Remove unwanted objects using photoshop from your property photos

None of the above are ideal for selling houses. The aim of the game is to keep the focus on the property, not clutter. Today, we’ll dive into how to remove unwanted objects from property photos and look at a whole range of things that can be removed. If you decide it’s too much effort then we have a simple solution for you too.

Why should you remove unwanted objects in photos?

Great property photos set the scene for selling any home. Potential buyers want to put themselves in the picture, and the current owner’s personal items cluttering up the image does nothing for the overall appearance of the property. We don’t mean to nag, but the place could really do with a tidy up.

But what if there’s no time? Or what if the property is tenanted (and they really don’t care how the property looks on Rightmove)? And when it comes to kids’ toys, dog beds, shoes and piles of laundry, there’s a lot to be desired when it comes to clearing the clutter.

Find out our smart solution for getting rid of mess in property photos without getting your marigolds on before the photoshoot. Ready? Let’s go.

Object removal is an Add-on to our Image Enhancement service, it’s perfect for getting rid of clutter quickly and easily using simple software – but we do all the hard work for you.

Remove unwanted objects from homes to be marketed

Showing off a property in its best possible light is key to getting it sold or let quickly. There’s no point in arranging a photo shoot to take a set of great photos if the home is a disaster zone of mess. Even the odd item in the wrong place can ruin the appeal of an image.

Here’s our rundown of the key areas of a home that we’ve found need objects removed from them for the shots to look sweet and avoid leaving a poor first impression.

Kitchens

A busy kitchen is the heart of the home and one of the suggested ‘feature images’ Rightmove say should appear in the search results – so make sure it looks nice!

With pots, pans, bottles, condiments, spices, and the occasional greasy George Forman taking up critical space on countertops, a kitchen can be a nightmare when you walk in to photograph it.

All this culinary equipment (and even last night’s Chinese) can be tidied away with digital object removal. Your shots will look a million times more professional and no one has to see that pile of washing up – win-win.

Bathrooms

Where do we even start? Kids’ bath toys, towels, floor mats, droopy shower curtains and empty shampoo bottles piled up on the edge of the tub can all make bathrooms look messy.

Your vendors need to picture themselves in a clean, tidy and relaxing space – like a mini spa in the comfort of their potential new home. A whip-round with the tools in Photoshop is what you need for a digital bathroom clear up.

Bedrooms

Bedrooms can get messy. Odd socks, stacks of washing that need folding and putting away, walls full of posters and kids’ drawings: the list goes on.

Make sure all mess and personal items are removed from the photo with object removal. That way, potential buyers can get a clear idea of what the room is like without having to see the current owner’s clutter on display. This bedroom went from chaos to calm with the power of object removal.

Living rooms

Living rooms are for kicking back, relaxing and entertaining – help vendors picture this by removing anything distracting – things like toys, gadgets, pet beds or piles of boxes.

Smarten up the living room into a friendly space and digitally remove all knick-knacks without stuffing everything into a cupboard. And if you’re selling a home unfurnished, it might be helpful to remove any stray furniture that’s not included in the listing.

Home office

Some people thrive in a busy (aks messy af) workspace. Personally, I don’t so I’d be 100% giving my home office a digital clearout! Printers, stacks of paper and lose pens lying around can make even the tidiest home office look less than professional.

Prep the space as much as possible before the shoot, but if there’s no time, or that phone charging cable or laptop case got missed, then have a quick and simple tidy up of your vendor’s home office through the power of object removal.

Exteriors

The most important shot in my opinion is the front of the house. It has to pop with major curb appeal – especially when viewed on a screen. The difference between a shot showing just the house vs a shot with a car and bins in it is huge.

Keep the focus on the house by removing all sorts of things from the exterior, the big ones being cars and wheelie bins. However it doesn’t stop there – skips, scaffolding, garden rubbish even your shadow if shooting with the sun behind you.

Removing cars from external property photos is such a common thing we do, we made a whole blog on just this.

Gardens

Between overgrown hedges and untidy flowerbeds, there can be a lot going on in gardens. Throw a stray hosepipe, a few scattered dog toys or a trampoline into the mix and you’ve got a recipe for one seriously messy garden.

Turns out there’s a much quicker and easier solution than charging around dragging things out of shot (or unbolting that trampoline!) A spot of digital object removal using Lightroom and/or Photoshop will get everything looking lovely. If only gardening was that easy.

Garages

Over the years garages become an Aladin’s cave of crap. It might just be me but I quite enjoy a good clearout – when I can find the time! From my experience photographing houses, however, the general consensus seems to be that most people don’t.

The endless bottles of car cleaning products, boxes of rusty screws and the old bird feeder that never got hung make for a messy photo. Enjoy a stress–free garage clear-out with digital object removal.

Hallways

The gateway to the home, often where coats, bags and shoes live. Nothing wrong with that but when all these things are on show in the photos then it can look a little untidy. Not the best first impression.

Avoid these things (or in the example below, a plethora of items clearly halfway out the door) ruining your property image. Trust in digital object removal to keep hallways looking ship–shape and ready for a new potential buyer.

Conservatories and utility rooms

It’s not just the main rooms in your house that are the guilty offenders of mess. Conservatories can rapidly turn into an indoor shed filled with stuff. Don’t show this to potential homeowners, they need to see a clear relaxing space.

And utility rooms need to look functional, not full to the brim with clutter. Digitally remove those detergent bottles and laundry baskets and enjoy property photos as squeaky clean as utility rooms should be.

How to remove unwanted objects in photos using Photoshop (or Lightroom)

Lightroom is perfectly suitable when smaller, less complex objects need to be removed, and can be done pretty quickly. For example, one or two stray shampoo bottles.

However, from our experience Photoshop is the tool required most of the time when it comes to editing things out of property photos. And this takes significantly more skill and patience. For example, removing a car or undertaking a major room clear-up.

With experience, you’ll know what tools are needed for different situations. I’m not going to rehash the great tutorials Adobe has created – here are 3 great resources:

• Remove objects with Content-Aware Fill
• Clean up imperfections with Spot Healing
• Remove distracting objects from a photo

Do you want help to remove unwanted objects from property photos?

Do you really want to be faffing around in Photoshop? No, you hate it. But we love it!

Save yourself the time and hassle and send your shots to Elements. We’ll take pride in banishing all those unwanted things to the digital recycle bin! We offer Object removal as an Add-on to our super popular Image Enhancement service.

If you’re an agent or property professional, come try us out for free! Simply enter promo code BLOG57 when creating your account.