We can send a professional photographer to take pictures of your home, or you can follow the tips below to take your own great photos.

Orientation

Take your pictures wider than tall (Landscape rather than Portrait) whenever possible

Lighting

The best photos of home interiors are with window treatments open, when the photo captures the room as well as the view outside the window.

The biggest problem with shooting a room with a window is that the camera will adjust to the brightest spot in the photo, which is normally the light coming in the window, making the inside look too dark.

To overcome this, the light between the outside and the inside needs to be more equal. Take the photos when the outside is not so bright, at either sundown/sunrise, or when it’s overcast. Using the flash can also overcome bright light coming in the windows, because the flash will brighten up the inside without affecting the outside.

You will usually get the best photos of the interior with the flash set to OFF, with all the inside lights on. Try some shots with and without flash to see what gets you the best results.

As for exterior photos, a sunny day with a blue sky usually gives you the nicest photos, providing there are no undesirable dark spots due to shaded areas. You generally want the sun behind you. If the front of the house faces North, it may be best to take that photo on a cloudy day, especially if it’s a brick house or has dark siding. The bright areas of the sky versus the unlit dark front may give you dark spots.

Which rooms to photograph

Concentrate on the main living areas. Bedroom photos don’t mean much if they don’t show much more than a bed. Unless there is something interesting like a pair of French doors with a view of a pool or something green, or a fireplace, or a nice sitting area, skip the bedrooms.

Bathrooms are difficult to photograph because they’re too small and you can’t stand back far enough. Even a beautiful bath is tough to capture because of mirrors and limited space, so it’s usually best to skip the bathrooms other than the Master.

If you have a nice back yard or other nice outside features, include them.

Size

If you use the Photo Uploader on our website, it will automatically resize your photos to 1024×768. If you plan to email them, please resize to 1024×768, otherwise they may not come through. If you cannot resize them, it’s best to use the Photo Uploader.

Houston MLS (HAR) is the only MLS that allows the higher resolution of 2048 x 1536. This higher resolution will only be noticed if someone is viewing the photos on a very large computer monitor or TV screen, and most people will be looking at the photos on their phones. If your property is in the Houston market and you feel the need to use higher resolution photos, please call us and we will accomodate and give you special instructions.