Amazon’s impact on property photography

The online shopping giant sells pretty much everything, and its competitive prices and quick delivery mean that it’s had a huge impact on commerce as a whole. But have you ever thought about Amazon’s impact on property photography? No? We didn’t think so.

Professional photography is now the norm for internet shopping

When you’re shopping online, you expect to see clear, accurate photographs of the product on offer. Feedback questionnaires allow you to give a rating for the item being “as described” and you’d be quite rightly annoyed if what turned up wasn’t as pictured.

Even when someone is really interested in a product, if the images are low-quality, too dark, too small, or not detailed enough, they will often just move on.

Property photography is no different.

Online shoppers have learned to expect great images

Around 87% of British consumers have purchased at least one item online in the last year, while 26% shop online at least once a week. Internet shopping is so commonplace that we no longer consider it a luxury. The more frequently people see high-quality product photography on Amazon, the more they expect it from any website, no matter what they’re selling.

At Amazon’s 40,000-square-foot photography studio in Brooklyn, they produce some 19,000 product images every day to ensure that their listings are accurate and enticing. If Amazon thinks photography is worth investing in, we should probably all follow suit, right?

You can’t really offer next-day delivery when you’re selling property, but engaging photographs are easily achievable.

Professional photographs create trust

There’s a huge amount of trust placed in a company when it comes to internet shopping. While people don’t exactly buy houses online sight unseen, it gives a poor opinion of your agency if the photos are wildly different from reality.

It’s infuriating enough if you spend just a few pounds on an item and it’s not what you wanted. The stakes are even higher with the type of money you’re talking about in property sales.

If your listing only features a single snap of the outside of a house, potential buyers might assume that you’ve got something to hide. Even if parts of the property are a little ‘well-loved’, it’s much better to be upfront. Get everything out in the open so viewings don’t lead to nasty surprises.

High-quality photographs capture attention—and sell!

95% of people conduct their property search on the internet.

Online listings allow people to browse the market whenever they’ve got time. If your prospective buyers are scrolling through listings on their lunch break, you’ve only got a few moments to attract their attention.

Think of your photographs as an extension to your sales team; they appeal to the buyer’s emotions and show off the property’s best features.

Rightmove conducted an experiment where they marketed the same home on two different listings. The one that featured high-quality photos with home staging and digital enhancements received 300% more views than the one with standard photography.

Convinced yet?

Don’t be afraid to enhance your property photos

“Accurate” doesn’t always mean “exactly how the photo came out”. Sometimes the lighting isn’t right, the weather lets you down, or you just can’t get the picture to look how it looks in real life. Even the most skilled photographer can sometimes struggle to show off their subject in the best light.

There’s nothing wrong with enhancing your images. As long as the end result is still true to what you’re selling, you’re not doing anything wrong. Adjusting the white balance or adding an enticing blue sky to make your shots stand out is fine. Just don’t try anything dishonest like adding windows to make rooms appear larger than they actually are.

Elements Property’s photo enhancement service

So now you know how important professional photos are, you want to know how to get them without rinsing your budget. The answer? Photo enhancement by Elements Property.

Our expert team of digital photo editors can bring out the best in every shot. Whether it’s removing objects, adding a blue sky or even digital property staging, we’re here to help.

Sign up for a free trial of our photo enhancement service with the code BLOG35. If you’re not wowed by the results, there’s no obligation to come back to us, but we’re pretty sure you’ll like what we can do.