Although this report is from the US, the same holds true for the UK: If you’re planning to sell your home soon, you might want to consider hiring a professional photographer or improving your photography skills. Doing so could be worth thousands.

Source: Better Photos Can Sell Your Home Faster, for Thousands of Dollars Morecontemporary-fitted-kitchen

How do professional property photos help? By making prospects stop to view them online, rather than scrolling past the listing. The modern way of choosing a new home is via online property portal such as Zoopla and Right Move. These sites get you to pick an area, property type (flat, house, bungalow, etc) number of bedrooms and other key elements important to you. Only then will you see property listings.

This means every property presented to you fits the search criteria you selected – they all match what you are looking for. So… what is the differentiator for one property over another? Save for the agent itself, it is the quality of the property photo thumbnail images you first see. These small images must be bright, colourful and provide a simple overall view of the rooms of the property. If these thumbnails are dull, muddy in colour, lacking any kind of differentiation, then the viewer will simply scroll past.

The property photos that DO stand out will get the viewer opening the listing earlier than other listings that don’t visually stimulate them. That is the first job of the photos done. But they have another role.

Looking at the larger versions of each room photo enables the view to see more details. Professional shots stand out from those from – and I’m going to name and shame – sales negotiators of the estate agencies that still do their own photos. Professional shots will allow you to see more details int he shadow areas of a room; they have even lighting across the room so you can see into the corners. A great photographer manages to balance the light from the window, any lights in the room as well as any light they bring with them so you see details beyond the window and the colours will be correct. (called white balance) Why are correct correct, well light photos of rooms so important? It’s because it helps the viewer picture what it would be like to have their furniture in that space; how it will look with hat carpet; if their curtains fit the windows. And THAT is when the viewer is hooked. Now, they are a prospective buyer.