Easy Guide To Staging The Exterior Of A Home For Real Estate Photography
As real estate photographers we are constantly staging the inside of peoples homes. However, we can often overlook the exterior when it comes to staging practices.
In this article I’ll share an easy guide to staging the exterior of a home for real estate photography and discuss some best practices.
Table of Contents
Understanding the Importance of Exterior Staging
Exterior staging is about more than just making a home look pretty. It’s about creating a connection with potential buyers that likely want the outside of their home to look just as great as the inside.
When buyers see a well-maintained and beautifully staged exterior, they can more easily imagine themselves living in the home and are less worried about potential landscaping challenges and upkeep.
Getting into the practice of exterior staging, even if it’s even only the most basic of staging practices, can really make a difference in your photographs.
Clean and Declutter
The first step in staging the exterior of a home is to clean and declutter, just like it is for staging the interior. This can be anywhere from a simple clean up to staging and moving everything in frame.
Try to clear away any debris, such as fallen leaves or branches, and make sure garbage bins are out of sight. A clean exterior shows potential buyers that the home has been well-maintained.
Just like inside the home, a simple cleaning and decluttering before snapping an image can make a world of difference.
Stage Outdoor Living Spaces
Showcasing outdoor living spaces, such as patios, decks, or porches, can add quite a bit of value to a home. Make sure these areas are clean and look well-maintained.
Adding outdoor furniture, cushions, and accessories can create an inviting space that potential buyers can imagine themselves enjoying.
A homeowner might not always have outdoor furniture to use in the staging process, but if they do, even if it’s only a couple chairs, it’s important to use them to you advantage.
Use every piece of outdoor furniture and equipment to create the best looking photo you can. This means grills, fire pits, hammocks, or anything else.
Set them up in an appealing manner rather than leaving them where they are. It’s likely the homeowners have them situated for functionality over aesthetic appeal. This is a very easy way to improve an outdoor setting.
Give the Realtor and Homeowner a Heads Up
Simple landscaping plays a crucial role in exterior staging. A well-manicured lawn, trimmed hedges, and tidy flower beds can significantly enhance a home’s curb appeal.
Before a real estate photography shoot, it’s essential to give the homeowner or realtor a heads up that they should mow the grass and make sure their landscaping is cleaned up.
Something as easy and inexpensive as adding fresh mulch to flower beds can make the home a lot more inviting.
It certainly is not on you as the photographer to mow the grass or clean up the flower beds. However, by letting your client know that this should be done, you can ensure your exterior images will look that much better.
Use Tasteful Season Decor
Using seasonal decor can make a home feel more welcoming and attractive. However, it’s really easy to overdo as well.
For example, in the fall, consider adding a wreath with autumn leaves to the front door or pumpkins to the porch. At the same time, it’s definitely not a good idea to go all out with Halloween decorations.
A house covered in fake spiderwebs and Halloween style decor is not very appealing and completely distracts from the house itself. A couple of pumpkins adds to the fall feeling, yet isn’t distracting.
In the spring, fresh flowers and a colorful garden flag can add a cheerful touch. At the same time, adding a ton of pastel colors to your home can again be quite distracting.
The best thing you can do here is just add a few seasonal decor items and practice restraint when you might feel the urge to fully decorate for a holiday.
For a deeper understanding about finding this perfect balance, give our article Including Seasonal Decor in Real Estate Photos a read.
Additional Resources
If you’re just getting started in real estate photography, check out our Beginners Guide. It’s full of helpful articles and tips that will guide you in the right direction as you begin your real estate photography journey.
You can check out our Gear section as well to see reviews and recommendations on the latest real estate photography gear.
If you’re more interested in other resources that can help your real estate photography business, check out our Business Resources page.
