If you are going to sell your home yourself, one of the things you will need to do is advertise your home. While there are various avenues you can choose – each one will need a great photo of your home, showing off its best aspects.

Your flyer and handout will probably include only a single photo of the outside of the house. However, your on-line listing may include many photos that give potential buyers a “look and feel” of what it would be like to live in the house. Pictures attract interest and can be the most important part of your sales pitch.

1. Take the outdoor pictures under good outside lighting when the sun is shining and the sky is blue. Try to avoid areas of shade on the house and make sure that the view is clear with no cars or children’s toys in view. Shoot the picture with the sun at your back and shoot from far enough away to show the complete house. If you are selling a condo, include shots of common areas or a swimming pool if those are available.

2. Inside shots work best with all the lights in the room on and fill-flash set on the camera. But, be sure to check your photos for flash-back. If the flash presents a distracting burst, do not use it. Be sure surfaces are decluttered. Adding a floral arrangement to the dining room table or a fire in the fireplace adds to a homey feeling. If your listing service support virtual tours, you should take pictures of each room from different angles. However, at some point this may seem like too much work in which case you can hire a professional real estate photographer.

3. Consider the advantages of a wide-angle lens and a tripod to control the content and quality of photos.

4. Set your camera on it highest resolution setting to capture detail and clarity. Then when you prepare the photo to print or upload, you have the option of increasing the pixels (visual resolution) to a desirable 250 or 300 dpi.

5. Edit your photos. If you do not know how to, find some one who does. This is the most critical step in providing photos to help advertise your home for sale. Many problems in a photo can be corrected with good photo editing software.

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