Welcome!
If you are reading this guide, your property is about to be photographed. At Improntia, we are delighted to accompany you at this stage.
We have gathered these recommendations to help ensure the property is ready before our arrival, whether you are a real estate professional, a holiday rental manager, or a homeowner.
HomePreparationGuide
Interior
General/WholeHouse
● Turn on all lights in the house, lamps, vent hood light, ceiling fan lights,etc. Replace burnt-out bulbs.
● Special care with glass doors, windows and mirrors: should be clean and free of streaks or fingerprints.
● Turn off fans and hide portable fans.
● Turn off TVs and and computer screens.
● Hide kids toys and various remote controls.
● Straighten all furniture (if possible).
● Ensure doors are open for all photographed rooms, but leave closets closed.
● Depersonalize home if possible (photos, personal items).
● Window treatments
○ If a window has curtains, please open them. If the view outside is awful, please leave them closed.
○ Expensive/Nice Blinds: Leave down in flat position to see exterior view
○ Cheap/Broken Blinds: Close them all the way up, to see exterior view.
Careful preparation makes a real difference: it enhances the final result and elevates the quality of the marketing material.
This is not a list of obligations, but a practical foundation to avoid overlooking important details. Some points may not apply to every property.
Our goal is a smooth, efficient shoot and an impeccable result. With a clean, tidy, and well-prepared home, the images stand out and the property sells or rents faster.
○ Cabinet underlighting
○ Hood vent lights
● Clean off and wipe down all countertops.
● Hide soaps, brooms, sponges, etc.
● Remove all appliances except nice, modern-looking devices (i.e., coffee maker or tea kettle on stove).
● Remove all items from the refrigerator (magnets, pictures, etc.) and clean refrigerator front
● Remove throw rugs, hanging towels, cleaning products and paper towels.
● Hide garbage can, remove dishes and drain stopper from sink.
● Recommended: Use standard dining table set up (i.e. plates, napkins, placemats, cutlery. Place bowl of fruit or low vase to add color, if possible).
● Straighten and tidy all chairs.
Living/FamilyRooms
● Ensure all lights are on.
● Ensure all knick knacks and visually distracting items are removed. Vacuum, sweep, and mop. Remove clutter from tables/desks
● Tidy couches, fluff pillows.
● Hide un-neccesary cables and devices chargers.
● Sweep wooden floors.
Kitchen/DinningRoom
● Ensure all lights are on
○ Accessory lighting
Bedrooms
● Ensure all lights are on.
● Make all beds; you may use decorative pillows if available.
● Remove all clutter from end tables, dressers, and nightstands: drinking cups, alarm clocks, etc.
● Store away the phone, tablets, charging cords, tissues and similar.
● If possible, remove personal photos.
● Address any clutter under the bed that may show in photos or video.
● Walk-in closets should be clean and kept.
● Fluff pillows.
Bathrooms
● Ensure all lights are on, including mirror lights.
● Arrange clean hand and body towels to be orderly.
● Hide all trash cans, plungers, or toilet scrubbers.
● Be sure to close the toilet-seat lid.
● Remove floor mats.
● Apply fresh toilet paper roll.
● Remove hygiene products from the counter, including bar soap, medications and toothbrushes.
● Remove shampoos, razors and loofahs.
● Shower curtains:
○ If itʼs an ugly curtain, open it to hide it.
○ If the shower is uglier, close it.
○ Sometimes we open them halfway
Exterior
Ingeneral
● Mow the lawn and remove any leftover debris (twigs, branches, discernable weeds). Coordinate to have the gardener/pool cleaner come the day before the shoot and not at the same time.
● Hide recycling bins, garbage cans
● Hide garden hoses and gardening tools.
● Turn exterior lights on.
Front
● Ensure front window treatments are all the same - It looks weird to have some shades down and some up (sometimes this is unavoidable).
● Remove cars from the driveway and front of the home, either in the garage or down the street. Garage doors must remain closed.
Backyard
● Clean, arrange and straighten outdoor furniture and plump cushions (sometimes theyʼre laying down due to
Before,during&after
WhattodobeforetheShoot
Please ensure the property is shoot ready. This cannot be overstated as the success of your shoot hinges on everything being ready to go. Recommended procedures for preparing your property:
● In general, de-clutter all rooms being shot. Less is more with real estate and vacation rental photography, as buyers want to envision themselves living in that space.
● Make sure landscaping is on-point.
● Clean the house or hire a cleaning company to come in and really make the place shine.
● Replace all things broken that are noticeable in a photo or video. Such as: lights, poollights, blinds, glass, and blemishes (wall, carpet, furniture, etc).
● Be sure to communicate with us in advance if there are important shots that need special preparation for (ex. long lens for view shots).
● If we are shooting without anyone present we require lockbox instructions at photoshoot scheduling.
● 24 hours prior to the shoot we suggest you that either you or a representative check the property and make sure these tasks are completed.
WhattododuringtheShoot
● Turn on all interior and exterior lights either before the shoot begins or at the beginning of the shoot.
● For exterior lighting, do not rely on timers as they are often set wrong. Turn them on manually at least 1 hour before sunset.
● Be prepared to move furniture and/or large objects if they need to be cleared for a shot.
● Make sure either you, an assistant or the home-owner is present to help with any issues surrounding the successful completion of the shoot.
● Inform us of any amenities that need to be captured (i.e. gym, pool, lobby, courts, etc). Or any other keyshots that are important to you.
wind), open patio table umbrella and tidy chairs.
● Remove any toys or sports items from the lawn and driveway. Generally declutter anything laying around.
● Remove grill cover if it is clean, and hide utensils.
● If Hot Tub and if clean:
○ Open it (if allowed).
○ Turn on bubbles, jets and lights.
○ If thereʼs a roof, put the roof up.
● If Pool and if clean:
○ Ensure cover is off. If automatic, ask for the code and get it open!
○ Skim leaves. Turn on lights and jets. Put away cleaning equipment.
● Sweep sidewalks, driveway, patio, decks, and pool area.
● Remove all flags, hanging ornaments, and home security signs.
● Make sure all workers are done with their work and limit the amount of people on-site so that we can efficiently complete the shoot.
Improntiaon-siteprocess
Our team will arrive at your property ready to begin the process of creating the content you hired us to create. We highly encourage an agent (or home owner), assistant or representative to be present to walk through and make sure everything is functional and shoot ready. During this process our team members will make suggestions and shooting adjustments to ensure a successful shoot.
If the property is occupied please ensure all personal/distracting items are put away and secured for increased production value. Again, we will communicate any items we suggest be moved out of sight. If and when given permission to move items we will either replace them and/or communicate where the items have been placed.
If the property is unoccupied and the client is not present, we will do our best to capture the property like we normally would. We will attempt to turn on/off lights and will move objects as we see fit/are comfortable doing. If the client is not present and/or we are not communicated specific instructions beforehand, we are not responsible if the property isnʼt captured exactly how you hoped it would.
Whattodo&expectaftertheShoot
Expect to receive your content via email(s) based upon the turnaround times agreed upon in the project quote.
If you havenʼt done so already, please provide us the email(s) of the person who need access to the content we create for you.
ImprontiaTurnaroundProcess
Each service we do has a different turnaround time. At Improntia we continually strive for perfection in our products and quality always comes first. As such, we never want to provide you with your content in haste.
When delivery day comes, we will upload all the media contents to our cloud, where you will be able to review and check all the
AccessandParking
Please provide Improntia with adequate parking and access instructions whenever parking at your property is complicated. If you tell us to park in a permitted area, please prepare in advance to provide us with a permit, garage code/access or guest pass for the time period required.
finished material. If you find any specific detail that should require some adjustment from us, you may let us know about it. When you find it OK you will have to make the 2nd and final payment, remaining of the original price quote, and let us know about it. That will unlock the cloud and you will be able to download all the digital material of this project in high resolution.
Lockbox
We understand that not all properties require the client or representative to be present during the photo shoot, or that schedules may not allow time to attend the appointment. In such cases, Improntia can access the property using a lockbox code and the relevant entry instructions.
However, for properties larger than 300 m², we prefer that the owner or agent be responsible for opening the property and preparing it in advance, including windows and shutters. Opening and closing a large property can be time-consuming, may involve home automation systems, and carries additional risk if not handled correctly.