The importance of professional photography

By Rich Harvey, CEO, propertybuyer.com.au

You only get one chance to make a first impression, and the same holds true for your house. Whether you're looking to sell or rent, the right photographs can make or break the amount of interest your Australian property investment receives.

Modern house hunters

While the tried and true channels of marketing your property - advertisements, property management, etc. - can still be very effective, it's a fact of modern life that most people spend a lot of their time online. Whether interacting with friends on social media or catching up with their favourite TV shows, consumers expect everything to be accessible by the click of a mouse.

Open houses may still be a great way to show off a property, but just as many people - if not more - are using the internet in their search for a home. For this reason, using high-quality photographs that show off the best features of your property is essential.

How professional photographs help

With people counting on a detailed look at your property online, the damage poor photographs can do should not be underestimated. Shabby pictures can give the impression that your home is in poor condition or not worth a second look.

Additionally, focusing on the photographs you use can help you determine exactly what kind of buyer or renter you're trying to appeal to.

For instance, who is your ideal tenant? Someone with a family? A single person? A young couple? By figuring out who you're trying to attract, you can determine the features your pictures should accentuate.

A family might be most drawn to pictures of a large backyard offering plenty of space for children to play. Meanwhile, a young professional could be interested in pictures of a spare room that could double as a home office.

Every property has features that can be highlighted, and professional photography can help you emphasise them in a skillful and aesthetically pleasing manner.

The benefits of professional photography

The biggest hurdle preventing many property owners from utilising professional photography is price. No one wants to spend money on a service they feel they can do themselves. However, it's important to understand the advantages experienced and great-looking pictures can provide.

First, it's essential to remember that with so many people shopping for homes online, how your pictures look could very well be the most important factor in generating interest in your home.

Professional photos can result in your listing getting more attention, and in turn this increases your chances of making a sale or finding the ideal tenants. This can give you a huge competitive advantage, especially if your listing your home in a market where property owners are struggling to make their home stand out from the crowd.

In this way, there is a very real chance that using the wrong photographs could affect your bottom line for the worse.

Finding the right photographer

Unless you've been trained in photography, chances are you'll be be better off outsourcing the duties to a professional.

When selecting a property photographer, it's important to do your research. Search online and analyse portfolios, as this will give you an idea of the type of work the professional has done in the past. Also always be on the lookout for referrals and customer reviews, as this will indicate that a photographer has done good work.

It's also worth narrowing your search for someone who specialises in photography of property in Australia. An excellent wedding photographer may not have the skills necessary to make your home shine.

Most importantly, go for value over price. Cheap does not mean better, and paying more for quality photographs can pay off big when it comes time to sell your house or find potential tenants.