It’s an overused cliché, but pictures really are worth a thousand words … or when it comes to remodeling, maybe a couple thousand.
We are blessed to work in an industry with a beautiful product – fabulously remodeled kitchens, bathrooms, decks and more. That means its imperative to have high-quality photos of your work for your digital and print marketing materials … because your best competition is going to as well. Good photos are highly shareable on social media, helping to spread your work beyond your own network.
Providing impressive photographs will also help you get coverage in local media and will give you the best chance to win design awards. (More on that here.)
It’s tempting in this day of iPhones with 12-megapixel cameras to think this is something you can handle in-house. The truth is most us can’t shoot great architectural photos. It takes the right equipment and skills to properly light, stage and capture good imagery of homes and their features, especially indoor spaces. Photos for print need to be high-resolution so you don’t get that grainy, pixelated look.
The bottom line is that high-quality professional photos make your company look more professional. Homeowners looking for a remodeler want to see beautiful work; it’s about selling the vision of what can be created from their home. Professional photography helps ensure that homeowners see your company as someone who can deliver high-quality work.
Research has shown that more than 90 percent of potential customers visit the website and online portfolio of remodelers and builders before they ever contact them. Dark, grainy photos send the message that you are not a serious business.
Some other tips:
Hire an experienced architectural photographer
There’s a big difference between shooting wedding photos and remodeling projects. Check out the photographer’s website and ask for references from other remodelers, builders or real estate agents. When looking at their portfolios, pay special attention to lighting, looking for shadowy spots or bad reflections. Are the photos shot from weird angles or do they help the home feel warm and inviting? There is an art to photography, but you want people to notice the house, not the photo.
Keep your rights
Make sure your contract with the photographer gives you full usage rights for the pictures. That way they can be used in your marketing, for competitions, for whatever you need them.
You’ll also need to secure rights from the property owner; make sure you have permission to use them in writing.
Stage the home
Ahead of shooting the home, work with the photographer and homeowner to make sure the home is properly staged. You want it to look lived-in, but not too cluttered. See Staging Your Finished Project for After Photos.
Take before photos
Be sure to take plenty of photos before the project starts to show off the transformation. By anticipating the features you’ll want to highlight post-remodel, you can capture those same angles before work begins. If you’re not quite sure, just take a lot of shots from many angles. These before (and in-progress) photos don’t require a professional and can be handled with the average digital or phone camera.
Don’t look back years from now and wish you had a good record of the beautiful work you’ve done, large or small. It’s never too late to start.
If you would like help determining how to get the most exposure for your photos, give us a call at 828-328-8956 or go to our Contact Us page.