The more shoot-ready a home is when we get there, the better the photos come out. We work around plenty on the day and we're happy to, but a counter covered in mail costs you the frame that would have sold the kitchen.
Here's what ready actually looks like. Handle it yourself, or forward this page to whoever is closest to the house, whether that's your seller or your stager.
If you only do three things
These three carry most of the result. If shoot day sneaks up on you and there's an hour left, spend it here.
- Match the light bulbs. Every bulb in a room the same color, with nothing burnt out.
- Get the home cleaned. Right before shoot day, not the week before.
- Clear the outside. Cars off the driveway, trash bins out of sight.
The full list, room by room
Skip anything the home doesn't have. Not every house has a pool or a porch, and nobody expects you to invent one.
Lighting and windows
- Match your bulb colors. Swap the warm-yellow and cold-white mismatches so a room reads as one temperature. Soft white is the safe pick.
- Replace anything dead or dim.
- Blinds and curtains hang straight and actually open.
Clean throughout
- Floors vacuumed and mopped.
- Mirrors, glass and stainless wiped down. These are the surfaces a camera is hardest on.
- Counters and surfaces wiped clean.
- Shelves, sills and fixtures dusted.
Kitchen
- Counters down to a few clean pieces. A board and a bowl photograph well, a row of appliances doesn't.
- Fridge front cleared, and the soap, sponges and towels put away.
Bathrooms
- Toiletries off the counters, and out of the showers and tubs.
- Fresh towels, neatly hung.
- Toilets clean, lids down.
Living rooms and staging
- Pillows, cushions and throws straightened.
- Loose cords and cables tidied out of sight.
Outside and access
- Cars off the driveway and away from the front of the house.
- Trash and recycling bins out of sight.
- Yard tidy. Mow it, coil the hoses, rake the leaves.
- Entry and porch swept.
- Patio and deck furniture straightened and arranged like someone would sit in it.
- Pool and water features clean and running.
- Sprinkler timers off so they don't come on mid-shoot.
- Access sorted: a lockbox, a gate code, or someone with a key.
Only if someone still lives in the home
Staged or vacant? You can skip this part, and most of our listings do.
- Personal items, family photos and mail put away.
- Dishes, laundry and shoes cleared.
- Beds made.
- Pets crated or out, with the bowls and litter stashed.
What we take care of on the day
A few things on that list are ours rather than yours, and it's worth knowing where the line sits so you don't spend your morning on them.
- We bring the lighting. Leave the lamps where they are and leave the blinds alone, we'll set them the way each room needs.
- Small things in frame get handled. A stray cord, a trash can, a sign on the lawn: we tidy what we can while we're there, and anything left over comes out in the edit at no charge.
- The camera only sees what it sees. Cabinets, closets and the garage can stay as they are, unless they're part of what you're selling.
If the home won't be ready
Tell us before shoot day rather than on it. We'll shoot around a lot, and if a contractor is swapping a fixture we'll happily wait the half hour. The one thing worth moving the date for is a home that's genuinely mid-project, usually half-finished staging or a room part-way through a repaint, because that's where the photos would work against the listing instead of for it. Moving it costs you nothing, we don't charge to reschedule.
Anything on this list you're unsure about, reply to your confirmation email or text us and we'll sort it out before we're standing in the driveway.