Marketing
How to prep a home for its photo shoot — the checklist that saves the edit
Thirty minutes of prep beats hours of retouching. The room-by-room checklist agents send sellers before every shoot.
Editing can remove a bin from a driveway. It can't open curtains that were closed, and struggling against a cluttered room costs more than prepping it would have. A well-prepped house is the cheapest thing that makes a gallery better — here's the checklist worth sending sellers 48 hours before the shoot.
Whole house, before anything else
The photographer's first fifteen minutes shouldn't be spent hunting light switches.
- Every light on, every bulb working (matching color temperature if possible)
- All curtains and blinds open, windows cleaned inside
- Ceiling fans off — they blur
- Pets, bowls, beds, and litter boxes out of sight
- Personal photos and name art down if the sellers are comfortable — it helps buyers project themselves in
Kitchen
The kitchen sells the house and clutter shrinks it.
- Counters completely clear — appliances, dish racks, sponges, all of it
- Fridge face bare: no magnets, photos, or takeout menus
- Bins and floor mats out of the room
- One or two staging touches max: a bowl of fruit, a plant
Bathrooms
- Toilet lids down, every time
- Counters clear of toothbrushes and products
- Fresh, matching towels; shower curtain pulled open
- Bath mats up — they read as clutter on camera
Bedrooms & living
- Beds made hotel-tight, wrinkles show at full resolution
- Cables, chargers, and remotes hidden
- Closet doors closed
- Throw pillows straightened, blankets folded or gone
Exterior
- Cars out of the driveway and away from the curb frontage
- Bins in the garage, hoses coiled or hidden
- Lawn mowed, walkways swept, seasonal debris cleared
- Pool cleaned and cover off if it's a feature
What editing should handle
Some things aren't worth the seller's Saturday: a grey sky, a neighbor's car that wouldn't move, a room that's empty rather than messy. That's sky replacement, object removal, and virtual staging — and honest as long as anything structural about the property stays true to life. Prep gets the house right; editing gets the frame right.
