The fifteen minutes that multiply your property photos

The difference between a property photo that generates enquiries and one that goes unnoticed is rarely the camera. It is what is in front of the camera. A well-prepared flat photographed on a phone outperforms a cluttered flat photographed with professional equipment.

Preparing a property for a photo session — or for virtual staging — takes between 10 and 20 minutes if you know what to do. This is the checklist used by agents who publish listings that work. Print it or send it by WhatsApp to the owner before your visit.

Before touching anything: the light

The first thing you do when you walk in is not move furniture. It is open everything.

• All shutters fully up
• All curtains tied back
• All lights on (yes, even during the day)
• If there are interior rooms with no window, every available lamp on

This takes 2 minutes and it has the biggest impact on the result. A flat with shutters half down and lights off looks like a basement. The same flat with everything open looks like a different home.

The walk-through: room by room

Entrance

• Shoes out of frame or inside a cupboard
• Coat rack clear (maximum 1–2 jackets, not a pile)
• Keys, post and loose objects put away
• If there is a mirror, clean it

Living room

• Sofa cushions straightened and plumped
• TV remote and cables hidden
• Magazines and books stacked tidily (not piled)
• Coffee table clear: maximum one book, one candle, one plant
• Curtains symmetrical and crease-free

Kitchen

• Worktop completely clear. Everything in the cupboards: toaster, kettle, chopping board, spice jars. Leave 1–2 decorative pieces only if you have them (a fruit bowl, a herb plant).
• Sink empty and dry
• Cloth, scourer and washing-up liquid out of frame
• Fridge magnets removed (all of them)
• Bin out of the kitchen or inside a cupboard

Master bedroom

• Bed made with plain bedding (ideally white or neutral)
• Bedside tables with maximum 1 object each (lamp and nothing else)
• Wardrobes closed
• Clothes out of sight
• Shutters up, curtains tied back

Other bedrooms

• Same rules as the master
• For a child's room: toys off the floor, bed made
• For a home office: desk clear, cables tucked away

Bathroom

• Toilet lid closed. Always. No exceptions.
• Toiletries inside the cabinet (toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, razor)
• Clean towels hung neatly (white if possible)
• Mirror clean
• Bath mat straight
• Shower curtain open and clean (or removed if it is ugly)

Terrace / balcony

• Clothes airer put away (no clothes hanging out)
• Outdoor furniture clean and tidy
• Plant pots grouped, not scattered
• Floor swept

What the owner can do before your visit

Send them this WhatsApp the night before:

"Hi [name], tomorrow at [time] I'm coming round to take the photos of the flat. So they turn out as well as possible, before I arrive I'd ask you to: make the beds with plain bedding, clear the kitchen worktops, put the bathroom toiletries away, take the magnets off the fridge, and bring the clothes airer in if it's outside. Thank you!"

This message saves 10 minutes of work on site and avoids the awkward moment of asking the owner to put their things away while you wait.

What you do NOT need

The flat does not have to be perfect. You do not need fresh flowers or lit candles or magazine-level décor. What you need is for nothing to distract or produce visual rejection.

A normal, clean, decluttered flat photographs well. A spectacular flat with an underwear airer on the balcony photographs badly. The bar is not high. It is the bar of "remove the things that should not be in a photo".

And if the flat is empty

If there is no furniture and nothing to prepare, the prep reduces to:

• Open shutters and turn on lights
• Sweep if there is visible dust
• Close the doors of built-in wardrobes
• Make sure there is no leftover from the move (boxes, tape, floor protectors)

Then apply virtual home staging to the photos so the space shows its furnished potential. Prep of an empty flat takes 5 minutes. Virtual staging, another 5. Total: 10 minutes to turn a listing with empty walls into one that generates enquiries.

Fifteen well-spent minutes

Preparing the property is the task with the best return in the whole sales process. It costs no money (only time), it can be done by the owner if you give them clear instructions, and it makes the difference between photos that work and photos that do not.

It is not glamorous. It requires no special knowledge. But it is what separates the listings that generate 30 enquiries from the ones that generate 5. And that is worth the time.