Photographs form a critically important part of the marketing mix designed to promote your property at its best.

In fact, you could argue they are what I call ’the difference’.

Every imageMreally counts, as people will decide whether to enquire further or dismiss a property based solely on the first impression given by the photograph. That’s right, people make decisions whether to view your home based on the images they see on an Agent’s website or social media.

So why allow your estate agent, an amateur photographer, to take the photos?

This baffles me. I’ve talked so much about presentation, about how important it is so that you, the seller,

our client, has the best possible chance of attracting your buyer.

Whilst most of use can take reasonable holiday snaps, photographing property is entirely different yet most estate agents don’t have the required training, equipment, artistry,

software or time to do your property justice. For example:

Weather: Agents are always pressed for time and often seek to take pictures between other appointments. A professional photographer will assess the lighting options presented by the prevailing weather conditions and plan accordingly rather than simply hoping that the sun will shine.

Equipment: The right equipment, usually the most expensive, can be the making of the right photograph for your property. A standard wide angle lens is simply not acceptable when photographing the harsh lines of a building, due to parallel convergence which can even make a room look smaller than it should.

Lighting: A standard camera flash can make a room look flat and dull, whereas a large aperture camera without flash can capture warmth and character beautifully. Hidden remote control flashes can also be used to fill in darker areas. Most agents have never heard of these!

Studio work. Numerous improvements can be made to photos digitally after the event, such as adding blue sky, lightening dark areas, intensifying colours of removing eyesores (subject to compliance with the Property Misdescriptions Act).

Bearing in mind that the final image will be compressed for web uploading it is even more important that the original quality is excellent.

Only today I was shown one of our competitors set of sales details for a house listed in excess of £600,000.

It’s a property we’ve been asked to visit and value given the current agent hasn’t been able to attract the right buyer. When I looked at the details, I saw drab, dreary and dull images, small thumbnail size photos that I had to borrow my Dad’s reading glasses to see!

Yet still, this is considered acceptable by some Agents acting on client’s behalf in our local market. Amazing really given my thoughts in this article.

Some Agents have great images here too, with some overly ’engineered’ perhaps? I’ll leave that to you to decide. We pride ourselves on high resolution, good quality images to ensure we give your property the best opportunity to attract interest, viewings, offers and your purchaser.

So if you have been wondering why our photos are a cut above those provided by other agents, you now know - it’s because we use an excellent professional photographer!