Are you getting zero inquiries about your home for your rent ad because of your poor photography skills?
Your property may be a steal for your prospects, but if you fail to show them that through your rental property images, they may not even bother to contact you, let alone schedule a visit.
In today’s rental marketplace, learning how to manage a rental property is not enough.
Learning how to photograph an apartment for rent and take eye-catching images is a necessity if you wish to stand out among other listings and get your prospects’ attention. Without the stunning visuals, you may not even be able to present your offer that may be the perfect fit for your customer.
Want to learn how to take apartment pictures that get units occupied? Read more below!
Choose Your Weapon
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With smartphones sporting high-quality cameras, you won’t need a digital SLR camera to take good rental property images, though it’s a better option if you already have one. Even mid-range smartphones nowadays can take professional-looking photos! But, as with any camera, make sure you clean the lenses before you take your shots.
With or Without Tenants
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If you have two units that are for rent, and you want to take rental photos to get your vacant unit occupied, which of the two units would you photograph?
On the one hand, occupied units can feel and look homey due to furniture, which also makes the space look bigger in photos. However, it can be messy, and the type of furniture or overall design may not fit the style you want to convey.
On the other hand, vacant units look smaller in pictures and can be dull and uninviting. However, this will give you the chance to stage your property the way you see fit, and take photos any time you desire.
Few things can make your photos more visually appealing if you want to take photos of occupied or staged units:
- Pillows on the couch
- Open windows and curtains
- A laptop
- A nice TV
- A coffee mug
- Plants or flowers
Make sure that your staged units look organized in the photos. Do not overdo it with too many decorations and props. You may also use props that are relevant to the type of tenant you’re looking for. For example, af laptop and a working area can be inviting for young professionals.
Always Below Eye-Level
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Taking photos from below eye-level will make your space seem bigger. When you take low-angle shots, tall objects can appear even taller on photos, while it shows low-lying objects from a different perspective.
This is the opposite of what most landlords who do not know how to take pictures of rental property do. Take advantage and stand out from the crowd.
Embrace the Daylight
Photos taken during daylight appear more vibrant and pleasant compared to artificial lighting. Maximize the daylight as much as possible and open all windows to let the sun do its wonders.
If you are busy during the day organizing rental property files and have no choice but to do it at night, use as much artificial lighting as possible. This helps avoid shadows and showing darker areas in the property which can make it less appealing.
But whatever you do, do not ever use a flash since it will cause glare and can make things look unnatural.
Capture Crystal-Clear Images
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Don’t trust your hands’ stability. Pictures taken without 100% stability can cause blurs on the image and lose clarity.
Use a tripod to position your camera and then use a self-timer to ensure that the pressing of the button will not affect the quality of the shot.
No tripod? No problem! Simply place your phone in any stable surface like a stool and position it nice and tight before taking the shot.
Wide-Angle Lenses Are Not Your Friends
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While wide-angle lenses can help you take a picture of a whole room in one shot, it will make things bigger or smaller than they are, making everything look unnatural.
That’s not how to show a rental property.
Take photos from all angles to capture its beauty without altering its dimensions digitally and take as many photos as you need. Learning how to pick the best angles is the key.
Outside World
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With all the good things landlords want to show inside their property, they forget to take pictures from the outside.
You may be wondering how to take pictures of a house for rent from the outside without it being dark from the evening sky or too bright during midday.
To make the most out of it, do it in the afternoon around the time the sun is about to set. Take photos of parking spaces, rooftop deck, balcony, and most importantly, the facade of the building.
If you have a great skyline view from your unit, show it off and take photos of it from all angles.
Make an Effort to Edit
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Thanks to technology, you can now edit your photos with ease using countless mobile apps, online photo editors, or even just the built-in capability of your smartphone.
Adjust the brightness, saturation, contrast, structure, warmth, highlights, and shadows of each photo to increase their appeal. But don’t overdo it or your photos will look extremely unnatural and unappealing.
Some apps have the ability to auto-adjust which edits the photos automatically for you. Try it and see how it works out.
All these tips can allow you to take better photos to help market your property and you can use them as part of your landlord checklist for renting a house.
But there are a few more key points you may want to remember:
- Take as many photos as you can and pick the best ones later
- Rotate photos accordingly before uploading them
- Avoid reflections of yourself in mirrors
- Make sure to clean the property thoroughly before taking pictures
- Remove clutter
- Organize visible furniture or other things in the photo
Being a new landlord does not only entail learning how to manage a rental property. This also entails the marketing aspect, and taking Instagram-worthy pictures of your unit is essential to stand out from all other listings and to get the attention you need on social media.
With these tips in mind, you can now take better photos of your rental property and have a higher chance of meeting your next tenant.
