How to Prepare a House for Sale Photos: A Room by Room Guide

How do you prepare a house for sale photos?

Clear every surface down to two or three objects, get all cars off the driveway and out of the street view, open every curtain and blind, and switch on every light in the house. Those four things fix more photos than a deep clean does. Then work room by room the day before, not the morning of, so you're not rushing when the photographer arrives.

That's the short version. The rest of this is the detail, because the difference between a listing that gets tapped and one that gets scrolled past is usually a handful of small things nobody told the seller about.

What the camera does that your eyes don't

A wide-angle lens takes in more than you do standing in the room. It sees the corner behind the door, the charger cable on the floor, the edge of the laundry basket you thought was out of shot. It also flattens depth, so a room that feels cosy in person can look cluttered in frame.

That cuts both ways. A room that feels a bit bare to you, with the couch pulled thirty centimetres off the wall and the side table cleared, usually photographs better than the version you actually live in. Style for the camera, not for Tuesday night.

The day before: room by room

Kitchen. This is the room that costs sellers the most. Clear the counters completely, then put back two things at most. A kettle and a bowl of lemons. Everything else goes in a cupboard: the toaster, the knife block, the dish rack, the vitamin bottles. Strip the fridge door of every magnet, school note and photo. Take the dishcloth off the tap.

Living room. Pull the furniture slightly away from the walls. Angle the armchairs in towards the couch rather than facing the TV. Remove remotes, charger cables, magazines, the pet bed. Fluff the cushions and cut the number of them in half. If you have a rug that's curling at the corner, tape it down.

Bedrooms. Make the beds properly, with matching linen and no visible creases. Iron the duvet cover if you have to, it shows. Clear the bedside tables to a lamp and maybe one book. Get all washing, shoes and laundry baskets out of sight. Kids' rooms: toys into a box, box into a cupboard, keep one or two nice items on a shelf.

Bathrooms. Every product off the counter and out the shower. Shampoo bottles read as clutter in a photo, always. Matching towels, folded, or no towels at all. Toilet seat down, toilet brush and bin out of the room entirely. Close the shower door or open it fully, not halfway.

Outside. Mow, sweep the paving, coil the hose out of sight. Move the wheelie bin behind a wall. Pool cleaner out of the pool and stored away, net the leaves. Garden furniture straightened and cushions on. If you've got a braai area, clear it down to the braai itself.

What do you do on the morning of the shoot?

Cars are the big one. Every vehicle off the driveway and, if you can, off the street directly in front of the house. We shoot the arrival shot from the kerb and a bakkie parked across the frame kills it. Ask the neighbour too if their car sits right at your boundary.

Switch on every light in the house, including passages and cupboard lights, about ten minutes before we arrive. Mixed lighting takes work in the edit but lit rooms read as warm and lit houses photograph better than bright empty ones. Open all curtains and blinds fully, and set every blind to the same angle.

Then the last pass: bins out of sight, dog bowls and litter tray away, bathmats straight, no dishes in the sink, no towels over the oven handle. Take the pets with you or keep them in one room and tell us which.

What you can skip

Sellers spend money in the wrong places. Here's roughly how the effort stacks up.

The three shots worth preparing hardest for

Not every photo carries equal weight. Three do most of the work.

The arrival shot is the kerb and entrance, and it's usually the lead image on the portal. That's the one that decides whether a buyer taps in. Prep it hardest: cars gone, gate clean, plants tidy, no bins.

The hero room is whatever the house is best at. Open plan living, a kitchen you renovated, a lounge with a view. Spend your prep time there rather than spreading it evenly across nine rooms.

The proof shot is the thing the buyer needs to see to believe the price. The pool, the view, the garden size, the double garage. Make sure it's presentable and unobstructed.

If you're short on time, prep those three properly and do a quick tidy elsewhere. Better than half-preparing everything.

What about weather and time of day?

We'll usually aim for a time that suits the way your house faces, so a west-facing front gets shot in the afternoon and an east-facing one in the morning. Overcast is fine for interiors and we do sky replacement on exteriors as part of a standard shoot, so a grey Gqeberha morning isn't a reason to cancel. Properly wet weather is, because wet paving and dripping gardens look miserable no matter what the sky is doing.

If the forecast turns, tell us by 18:00 the day before and we'll move the booking at no cost. Booking lead time is usually three to seven days, so give yourself a week between the prep and the listing going live.

If your house has a view, a pool or good outdoor lighting, ask about a twilight session. It adds about 45 minutes on site and gives you a lead image that stands out on a portal page. It won't do much for a standard townhouse with no view, and we'll say so.

One thing sellers get wrong at the end

They prep the house beautifully and then let the agent upload the photos in the wrong order. The best image should be first, always, and the worst small bedroom shouldn't be sitting at number three. Your prep work only pays if the gallery is built properly when it goes live.

For the full prep list including what to tell your agent beforehand, read how to prepare your home for a real estate shoot. If you want to know what a shoot involves and what drives what it costs, that's on our pricing page.

Common questions

How long does it take to prepare a house for sale photos?

Most homes need a full day of prep, split over the day before and the morning of the shoot. Decluttering surfaces and clearing rooms is the slow part and should happen the day before. The morning of, you only need about 30 minutes for lights, curtains, cars and a last tidy.

Should the house be empty for listing photos?

No, furnished homes photograph better than empty ones in almost every case. Furniture gives a room scale and warmth, and buyers struggle to judge how big an empty room is. If the house is already vacant, consider a few key pieces in the main living space rather than shooting bare rooms.

Do I need to remove family photos before property photos?

Yes, take down family photos, fridge magnets and personal certificates. Buyers need to picture themselves in the space, and personal items pull them out of that. It also protects your privacy, since those images sit publicly on a portal for months.

What time of day is best for house photos in South Africa?

It depends which way the house faces, so let your photographer choose. A north or west-facing front looks best in the afternoon light, an east-facing one in the morning. Harsh midday sun in summer creates hard shadows on exteriors and is usually the worst window.

Can I take my own listing photos on a phone?

You can, but phone photos on a property portal sit next to professionally shot listings and the difference is obvious on a small screen. Phone cameras struggle with the dynamic range in a room with bright windows, so you get either a blown-out window or a dark interior. If your house is in a competitive price band, it's the wrong place to save money.

How soon after the shoot will I get the photos?

Standard property shoots deliver edited photos and video within 48 hours. That means you can prep and shoot on a Monday and have the listing live by Wednesday. If you need it faster, ask when you book, same-week urgent slots are often available.

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