8 tips for professional photos to sell a property

Presentation determines whether a sale succeeds — especially in online marketing. Expensive photographic equipment is not essential for this: even a smartphone or a compact digital camera can produce images that sell.

1. Lighting is everything

The photo shoot should ideally take place during the day, so that as much light as possible streams in through the windows. Daytime shots look more brilliant and show less image noise. Switch on every light source as well — wall spotlights and floor lamps create atmosphere. Avoid intense backlighting.

2. Tripods — indispensable helpers

• Prevent camera shake in poor light
• Make unusual angles possible
• Come in many sizes, including ones for smartphones

Shoot from the corner of the room and use the wide-angle function. Align the corners of the room parallel to the edges of the frame.

3. Shoot without flash

Skip the flash — it causes unflattering reflections and shadows that can only be retouched away later with great effort.

4. Work without time pressure

Allow yourself plenty of time. When you are under stress, hurried movements often show in the result.

5. Leave out dull rooms

Bare, unfurnished rooms add no value. Use appealing floor-plan drawings instead.

6. The more images, the better

Take plenty of shots and pick the best ones afterwards. Always choose the highest available image resolution.

7. Editing is part of the job

Software makes professional post-processing possible — to get started, free programmes are perfectly adequate. The essential functions are:

• Cropping and scaling images
• Correcting perspective distortion
• Adjusting contrast, brightness and colour temperature

8. Present only the very best

Show only the strongest shots. A few outstanding images are better than many average ones — that is what stays in people's memory. We are happy to take care of the professional marketing of your property for you.