You’ve seen them before. You’re on Craigslist searching for a home to rent when you come across what looks like an amazing deal, but the pictures are blurry, sideways, dark, or even worse- There are no pictures.
Sadly, there’s a fine line in judgement between a Craigslist scam and just bad photography. You’ve all seen the ads on craigslist promising a Shangri-la for $800 –if and only if you would be so kind as to email an $800 deposit to some obscure address, with a future promise of a house key and a contract. Odds are the photos are blurry at best, if there is even a photo at all.
Not having a proper photo to accompany your rental listing will make others think you’re a scammer and the smart prospective renters will avoid you like the plague. So how do you avoid looking like a scammer and more like a professional photographer?
Here are four ive tips to help your photos enhance your rental.
1. Seize the day. This is just common sense. You want to get the most out of your rental property. “Without enough lighting, the room may appear blurry and gloomy,” says Jennifer Chan of Zillow for Pros. “Take photos of your property during the day, and supplement the natural light by turning on indoor lights and opening blinds or curtains.”
2. Use a flash. Let’s face it. In hindsight, using your cell phone to shoot scintillating photos seemed like it was a good idea at the time. The problem is, most iPhones lack a proper flash, and so “lighting up a room” with your tiny cell phone will be next to impossible, says Michael Gilbert of rentyourrealestate.com.
3. Utilize different angles. Have you ever seen those listings where the homeowner has posted all the same pictures of rooms–taken at the same angle? Every tub and sink will look the same unless you take some interesting shots. And stay away from the fisheye lense, you’re not fooling anyone.
4. Clean up. Yes, when you’re in a rush, you’ll often overlook certain details–like cleaning up clutter your previous tenants left behind. And so in your action shots–well, they shouldn’t be action shots–you see pictures of a lovely enough living room, with trash scattered from here to kingdom come.
In hindsight, if someone actually likes the property, they might overlook the trash heap collecting in the photo of the kitchen. Hey, it’s last minute, right? However, if you’re trying to sell something, you might as well take a minute and tidy up that photo.
Any tips you’d like to add?
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