The 12-point checklist we send every seller before a shoot

Most shoots lose their best photos in the first ten minutes — not to bad light or a bad lens, but to a countertop of small appliances nobody moved. This is the exact checklist our crew sends sellers the day a shoot is booked. Forward it as-is.

The night before

1. Counters to zero. Kitchen and bathrooms — everything off the counters, including the toaster and the soap. It reads as space, and space is what buyers pay for.
2. One-third rule for shelves. Remove two of every three objects from open shelving. What's left becomes styling instead of storage.
3. Depersonalize the sightlines. Family photos, kids' names, medications, calendars. Buyers should picture themselves, not you.
4. Lightbulb audit. Every fixture working, all the same warm tone. One cool-white bulb in a warm room ruins a photo more than any clutter.

The morning of

5. Beds hotel-tight, pillows chopped, throws folded in thirds.
6. Every blind to the same height. Halfway up, all the way across the house. Consistency photographs as intention.
7. Hide the bins and bowls. Garbage, recycling, pet bowls, litter boxes, leashes — into the garage.
8. Cars off the driveway, both sides of the street if you can manage it. The exterior hero shot needs a clean approach.

"The listings that sell fastest aren't the ones with the best furniture — they're the ones where nothing distracts from the rooms."

When we arrive

9. Lights on, everywhere. We'll adjust, but starting bright saves twenty minutes.
10. Pets out for a walk. Truly — even the best-behaved dog ends up in four photos.
11. Fireplace on if it's photogenic, TV off, screens black.
12. Then leave us to it. An empty house shoots faster and better. Most homes take 45–90 minutes.

That's the whole list. No staging budget, no contractor — a focused evening and morning. Sellers who follow it consistently get listings that look staged, and agents tell us the checklist itself becomes a trust-builder: it signals the listing is being handled professionally from day one.