It can be a lot of work to get ready for a photography session, but it makes a big difference in the photos. We recommend the following be completed the night before your photography session. We also recommend you follow these staging suggestions for showings as well.
Tidy & De-clutter
• If there is a small room that you do not want photographed, you can use this to place all items from the other rooms, which are being moved for the photography session, in there.
• All horizontal surfaces should have no items on them at all. Remove all items from kitchen/bathroom sinks/counters, including coffee pots, toaster ovens, soap dishes, plastic bottles etc. Having absolutely nothing on/in/near a sink/counter yields a very clean look drawing folks in to that portion of the photo.
• Remove bath mats/towels from all bathrooms.
• Remove every item from on top of any kitchen cabinets/refrigerators. IE: Magnets, calendars, photographs, etc. Nothing on the doors, nothing on top.
• Remove every item from on top of dressers and all surfaces in bedrooms, and dust them.
• Remove blankets from couches.
• Remove all items from window sills.
• Remove magazine racks and any open organization items such as baskets or bins.
• Store all remote controls.
• Organize hanging clothes in closets in color order (like a rainbow) – it makes the closet appear larger. If possible, use all the same type of hangers.
• Remove all exercise equipment.
• Remove all children's toys, strollers, and other baby and child gear.
• Remove pet toys and pet supplies.
• Remove extra entryway items such as umbrella stands or hanging coats.
• Remove shoes from the floor of closets or other spaces.
• Lower all toilet seats.
• Tuck all cables and cords out of sight as much as possible.
• Turn off TV and computer screens.
Clean Up
• Open all drapes and blinds as wide as possible and dust them.
• Clean all dirty windows.
• Make sure all beds are made and blankets are folded.
Exterior Clean-Up:
• Bring trash cans into garage, unless we're shooting the interior of the garage.
• Rake/remove leaves/brush from near the foundation. Coil and hang garden hoses or coil and place neatly on the ground.
• For properties with pools and hot tubs: Remove covers / turn off jets.
• Remove any debris or pool toys. Remove pool cleaner hose if you do not want them in the image.
Additional Touches
• If you have flowers, you may move them from room to room for the photography.
• Remove any personal photos which you would not like to appear on the internet or in an advertisement to the general public. Remove any free-standing photo frames from any horizontal surfaces.
• Keep in mind: If you walk into a room, everything in that room will appear in the photograph.
• Removing unwanted items in advance will give us the ability to capture superior images. The photographer will not be able to move them for you.