Why better photos are better for business and how to fix them
Property photography is the lifeblood for all agents but the shocking truth is that after all these years, not every agent knows it yet.
The thing is, your photos are the window to your brand just as much as the catalyst to your viewings. Despite competitive pressures, some agents (and I stress not all!) will continue to post poor quality images on property portals and wonder why they’re not getting any viewings, or even worse, a slow-down in Vendors.
And It’s not just a hunch. Here at Doctor Photo we digitally enhance thousands of estate agent photos every week so we wanted to understand the wider state of play in the UK market. We decided to run a Google Survey in January of this year, asking a nationally representative sample what they thought in general of estate agents’ photos. Here’s what they said…
“63% of people think that Estate Agents photos are between Very poor to Average in quality.”
When we’re tasked with selling the biggest asset that anyone will ever own, this doesn’t sound right to me…
So why haven’t we learnt?
Take-a-look at Industry blogs and the explosion in prop-tech buzz and you’ll find it hard to read about photography and its importance to agents these days. Often shunned to the side-lines by VR, AR, Drones, Video and the like, you’d be forgiven for thinking that photography was old hat these days. I beg to differ. They’re still the first thing your potential buyers look at on the beauty parades we call Rightmove and Zoopla. They’re massively important to your success.
Rather like pubs, at one end of the industry you’ll find pubs that haven’t kept up with trends that are closing-down every day. At the other, you’ll find a resurgence in demand and new openings. Why? Because the bad ones are closing and the good ones are thriving.
Photography may have been around a long time but if you’re posting bad photos you’re out of date. Truly modern and contemporary agents have cottoned-on that good photography will drive more enquiries and a better brand perception.
And it’s proven better photos are better for business
There are countless studies online about how better photos enhance click-through rates on property portals. One such study according to James Davis, CEO of UPAD from August 2016, found that posting professional photos of the same property on Rightmove gained twice as many enquiries than posting the same property snapped by a simple camera phone. Furnished vs. unfurnished, this property gained 6 times as many enquiries, showing the power of combining great staging with great photography.
What can be done
The great thing is, awesome photography is not rocket science. It comes down to learnt technique, the right equipment, persistence and good post-processing.
Over the coming 3 months on estateagentnetworking.co.uk, every Thursday I’ll be sharing a series of tips, techniques and equipment reviews to help you on your way to taking better photos that mean you will truly stand out from the crowd of poor imagery on property portals and you’ll stand out to your potential vendors as well.
In the meantime if you can’t wait, there’s no harm in trying our photo enhancing service at www.doctor-photo.co.uk. Your first 5 images will be free and after those you’ll find we charge very little to add blue skies and remove objects. We can even fill empty rooms with virtual furniture. You’ll also find that we teach property photography to agents up and down the country and we’ll be glad to talk to you about what you can learn if you want to call John Durrant on 07976 264843.
Doctor Photo are a leading Image Enhancing Agency. We enhance and transform photos taken by leading estate agents, property developers and photographers, to maximise the appeal and value of their clients’ houses and commercial properties.
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