Do not under estimate the power of quality photos.

Not only do we expect the best quality photographs for the property we market, we also expect that when we are marketing online, in magazines, newspapers and more, that the photos we choose are the best and most complimentary to our brands. What makes a really good photo and why should you make sure that only the best will do?

  • It is easy to spot good photos and poor photos on Property Portals.
  • Think about taking more photos than you need so you’ve plenty to select from.
  • You can edit photos to enhance them such as changing grey skies to blue.
  • Try not to use stock images and think about using your own.
  • When you are out and about and see something interest, take a photo of it and store it to use on future blogs / social media posts.

Many agencies across the UK take very seriously the standard of photography within their marketing as of the utmost importance. Not only the expertise of the photographer, but also the quality of camera and the software to edit images are vitally important. Estate agency photograph for property listings on both their website and the major property portals can vary immensely, a quick search on the likes of Zoopla or Rightmove will show a highly varied standard of photography from across the country, with quality images the most likely to stand out for all the right reasons and poor photography also standing out in a most negative way.

Sure that the most finest property will have had the most money and time spent on photography, they are usually easier to photo as they usually have the best decor, furniture, gardens and importantly good sized spaces to take photos. Understandably, but not offered as an excuse, cheaper property usually have the worst standard of photos attached to them.

Without doubt, the best photos will generally attract the most interest and better offers from purchasers, unless you are looking for bargains and BMV deals when you’ll be particularly on the look out for property poorly marketed or looking like they are in need of modernisation.

If you are to be an estate agency that really wants to attract better offers on your listings, then look to not only have a dedicated person or trained person(s) who know how to use a good standard camera which a knowledge on the likes of light balance and focus. When you have the photos back in the office, be sure to have a wide selection to select from and also look at some basic photo software to make a few edits if needed. You can also send photos off to companies who touch them up, mainly adding blue skies and similar.

With regards to marketing, especially on the likes of blogs and social media, photos are one of the most important elements of attracting people to what you are sharing. Think about using your own photos rather than stock images which get repeatedly used. When you are out and about and see anything interesting, take out your camera / mobile phone and take a snap – It takes very little of your time, yet can offer you great results on your marketing ROI.

Whenever you get back to the office, download the photos you have taken and save them to a folder on your computer such as ‘My Blog Photos’. These photos will be all yours, you’ll own total copyright and you will not see them repeated on other people’s website / blogs / social media posts (unless of course they have stolen your copyright and used them without permission)!

What makes a great blog / social media photos? Let us finish this blog post off by me sharing with you some images that I took with my mobile whilst out and about in London recently which I will use for blogs in the near future no doubt, think about taking similar varied photos for yourself in and around your local town!

Christopher Walkey

Founder of Estate Agent Networking. Internationally invited speaker on how to build online target audiences using Social Media. Writes about UK property prices, housing, politics and affordable homes.

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