How to get your home ready for listing photos, room by room.

The photos are the first showing. Buyers scrolling through listings judge a home by its pictures long before they see it in person, and the home that is ready for the camera tends to beat the one that is not, even when the second one is bigger or newer.

Getting ready does not take a weekend or a budget. It takes a slow walk through the home, one room at a time, with a few simple rules in mind. This is the long version of that walk. If you only have twenty minutes, our short prep list covers the essentials. If you have an afternoon, start here.

Two days before: walk it like a buyer

Go through the home once with fresh eyes and write down what you notice. Burned-out bulbs, a stained ceiling tile, a door that sticks, a dead plant by the entry. Fix what you can and skip what you cannot. Then check the logistics: who will let us in, whether there is a gate code or a lockbox, and whether a community guard needs our name on a list.

• Replace burned-out bulbs, and try to match the bulb color in each room. One cool-white bulb in a warm room shows up in the photo.
• Take down hurricane shutters and storm panels. They make a house look closed and shadowed.
• Ask the pool service to come another day, and set the lawn sprinklers off for the morning of the shoot.
• Wash the windows you can reach, since glass catches every smudge when the sun hits it.

Outside: the first photo buyers see

The exterior is usually the lead image, so start at the street. Walk to the curb, turn around and look at the house the way a buyer will.

• Park cars in the garage or down the street, and that includes boats, trailers and the golf cart.
• Coil the hoses, put away toys and tools, and move trash and recycling bins out of sight.
• Sweep the driveway, the walkway and the entry, and clear fallen leaves and palm fronds.
• Mow and edge the lawn, trim the shrubs and tidy the beds. A little fresh mulch goes a long way.
• Wipe the front door and the hardware, straighten the mat and put out one clean planter.

You do not need to worry about the sky. Every exterior we shoot includes free sky replacement, so a gray or hazy Florida afternoon never reaches your gallery.

The entry and living room

These rooms set the tone, and they are the ones where less furniture reads as more space. A wide lens is generous with open floor and unkind to crowding.

• Open the blinds and curtains, unless a window looks straight at a neighbor or a wall.
• Turn on every light, including the lamps, and turn the ceiling fans off. Spinning blades show up as blurs.
• Clear the surfaces down to a few items, and remove extra side tables, floor fans, baskets and cords.
• Straighten the pillows and throws, and put the remotes out of sight.
• Turn the televisions off. A dark screen looks cleaner than a paused show.

The kitchen and dining area

Buyers study the kitchen, and counters sell the kitchen. Clear them almost completely.

• Put away the dish rack, sponges, soap, paper towels and small appliances. One bowl of fruit or a coffee maker is fine.
• Take the magnets, notes and photos off the refrigerator.
• Wipe the sink, the cooktop and the stainless steel, because fingerprints show clearly in HDR.
• Set the table simply, or leave it clear.
• Empty the trash and tuck the can out of sight.

Bedrooms

Make each bed the way a good hotel would: linens pulled tight, pillows square, one throw folded at the foot.

• Clear the nightstands down to a lamp and one or two items.
• Put laundry, shoes and clutter in a closet and close the doors.
• Take chargers, cords and personal papers out of sight.
• If a room is used as an office, tidy the desk and hide the cables so buyers can picture the space either way.

Bathrooms

Bathrooms are small, so every item on the counter is noticeable. Clear the vanity and the shower of bottles and razors, and close the toilet lids.

• Hang fresh, matching towels.
• Open the shower curtain or door so the space looks open.
• Wipe the mirrors and faucets right before we arrive.
• Put the bath mat away, or put out a clean one.

The lanai, the pool and the screened porch

In Florida the outdoor living space is part of the house, and for many buyers it is the reason they are looking. It is also the area that gets overlooked on a prep list.

• Skim the pool and clean the screen enclosure. The water should be clear and at its normal level.
• Put away the floats, toys, the pool vacuum and the cleaning hose.
• Wipe down the furniture, straighten the cushions and open the umbrella neatly or tuck it away.
• Clear the grill and any covers, and put away garden tools.
• If we are shooting at dusk, turn on the pool lights and the patio lights.

A drone shows the whole roof, the yard and the pool deck at once, so if aerials are part of your shoot, take a minute to clear anything on the roof or the lot that you would not want a buyer to see.

The garage, laundry room and storage

You do not need to organize everything, but buyers do open these doors.

• Sweep the garage floor and stack bikes, boxes and tools against the walls.
• If the garage has room for a golf cart or a workshop, leave that space visible, since buyers look for it.
• Straighten the laundry room, and put away the detergent and the laundry baskets.
• Open the closets and the pantry, and check that each one looks neat.

Pets, people and privacy

Listing photos travel a long way online, so take a moment to think about what is in them.

• Put pet bowls, beds, litter boxes and crates out of sight for the shoot, and keep pets in a safe place or away from the home while we work.
• Take family photos, mail, medication, valuables and anything with a name or address out of view.
• If you are home during the shoot, plan to be out of the room we are working in.

The morning of the shoot

Do a last quick pass an hour before we arrive. Turn on the lights, open the blinds, check the pool and the entry, and make sure the cars are out of the driveway. Morning and late afternoon often have the best light in Florida, and summer storms tend to build in the afternoon, so an earlier start is the safer plan. If rain or wind moves in, we will work out a new time with you.

Get the checklist, and book the shoot

We keep a version of this list on our get-ready guide, which you can send to your sellers or keep on your phone. When you are ready, you can book a real estate shoot online, or browse everything we offer on our services page.

Whether your listing is in Lady Lake, The Villages, Clermont, Tavares or Dunnellon, the same approach works. A prepared home takes a few hours of effort, and it shows up in every photo of the finished gallery.