Do your photographs give too much away?

Spring is such a lovely time of year.  Many of the houses we work with at HomeTruths are rural or village homes, surrounded by fields and woodland, and look absolutely beautiful at this time of year.  I love how the flowers count down the weeks until summer too, starting with the snowdrops, then the daffodils, and of course the beautiful bluebells.

Lots of our clients are really pleased when their photographs and brochure feature their beautiful gardens, complete with seasonal flowers.  However, I have to explain that whilst it’s true that they do look so pretty, they unfortunately date the photography, and therefore the date the house first came to market, for their buyers to see.  I can look at property photography and date it within about 4 weeks, and that may be information you don’t want to share with your buyers.

There are some weeks between spring and autumn when it’s reasonably safe to photograph a garden without giving too much away.  A good property photographer will exclude any tell-tale flowers if he possibly can, and give you the best chance of achieving an attractive brochure that doesn’t date.

So – no daffodils please; and if your photographs can be ‘dated’, it’s time to give your agent a call and ask him to arrange for new ones.  Tell him Sam said so.

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

8 thoughts on “Do your photographs give too much away?”

  1. Lisa

    I totally agree with you, in fact I saw a property on Rightmove the other day with snow covering the garden…. in April!

  2. Sam Jones Post author

    Shocking! You really don’t want to give a buyer any more reasons than they already have, for making a low offer. Keeping your photographs up to date and of the current season keeps them fresh, and your buyer assuming you haven’t been on the market very long.

  3. Claire, Plantpassion

    totally agree,
    We bought our house in September, and the Estate agent still had a photo of the Magnolia Soulangeana in flower out the front. I asked why it was taking so long to sell and he said that the picture was from late May! – Total BS, as it’s finished by the middle of April in a normal year, this year it was about April 12th! Oh well, it let us know that we could give an offer.

  4. Sam Jones Post author

    Exactly Claire! Aside from dishonest estate agents, (by the way, they are obliged by law to tell you the date it came to market upon request) keeping your photography fresh means that the marketing looks fresh. You don’t get Coke Santa ads in the middle of the summer, do you?!

  7. John K Smith

    Dating house photos. Hmmmm how often do Google pop round your street, we’ve viewed houses that the same for sale board is on street view and if you look from up and down the street you can tell the photos have been took at different times and the board is on them both.

  8. Sam Post author

    Thanks for your comment John – and that’s an excellent point – Google Streeview can tell you lots about a property sale history – not always what you want when you’re trying to sell! Sam

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