Can I take my own estate agent photos?
Can you take your own estate agent photos? Yes you can.
Is it the best decision? No, and here I tell you why.
Your agent has given you a quote for marketing your home. On the breakdown of costs you see a ‘photography charge’. To save a few pounds you may immediately think to do them yourself. Your mobile phone has an amazing camera on it these days so a few snaps on the phone should do the trick….STOP! You can take your own estate agent photos but I highly recommend you don’t.
Photography is one of the most important marketing tools when selling your home. As the years have progressed words are reducing massively on marketing material and we are far more focused on your photos & floor plans.
For most properties I genuinely believe I could just have the address, professional photos & a floor plan and that would be enough to encourage viewings.
Is it worth the money for professional estate agent photos
For every property I advertise we ensure a professional photographer visits on every occasion at a cost to the seller. This can be anywhere between £150-£1000.
This means we have a set of around 30 professional photos for every property we have. These photos are not just used within the agents brochure & online, but it also gives your estate agent great photographs to use on social media and to provide to media property publications.
Property publications wont like you taking your own photos
Appearing in property publications is amazing coverage and exposure, often free. This includes The Times & The Sunday Times, Country Life magazine & The Scotsman. They will only choose properties if they have a good set of photos. Even if the price tag is over £1m.
I’ve had wonderful properties in the past rejected simply because the seller chose to take their own estate agent photos. This would also happen if say Rightmove wanted to feature the property on their social media or onthemarket.com perhaps ran an advert showcasing some homes.
If you have bad estate agent photos they wont come near your property!
That can also be said for buyers too. They wont come near your home if you have a poor set of estate agent photos. Whilst scrolling through Rightmove buyers will definitely pass by your home if the images are poor quality. This greatly reduces the chance of selling your home.
Social media wont look good if you take your own estate agent photos
Social media is continuing to play a larger part in property sales. Your agent will want to run social media activity for you across many social media platforms. Excellent quality estate agent images are essential for this.
Often your agent will first post about your home when the property is launched to the market. Then more posts during the marketing. Maybe one focusing on your contemporary bathroom you only fitted last year. Then maybe another post a few weeks later showing how lovely the garden is with the spring flowers.
Having all these professional estate agent photos really creates lots of opportunities for advertising and showcasing.
I always say to my clients….if your going to spend money somewhere, spend it on your photography. A good photographer and a good set of photos are worth their weight in gold when your selling.
Don’t do them yourself (unless your a professional photographer) and don’t let your agent do them either.