How to take property photos to rent out your granny flat & find a tenant

Posted on October 11 2023

How to make your granny flat look good online

Here are a few little inside tips to help you get some property photos of your granny flat so you can rent it out faster because it stands out online. Our founder worked in a real estate office and learnt the tricks of the trade.

Prepare your property prior taking photos

Preparing your property before the shoot is so important. Have it clean, including windows and mirrors, try and declutter surfaces and floors. Make the beds, and please put down the toilet seat! Try and avoid at all costs seeing your reflection in the bathroom mirror, crouch below when shooting, or stand in the corner. You can even create a holiday feel with some glasses and a cheese platter on a dining or coffee table, or place a bowl of limes out. Adding some flowers will also make it homely. Remove personal photographs so people can feel like it will be their home. Furnished homes look better so even if offering unfurnished, placing furniture in for the photoshoot will help sell the property to prospect tenants. Turn all the lights and lamps on. Open doors to create space. Make sure the outside lawn or garden beds, courtyards and decks are cut and clear of debris or leaves.

Photography tips to make your granny flat stand out and shine

Most important tip is to photograph landscape, this means if using a phone it is on it’s side. If you have a camera it is straight point and shoot no need on its side. Most sites are built to show the pictures best landscape.
Take the interior photos from head or shoulder height. With the sun behind you if possible. Going right in the corner to get the whole room, then try some straight on shots. If you want to go one step further like a pro, with a tripod, the combination of two photos is the secret to making your own photo look like a professional realty photographer took it, see our tip below *Exposure Tip.
Take the exterior photos at two times of the day. One at sunset and one when the sun is bright and behind you. This way you can show the property in both great lightings.
Avoid shooting too wide angle which has been a trend in realty. Create a scene you can picture yourself in.
Realty shots can be very stark so consider taking a few creative, home magazine style shots too. These are especially good if you are leaving the property furnished for short term rental or holiday letting.
When downloading the pics, if the photo has a yellow tinge you can fix this in post edit, just google ‘how to fix the white balance on my photo’, or consider the tips below.

Editing tips that make your photos look professional

The first thing I do when editing is straighten the image in 'crop'.
As phones are likely to distort the angles of rooms in ways that can make a space feel small, I usually tilt the perspective of photos so that all vertical lines are parallel. The free apps below have great functions for adjusting perspective. Once vertical lines are parallel, I then return to the straightening tool and use my new vertical lines as a reference.
Consider how each room looks to your eyes when the sun is in the perfect spot and the room is naturally well lit. Use this as a reference when editing the warmth, tint, highlights and shadows of an image. Try to get things that are white in the room to appear white in photos. I leave editing exposure until after lifting shadows to avoid creating overly bright outside areas, as this can actually make inside appear darker in contrast.
Once you are satisfied with the lighting and colour of your image, sharpen it just enough to feel clean and crisp, but not to the point that image pixels are visible and that things that aren't in focus appear harsh.
Here are my two favourite free apps for editing property photos:
1. On phones: Snapseed (suitable for both iPhones and Androids). Find it here: Snapseed for Apple or Snapseed for Android
2. On a laptop: Darkroom (suitable for Macbook, iPhones and iPads) Find it here: Darkroom

Pro property photographs by a professional always stand out online

Finally if you would just prefer to have a professional take the shots we can send someone to you, after all it is your asset and once you have paid the fee you can use the shots over and over again. We did this for our granny flat even with all my knowledge and it was worth it! Good luck let us know how you go.

THEN LIST ON www.grannyflatrental.com.au/list-a-property

*Exposure Tip - Using a tripod and keeping the camera stationary between two shots. First, take an over exposure photo where the outside appears almost white and the inside is the right exposure. Secondly, do the reverse and set the exposure to the outside greenery and the inside will be very dark. You can then use an App or Photoshop to merge the photos, or we can arrange this for you for a fee, or send a photographer over contact us through our contact form or on service@grannyflatrental.com

Author and posted by Lisa de Ruyter

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Disclaimer: Any information is of general help & not deemed as legal or financial advice. GrannyFlatRental.com.au Pty Ltd is not held responsible for any compensation from this general help.