How to Get Your Home Ready for Listing Photos

Getting your home ready for listing photos is an important part of preparing to sell. For many buyers, the first time they see your home won’t be when they walk through the front door. It will be online, where they’re scrolling through photos and deciding which homes they want to see in person.

That’s why I pay so much attention to how a home will photograph before the photographer arrives. A house can look perfectly fine in everyday life but appear very different through a camera lens. A countertop that feels normally lived-in can suddenly look cluttered, a room can feel smaller because of too much furniture, and things you’ve stopped noticing after years of living there can become surprisingly distracting in a photograph.

The good news is that getting your home ready for listing photos usually doesn’t require major changes. It’s often the small details that make the biggest difference.

1. Let the Rooms Feel Light and Open

Natural light can make a tremendous difference in listing photos, so I generally want window coverings opened and anything unnecessarily blocking the windows removed. Burned-out bulbs should be replaced, and if different bulbs throughout a room create noticeably different colors of light, it may be worth making them more consistent.

The photographer will determine how best to light and photograph each room. Your job isn’t to create perfect lighting. It’s to make sure we’re giving the photographer a clean, bright space to work with.

2. Clear the Surfaces Without Removing All the Personality

There’s a difference between decluttering a home and making it look like nobody lives there.

Kitchen counters, bathroom vanities, nightstands and desks usually photograph better with fewer items on them. Mail, medications, toiletries, chargers and everyday household items should be put away, while a few thoughtfully chosen decorative pieces can stay.

I also recommend removing personal photographs and anything displaying private information. We don’t need to strip every bit of personality from the house, but we do want the home itself to be what buyers notice.

3. Pay Attention to the Floors

Floor clutter is surprisingly noticeable in photographs. Pet beds, toys, laundry baskets, small stools and extra furniture can break up the visual space and make a room appear smaller.

This doesn’t mean every rug or piece of furniture needs to go. Some pieces help define a room beautifully. The question is whether an item contributes to the photograph or simply creates another thing for the eye to process.

Sometimes removing just one chair or a small rug completely changes how spacious a room appears.

4. Hide the Everyday Stuff We Stop Seeing

Phone chargers, extension cords, remotes, tissue boxes, pet bowls and countertop appliances tend to become invisible when you live with them every day. Unfortunately, they aren’t invisible in photographs.

Before the photo shoot, I like to walk through the home and look specifically for those little distractions. We can tuck away cords where practical, clear unnecessary electronics and remove items that don’t need to be part of the photograph.

You don’t have to live this way forever. We just want the rooms looking their best while they’re being photographed.

5. Give Bathrooms Extra Attention

Bathrooms are relatively small spaces, which means even a few personal items can make them look cluttered.

Before photography, I recommend clearing toiletries from the counters, shower and tub; putting away trash cans and cleaning supplies; closing the toilet lids; and using clean towels. Mirrors, shower glass and fixtures should also be clean because water spots and streaks can be much more noticeable in photographs than they are in person.

We aren’t trying to turn your bathroom into a hotel spa. We simply want it to look clean, cared for and spacious.

6. Don’t Forget What Buyers See Before They Reach the Door

The exterior is an important part of the home’s online presentation, so I look at it with the same attention we give the interior.

That might mean trimming overgrown landscaping, sweeping the walkway, putting away trash cans and hoses, cleaning the front door or removing too many pots and decorations from the entry. Cars may also need to be moved before exterior photographs are taken.

This is another area where I don’t automatically recommend spending a lot of money. Often the biggest improvement comes from cleaning up what’s already there.

7. Clean the Windows and Glass

Windows are easy to overlook, but clean glass can make a noticeable difference, particularly in homes with good natural light or a view.

If the windows are dirty, cleaning them before photography can help the rooms appear brighter and make the outdoor view clearer. The same applies to sliding glass doors, mirrors and other large reflective surfaces.

For a home with a beautiful view, this becomes even more important. We don’t want buyers looking through dirty glass at one of the property’s best features.

Do a Final Walkthrough Before the Photographer Arrives

Before photography day, I like to do one more walkthrough and look at the home specifically from the camera’s perspective. Sometimes that means moving a chair, removing something from a countertop or adjusting a room we thought was already finished.

This is also why I prefer sellers to talk with me before they start making a long list of changes on their own. You may be worrying about something that won’t matter in the photographs while overlooking a simple change that will.

Preparing for listing photos isn’t about making your home perfect. It’s about removing distractions and presenting the property in a way that helps buyers clearly see what it has to offer.

A little preparation before the camera comes out can make a very big difference in the first impression your home makes online.