Photos that sell a property

Before you start

• Pick a bright day and shoot between 10am and 3pm with every curtain and blind open and every light on.
• Clear every surface. Bins, bottles, toothbrushes, the dog bed, the ironing. Cars off the drive.
• Wipe the lens. Phone lenses are always smeared.
• Hold the phone at chest height, level, in landscape. Not from the doorway pointing down.
• Stand in a corner to get the most of the room in. Do not use the ultra-wide setting; it makes rooms look like a funhouse and buyers know it.

The twelve shots, in order

1. The front, from across the road, slightly to one side, sky in the top third. This is the photo people see on Facebook.
2. The kitchen, from the doorway or the corner.
3. The main living room.
4. The garden or land, looking away from the house. If you have acres or stables, this may be your first photo instead.
5. The main bedroom.
6. The bathroom, lid down, towels straight.
7. Second reception, dining room, or study.
8. Other bedrooms.
9. Stables, ménage, outbuildings, garage for rural property; each one.
10. The view from the best window.
11. The rear of the house from the garden.
12. The street or the lane, so people know the setting.

For land and equestrian

Buyers want to see the grazing, the fencing, the water supply, the access from the road, and the arena surface. Walk the boundary and photograph it. A phone video walking from the gate to the house, uploaded to YouTube and linked in the description, sells rural property better than anything.

Do not

• Use filters, HDR effects or "enhance" apps. Buyers feel tricked at the viewing.
• Include people or pets.
• Photograph a room with the TV on.
• Upload sideways or blurry photos; check each one.

You can change photos any time from your manage link, so if the first set doesn't get enquiries, shoot again on a better day.

This is general information for people in the UK selling or buying privately, not legal or financial advice. Property law differs in Scotland and Northern Ireland; always use a solicitor.