1. Capture window detail. It appears that no image bracketing has been done here which means the window detail is slightly unclear and out of focus. We have discussed the importance of bracketing previously however you can find more information here.
2. Remove unwanted chords. This is a great room and we want the viewer’s attention to focus on that rather than any unwanted items like these light chords. If they can’t be removed in person, our Item Removal edit is a fantastic option.
3. Straighten the furniture. The photographer has done a great job here of ensuring the furniture is nice and straight along with the artwork on the wall.
4. Limit image noise. There appears to be a lot of haze or image noise in this shot which is clear on the cabinet, chair and ceiling. Where possible, try and limit this as it can be distracting for the viewer.

Image 15 – Building Reception

1. Limit image noise. As with the dining room, there is a fair bit of pixelation or noise in this image. It’s important to try and maintain a level of consistency throughout the entire shoot so the images flow well together.

Image 16 – Building Lobby

1. Maintain consistency. These may be stock images that the photographer has used to market this property which may explain why these are slightly hazy and pixelated. As mentioned, always try and maintain a level of consistency through the images to showcase the property in the best light.

Conclusion

We hope you have found this Real Estate Marketing Health Check really valuable and that you take some tips and tricks for your own property photography. If you would like your own FREE Real Estate Marketing Health Check completed click on the button below and simply follow the prompts.
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