Listing photos: how many, and how to shoot them

How many photos, in what order, at what time of day and with which settings. The complete method for shooting a property with the gear you already own — your phone — and getting a listing people actually open.

How many photos to publish

The right number depends on the property, but two thresholds matter. Below 8 photos, buyers assume you're hiding something: a dark room, a dated kitchen, a view of a wall. Above 25, they stop looking at all of them, and your best shots get buried in the scroll.

The order that sells

Order isn't decorative — it tells the story of the property. Someone scrolling should be able to rebuild the floor plan in their head, as if they were walking it.

1. The hero shot The best living space, or the facade for a home with curb appeal. This thumbnail decides whether your listing gets opened. It has to stay readable at postage-stamp size.
2. Living spaces Living room, dining, kitchen. This is where interest is won.
3. Bedrooms One per room, from the angle that best shows the floor area.
4. Utility rooms Bathrooms, laundry, storage. Necessary, never up front.
5. Outdoor space and extras Yard, deck, garage, basement, parking.
6. The floor plan, if you have one Buyers love it, and it's still rare in listings — a genuine differentiator.

The settings that change everything

Hold the phone level

Rule number one, and the most ignored. A phone tilted down makes walls converge and rooms look crooked. Hold it at chest height, perfectly vertical. Most phones offer a grid or a level indicator — turn it on. It's free and it fixes most of the problem.

Shoot from a corner

Photographing a room from the middle of a wall flattens it. Back into a corner, ideally standing in a doorway: you show two walls instead of one and the room immediately reads larger — no trickery, just depth.

Lights on, blinds open

Every light on, every blind and curtain open. A room lit only by its window creates a contrast the camera can't handle. Conversely: close toilet lids, clear the counters.

Pick the right hour

Interiors at midday, when natural light is strongest. Facades and yards in late afternoon, when the light is warmer and rakes across the surfaces, giving depth to the volumes.

Before you press the shutter

• Depersonalize. Personal items block buyers from projecting themselves. Family photos, mail, toiletries, pet bowls — all of it goes.
• Hide cables and trash cans. They're the first things the eye lands on, before the layout even registers.
• Move the cars. On a facade or a driveway, a parked car eats half the frame and dates the photo.
• Make the beds, close the lids. Two details, two seconds, and the listing changes category.

After the shoot

Even well shot, a raw photo is rarely publishable as-is: windows stay blown out, whites lean yellow, verticals are slightly off. That's normal — it's a limit of the sensor, not of your technique.

Photo editing fixes those four things automatically. If the property is empty, virtual staging lets you furnish it digitally so buyers can picture themselves. And if you want to go further, your photos can become a video tour for social and for texting to your buyer list.

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