This is is a strategy utilized by some of the top listing agents in our area. I'm taking what I've learned from them and sharing it with all of my clients so we can all profit from their wisdom.

To properly utilize real estate photography there are three things to plan for, and they all involve time.

1. Your clients need time to prepare the home for the photography.

2. I must be able to schedule an appointment with you or the home owner. In the high listing season, this may be as much as a week out, so it's very important that the appointment be made as soon as you decide on the professional photography.

3. I need time to process the images before I deliver them to you. There is a great deal of editing done to each image to insure they look their best for your listing.

The common practice of the real estate world, is to rush a home to the market once the contract is signed. This is to maximize the home's time on the market. I compare this to a person going into a job interview just after rolling out of bed. Sure, that person may have the right skill set and personality to do a great job for the employer, but the the first impression is going to be very poor; probably so poor that a second interview will be out of the question. Your future buyers are just like that employer. There is no way to get a walk through after a bad first impression.

Taking the time to have professional photographs taken, can make or break you. The MLS system has a tool used by all agents in the area, that automatically sends a lists of homes that fit certain criteria, to potential buyers. The buyers receive these lists on a daily or weekly basis. There may be more than 10 per day or 50 per week depending on the specified criteria. When I was looking for a home to buy, I would look down this list and examine the ones that had photographs while skipping the ones that did not. Of the ones that had photographs, I discarded the ones that I thought had no curb appeal. Of the ones that were left, I examined the interiors and then again discarded the ones that did not look as good as their competition, which I had already selected. I often wonder how many great homes I missed.

The point is that there are many people out there like me. These are people that need visual confirmation of a properties appearance before anything else. Those that are like me, will never see the skipped properties in a better light because the system does not re-send listings that have been changed (had new photographs added). They were lost due to a poor first impression. Many listings had no photographs at all. Many were rushed and taken in the rain or in the middle of a blizzard. Most of them were just taken with the wrong equipment, making them look as small as the inside of a shoe box. If all of those listings had professional photographs, I would have had a lot more options if their first impressions passed the visual screening.

As I stated earlier, adding better pictures later does not get these buyers back. I'll elaborate on the severity of this. The only people that benefit from later additions are those who begin the house hunting after the better photographs are added. This cuts out the thousands of people that were already looking for a home. They all received a poor to mediocre first impression, from the quick point-and-shoot photographs that over-the-counter cameras typically take; while the few new home buyers that trickle in daily, are getting the great first impression from the professional photographs that were uploaded after the listing was posted. Doesn't it make sense to hold a listing until the professional photographs are taken, so that the thousands are getting that great first impression instead of just a few people a day?

In conclusion, it works best when you have the contract signed, or collect a deposit from them for the photography. Tie your sellers to you in some way before you begin the work of marketing their home. Instruct them in preparing the home and make sure that it's done correctly before the photography appointment. Finally, do not enter the listing into MLS until the professional photographs are delivered to you or to your marketing department. This is the only way to make sure that all of the potential buyers see the property in the best possible light.

Ladies and gentlemen, that's how to make the most of my photography. Again, the real estate agents that practice this strategy are some of the top selling agents in the area. I have learned this strategy from the best and am sharing it with my clients so that we may all benefit from the knowledge.