On a fundamental level, imagery and visual aids play a critical role in successful and engaging marketing campaigns.

This is borne out by the numbers, with 32% of marketers claiming that visual images are the single most important form of content for their business (ahead of blogging which was championed by 27% of marketers).

Given the importance of marketing in the sale of residential property across the globe, it also stands to reason that high-quality real estate photography should be a crucial piece of the selling puzzle. But how can you use this type of imagery to optimise your chances of selling and gain a competitive edge in the market?

Work with Seasoned and Specialist Photographers

Let’s start with the basics; as you’ll need to liaise with experienced photographers if you want to build a portfolio of high-quality property pictures.

The reason for this is simple; as such photographers are capable of staging engaging images and capturing these in a way that optimises lighting and the overall presentation of the property.

Of course, most agents factor the cost of photographers into their overall budget, but some may not afford enough cash to hire an exceptional exponent of this art. Conversely, you may be selling a property by yourself, and will therefore need to create room in your budget to cover this cost.

At this stage; we’d recommend hiring a photographer that specialises in capturing real estate images, as while this may be a little more expensive, it can also help to justify your sale price and optimise any potential profit.

So, try to prioritise value over cost when budgeting for photography and creating images for marketing purposes.

Select the Right Type of Photo

While hiring a real estate photographer with specialist skills is a great start, it’s not enough by itself to successfully market your home.

This is why we’d also recommend ensuring that you select the right type of images when creating a portfolio, as it’s this selection that will first engage potential buyers when they search for targeted properties online.

Remember, you only have around seven seconds to help forge a first impression in the minds of buyers, and a broad selection of high-quality and targeted images can help to ensure that this is a positive one.

Of course, your chosen photographer can help with the development of an overall plan and the creation of dramatic and attention-grabbing images, and this type of considered and dynamic content is central to any successful marketing campaign.

Striking the Balance Between Aspiration and Reality

On a similar note, it’s also important that your images aren’t too grandiose, as you must ultimately present an accurate visual representation of the property as it stands.

This can be a delicate balance to strike, however, as you must also strive to sell an aspirational narrative around the property that intrigues buyers and encourages to find out more.

Ultimately, you must always keep in mind that an interested buyer will virtually always come to view the property in-person before making a final decision, at which point they’ll see it in all of its natural glory (or otherwise).

Make no mistake; if there’s too big a chasm between a buyer’s expectations and what they experience during a physical viewing, this create a disconnect that may be hard for you to overcome as a vendor.

Once again, your chosen photographer may be ideally placed to help you strike this balance, both in terms of picture selection and the overall quality of the images.

This is arguably one of the most important challenges when using images to sell your home, while it may also be the most difficult to overcome.