Everyone knows the rental homes with the best photos get the most clicks, resulting in the most rentals.  But how do you actually get those amazing photos?  Read below for a comprehensive guide on everything you need to do BEFORE you hire that professional photographer (or take the photos yourself, iPhones are getting better and better for this).

First things first, consider the timing + seasons.  Ideally, you will be able to prepare way in advance.  Skimming this list about 10 months before your idea rental season starts will give you an idea of what to do when.  The best photos are usually taken in spring + summer when the plants + trees are lush, the flowers are in bloom, and the sunlight is strong.  This goes for indoors, too, as it is always nice if you can see through the windows and out to a nice landscape.  Keeping that in mind, you’ll want to start in the fall. Plant your bulbs + flowers ahead of time so they come up effortlessly in the spring.  Don’t forget to spray them to keep away pests + deer.  There’s nothing worse than working on your garden in the fall, getting excited about little sprouts in the spring, and then seeing them disappear before your eyes because a hungry bunny happened upon your front garden one morning.  You can get chicken wire on amazon and make a little fence around your flowers to keep the bunnies out.  (Deer will need a taller, stronger fence).

Take a critical look at your rooms.  Are there nicks, dents or big scratches anywhere that you don’t notice anymore but will show up in a photo?  Are your rooms nice, neutral colors that are gentle and relaxing to be in?  Both renters + homebuyers like to see neutrals so they can imagine themselves in your home.  If you’ve got a red kitchen or a bright orange bedroom, and it’s not part of a high style design that a designer came up with, consider painting.  (Unless your rental home is in the Caribbean.  In that case, super bright colors might be fine). Greys and grieges are popular right now, but the times can always change.  White is always a classic look.  Tans and browns are a little dated unless you are in the mountains or desert.  If you are unsure, take a look at the colors that occur naturally in the landscape around you and think about bringing the outside in.  If you are near the beach like we are, blues, grays, whites + turquoises are a great choice.  (Sorry, just to clarify, I’m not actually suggesting turquoise on the walls, more of an accent color to decorate with).  If you’re planning to rent, they give the person looking online a real sense of that beach vacation they can’t wait to get to.  Lighter colors will make a space feel larger, while darker ones will close it in.  If you need to paint, decide which rooms to do and go through them one by one.  It’s totally possible to do this yourself, and it shouldn’t cost you an arm + a leg.

Next comes big furniture.  Your goal is to make the space look as well-designed, luxurious + expensive as you can without breaking your own budget.  Go through this list 4-6 months before you will take photos in case you have to replace anything.  Some furniture pieces are custom made or take 10-16 weeks to build and ship to you.  Consider space between pieces, room to move around, color schemes + condition of your large pieces. Do you have a tired old couch that is mis-shapen, but still so comfortable you haven’t replaced it?  Will it look absolutely awful in photos?  Did your teenage son plaster his dresser with skateboarding stickers 10 years ago?  Did you just stop noticing that hideous ceiling fan?  A new, modern, unobtrusive ceiling fan can be found for $100.  Take time to note any pieces that will stand out negatively in a photo and consider replacing them.  I have found Overstock, Wayfair and IKEA to be excellent resources, with options in every style for every budget.  Keep in mind, you get what you pay for.  If you spend $500 on a pullout sectional sofa, don’t expect it to last more than a few rental seasons.  But, when staging for a house flip, these can be excellent places to find things that look fantastic but may not hold up.  If you don’t plan to take them with you to your new house, it won’t matter.  But what does matter, is your old tired couch may bring someone’s offer on your home down by tens of thousands of dollars.  Spend $500 on that brand new modern sectional and all of a sudden your home looks like a show piece, it’s worth it, they offer you more.

Make sure your linens are up to snuff. Check all your bed linens and towels.  They will show in the photos.  Do this a couple of months before you need to take photos so that you have time to order them online or go shopping.  You want your duvets and pillows to look fluffy and your towels to look soft and absorbent.  Think about those ads you see in upscale linen magazines.  Try to emulate that using what you have.  If you can’t, weigh the benefits of purchasing some new bed + bath items or head over to Homegoods to try to find quality items at a lower price.

Now check your smaller furniture.  Is one side of the bed in the guest room missing a nightstand and a lamp?  Each bedside should have one nightstand and one lamp.  (Ideally, there should be an available outlet at each bedside as well, but that’s a whole other topic).  Do you still have tube TVs in any of the rooms?  Consider upgrading to a flat screen mounted on the wall.  Smart TVs now mean you don’t have to spring for cable or satellite service in every room.  But if you are going to mount your TV, definitely get an electrician to create either an outlet directly behind where the TV will mount, or a chase in the wall that allows you to run hidden wires to your console table or media stand below.  There’s nothing worse in a great living room photo than a TV mounted on the wall, with a wire hanging straight down in a line below it. The same goes for computers. If it’s a slick new laptop, leave it there to stage with.  But if it’s an older PC with a big giant monitor, and you won’t be leaving it behind for the renters to use anyway, take it out.

Next clean up.  I’m not talking about scrubbing your bathroom (yet).  I mean, Put. Everything. Away.  Try to start this project a week before you will take photos.  You don’t notice it, because it’s always there.  But your purse on the table by the entry isn’t what renters want to see.  Same goes for your whole family’s boots or shoes lined up near the door, coats or other items hanging on hooks, a hoodie draped over the back of a chair, a pile of papers on your desk.  Remove all little chochkies, collections, family photos, items you leave on the kitchen + bathroom counters.  Go through each room one by one.  You might have to go through your house twice or even three times.  Your goal is to try to make it look as empty as a hotel room would look.  It took me a long time before I got good enough at taking home photos that I didn’t forget to move something until I took the first picture and looked at it afterwards.  Now I sweep though the whole room removing everything at once.  Try not to make the mistake of piling it all up just inside the doorway of an adjoining room.  (I’ve done this).  Showing how your rooms connect is a good thing in photos, but if you have to leave that doorway out or close the door because you dumped a big mess of stuff there to take stuff out of the other room, your results won’t be as good as they could be.  Remember to remove things from the kitchen countertops that do not have to be there.  If your toaster isn’t gorgeous or you have limited space, put it in a closet.  Consider how much space you have on the countertops and decide whether to leave high-end, beautiful items like a Breville espresso machine or a KitchenAid stand mixer.  But don’t leave it there if you won’t leave it for the renters to use.  Large, stationery items like a microwave should also stay.  But if your microwave is old, unattractive, or rusty, consider replacing or relocating it.

Now it’s time to scrub.  You want your whole house to shine.  Hire a professional if you aren’t any good at cleaning. Make sure tile grout is bright, stainless appliances are gleaming, and your mirrors + countertops are perfect.  You can’t have dust bunnies under the beds or streaks on the windows.  If you have carpets, vacuum them right before the photos so they fluff up. Have the lawn mowed, the leaves raked, and neaten up your outdoors.  Sweep your decks and polish the grill. Get any cobwebs that are hard to reach or have developed on high pendant lights, on air intakes to your HVAC system, or in corners of your outside shower.

After you’re sure you have put everything away, go into the detail work.  This is the little things, like wires and such.  You probably have chargers plugged in all around your house that you use all the time.  That’s fine, but toss them in a drawer before it’s time for photos. Tuck the wire that plugs a table lamp behind the table, close the toilet lids, pull the curtains across the showers, or open them if you have gorgeous tile work to show off.  Make sure you pull them to the side that doesn’t have any fixtures if your fixtures are nice, so people can see the high end plumbing you have.  Or, if you have a beautiful niche, make sure you can see that in the photo. Take your razors and shampoos and things out of the showers.  Are you upgrading all the outlet covers or door handles?  Make sure to do this before the photos are taken.  Same goes for changing out knobs or refinishing furniture.  If you are going to do it, do it before you take the pictures.

Stage your home.  Read through this ahead of time to make sure you have the things you will need, but try not to use them right away if they will get worn out or stained before the photo day.  Put this stuff out the night before you will take photos.  The big things are out of the way.  Now it’s time to take a look at your decor.  You want to use neutral items.  Lamps, a few decorative items, candles (unscented), pillows, throw rugs, artwork, plants + throws.  Use brand new, clean dishtowels that match in the kitchen.  Try not to go overboard with any one thing and choose accent items that don’ have crazy intricate patterns.  It’s not necessary to have more than 1 accent pillow on any bed or couch. You want the space to feel clean and inviting, and not at all cluttered. If this is difficult for you, or little vignettes don’t come naturally to you, go to Restoration Hardware, West Elm or CB2 and take a look at the photos they use to sell their products.  Or check out my photos here and copy me.  You are aiming for that polished, professional look.  Consider whether you will provide hotel-like amenities and if you will, place a mini soap, lotion & shampoo bottles in the bathrooms.  If some of the spaces are looking a little sparse, flowers help a lot.  Get some flowers the day before and put one in a small bud vase next to a bedside or have a nice simple bouquet on the kitchen counter.

It’s picture day!  Now you want to wait for a good day.  Sunshine is your friend.  A few clouds are ok too, but you want the sky primarily blue with an occasional cloud if possible.  Mid-afternoon sunlight works the best for me.  That’s like 2pm.  So start at 12 because you have more work to do before you are ready and it takes time.  Use a drinks tray and arrange a few outdoor glasses with lemonade, ice + decorative straws garnished with lemon slices, or a bucket of ice filled with some bottles of rose next to a tray holding empty wine glasses.  Place it on your outdoor dining table, or next to a chaise.  Adjust your couch cushions.  Fluff your pillows and comforters.  Turn the lights on.  Even in the daytime.  Set your dining room table.  Straighten your artwork.  Make sure all the faucets and knobs are straight.  Bowls of fruit also work well in kitchens.  Use a drinks tray and arrange a few wine glasses with a nice bottle of red, or a couple of champagne flutes with a bottle of good champagne.  Place it at the corner of a table, or over a throw that is draped across your ottoman.  Make sure towels are folded all the same way, hanging all the same way, and hit at the same spot. Check your tea towels are straight and matching.  Make sure your chairs are all pushed in the same amount & kitchen stools are lined up in a neat, even row.

Time to snap away!!  Here is where I possibly cannot give the best advice to anyone who doesn’t have an iPhone, because that’s what I have and that’s what I’ve used.  I know the Samsungs take great pictures.  Hopefully you know how to work your phone!  iPhones have an option called HDR.  Make sure it is turned on.  It will make your pictures better.  Use the panoramic function to get wide angled shots.  Don’t take too many really wide panoramas, they don’t fit really well in VRBO and airbnb’s platforms, but a nice wide photo with normal proportions is good.  Take a deep breath and let it out.  Steady your hands.  Calm your breathing.  I say this because your images will turn out lumpy if you are jiggling around at all.  Even your breath can effect the final product.  Use your arms like a tripod to keep the phone still as you move from left to right.  If you get a lumpy image, start over.  It takes a little while but you will get the hang of it.  Take lots of photos of each room, and do closeups of different little areas that look really good and are staged nicely.  Try standing on a stepstool and looking down on a room, crouching down and taking the photo from a low angle, experiment until you find what looks right.  In small rooms, back yourself into a corner, with bathrooms, try to hide behind the doorjamb so you don’t end up showing in the mirror.

Now lighten them up.  No matter how great they look, they can look better.  Using the exposure feature you can lighten all of the photos.  People want to imagine themselves in rooms full of natural light.  Now, you edit.  If you’ve read this and all of a sudden you are worried that you will have to do too much work, replace too many pieces of large furniture, buy too much new stuff, and are reconsidering renting, let me help you out.  If your going to be a really successful landlord,  have your place booked most of the time, and earn a premium for those periods, you will want to follow as many of these steps as you can.  But keep in mind, this is this a list of EVERYTHING I would recommend if you have the budget.  If you don’t have the budget, prioritize. Weigh what is most important to renters vs what you can spend and go from there.  If you have a great first year, maybe you can make some upgrades before next season.  That’s one of the perks to renting.  Often times, you exceed your goals for income.  What you do with those funds is up to you, but if your house needs a facelift, renting can get you the money to do it.  And then once you’ve done it, you can ask more for rent.  It’s a very beneficial cycle.

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