Firstly, it’s a closeup of a BED. Secondly, it’s a closeup of an UNMADE bed that looks the way my bed does when I wake up after a fitul night’s sleep! A potential buyer can tell absolutely nothing about the room from this photo, except that the seller probably doesn’t care enough about selling his home to at least make his bed before the Realtor takes the photos. You can’t see the size of the room or how much furniture will fit in it. The walls are white and the bedding is white, making it even more difficult to tell anything at all about the room.

By contrast, below are 2 photos of a bedroom I took on Monday after we had Staged a townhome in Santa Monica (full story coming up in my next post). Notice that in the first photo, you get a view of almost the entire room, showing that it’s spacious enough for a queen bed and 2 nightstands, plus a bench (or dresser) along the side wall. You also see that it’s got an en suite master bath. In the second photo, you see the French doors that lead out to the balcony right off the patio.

The buyer who sees these photos on the MLS has already answered several of his/her own questions about the size and layout of the master bedroom & bath before he or she even sets foot in the home.

If you haven’t already read my post about photography tips for Realtors, you may not realize that more than 85% of buyers pre-shop for homes on the internet! That means that your photos have to sell the home before a buyer will come to see it in person.

So this is not just about a photo of a Staged bedroom versus an unmade bed. It’s about the importance of photography as a marketing tool for all your listings. Would you print a flyer that had the first photo as a way to market and sell this home? I certainly hope not. So if you can’t at least make the bed for your client before taking the photo, just don’t take it. No photo in this case is better than a bad photo that will turn off any potential buyer. And if you don’t have a wide angle lens that will allow you to get more of the room in your photos, hire a professional to photograph the home. And better yet, have it professionally Staged first! Then you can guarantee your photos will have buyers knocking down the door to get in.