Get your home ready for photo day.

Great listing photos start before we walk in the door. The homes that photograph well around The Villages, Lady Lake and Leesburg are rarely the biggest or the newest. They are the ones that were prepared. This is the checklist we send every seller, and nearly every item on it costs nothing but a little time.

Be ready the day before.

Finish everything on this list at least the day before the shoot, not the morning of. Last-minute cleaning runs into our arrival time, and rushed rooms show in the photos. A day of margin also leaves room for a surprise, like a bulb that will not turn on.

Start with the view from the street.

Buyers see the exterior photo first. Park every vehicle on the street so the driveway is empty, golf carts included. Put the garbage cans away. Sweep the walkways, porches and lanai. Pull weeds, clean up the flowerbeds, mow, trim the shrubs and clear the leaves. Hide the garden hose and reel, clean and arrange the patio furniture, and put kids' and pet toys away.

If the shoot includes drone aerials, a drone sees the whole roof and yard, so clear tools and tarps too. We check the airspace before every flight, and flights depend on wind and weather. Every exterior carries our blue skies guarantee with free sky replacement, so a gray Florida afternoon never makes the gallery.

Inside: light, clean and clear.

Turn on every light, including lamps and closet lights. Turn ceiling fans off but leave their lights on, since a spinning fan blurs and a dark fixture reads as a dead bulb. Replace burnt-out bulbs and make every bulb the same color. Open the blinds and curtains to let in natural light.

Sweep or mop the floors, dust and clean the windows. Put clutter away in drawers, closets or the garage. Clear every surface: kitchen counters, vanities, dressers and nightstands. A single bowl of fruit is fine. Remove towels and small rugs. Make every bed and straighten the curtains. Hide the trash cans in the kitchen and bathrooms, and hide visible cords from TVs, cable boxes and lamps.

Bathrooms: hygiene items out of sight.

Hide every personal hygiene item, on the counters and in the showers. Toothbrushes, razors, shampoo bottles, soap and loofahs all go into a drawer or cabinet. This matters because we will not touch them.

What we do, and what we don't.

On shoot day we set the blinds in each room, close every toilet seat and move small items to make each room photo ready. We do not move or rearrange furniture, make beds or clean, and we do not touch personal hygiene items. The bigger prep stays with you, which keeps the shoot on schedule.

We also do not edit out cars, power lines, walls or cords as part of the standard edit. Object removal is available as a paid add-on, but moving the car is free.

Pets.

Pets must be crated or closed in a room before we arrive. We do not move or handle pets or pet items, so food bowls, litter boxes and beds should be put away too. If we arrive to a loose pet and no one is home to secure it, we have to reschedule.

What happens on shoot day.

We work room by room. You are welcome to stay home, and the easiest way to help is to stay a step ahead or a step behind us, out of frame. Florida weather happens. If the forecast turns, we reschedule at no charge.

After the shoot.

Photos are delivered within 24 hours, MLS-ready, with a free single-property website your agent can share with one link. Between HDR exposure blending and our blue skies guarantee, the technical side is our job. If the home has a pool, a lanai or landscape lighting, read why twilight photos work so hard for Central Florida listings before you book.

Ready for your listing? See our real estate media packages, then book a real estate shoot online.