Empty Room Photos

I have been grappling with a dilemma lately about marketing our business.  I have seen a ton of houses on the MLS listings which are vacant, so there are a lot of unattractive photos of empty rooms most likely taken with a point-and-shoot camera. Charissa and I have been debating whether anyone would hire a professional to shoot a home which is primarily filled with empty rooms. I personally questioned whether anyone would feel it necessary or beneficial. So I decided to put this debate to the test and, even I, am amazed at the overwhelmingly obvious results!

Normally I would show you the “point-and-shoot” photo first. But in this case, seeing the professional photo first and then the others will provide a more clear distinction.

Below is the professionally photographed empty master bedroom suite. 

Professionally photographed empty Master bedroom suite

Notice that in this photo we have really good clarity, a nice sharp image. We are also being shown a large expanse of the hard wood floor which gives us a good feel for how big the room is, and shows that the floor looks to be in very good condition. Starting in the left hand corner of the photo you will see a peak into the master bathroom, and then moving to your right we see the entry door, next to that we see a walk-in closet door, and to the right of that we see another walk-in closet door. Although we do not see any windows in the bedroom, we can tell by the feel of the photo that this room is light and bright and must have windows. This photo has revealed a lot to a potential home buyer, which is exactly what a good real estate photo will do.

Note that the professional photo was taken with a wide-angle lens, which mostly only real estate or landscape photographers would own for their trade. Even the average amateur who has an SLR camera would not typically own a wide angle lens as they are not sought after for general photography, especially due to their limited use and expense.

Now lets take a look at the average point-and-shoot camera shot of the same master bedroom.

  

Point-and-shoot of empty Master suite

HUGE difference right?!  I must say even I was shocked! I was standing in the same spot when taking this photo, and believe it or not, this is as wide of an angle as this camera allows for. So, right off the bat, the biggest and most glaring difference is in the visual range. The point-and-shoot just cannot take as wide of a shot as the professional lens. Pointing the camera directly at the entry door does not allow me to see any of the bathroom, nor very far down that wall to get a better sense of how large the room really is.This is representative of a typical shot seen on many MLS listings. It is impossible with this camera to get all of the room's features in one photograph. We would have to take several photos (which is excessive for an empty room). By taking several photos a viewer gets a chopped up feel of the room, it’s very hard to get an understanding of the flow and size of a room when you have 3 parts of it you are trying to stitch together in your mind. As far as quality and clarity, the point and shoot pales in comparison. As always, the professional photograph is also professionally edited for color, clarity and contrast, something that can not be taken advantage of currently with the point-and-shoot format (at least not to the extent of a DSLR).

Below are photos of a spare bedroom, also empty and taken with both cameras and the same conclusions are obvious. From the same vantage point of the room the photos are vastly different. The professional photo by far allows for a more expansive view, and a more clear and vibrant photograph.

       

Point and Shoot -  bedroom #2

 Professionally photographed - bedroom #2

I think we can safely conclude from this test that there are a lot of MSL listings online which are under-representing the actual size and features of a room and home. A point-and-shoot camera was likely used because the rooms were empty and they felt that was "good enough".  Keep in mind that MLS listings are like an around-the-clock "open house". Potential buyers are seeing that house for the first time online and making immediate decisions based on the photos representing that home. How many potential buyers are passing on a house based on miss-representative photos? Would you have been captivated by the photos taken here with the point-and-shoot camera? Did they tell you anything important about the room? Would they have enticed you to go see that house in person?

I hope that I have proven to you, as I have myself, that the amount of information a potential home buyer can get from an empty room makes it very worthwhile to hire a professional photographer. Surprisingly, from a good quality photo, you can get a “feel” for the room – even when it’s empty. First impressions matter when it comes to home buying; many may not give you a second look if you don't capture their interest the first time!

FullHousePhoto.com