Pre-shoot prep checklist for agents and photographers

Prepare for a listing photo shoot in three passes: the property (declutter, clean, repair and stage each room for what it is used for), the plan (a written shot list by room, agreed with the photographer, including a few extra frames for vertical reels), and the day (lights on, blinds open, beds made, access and timing confirmed). Do the property pass days ahead, not the morning of.

The shoot is a few hours, but the photos work for the whole listing, and for a reel, the flyer and the open house. A short prep routine pays off. Everything here is about the property; keep it that way, for every listing.

Pass 1: the property, days before

Use the home staging checklist as the working list; the sellers’ staging guide explains each step. In short:

• Declutter and clean. Clear counters and floors; put away personal items and anything that is not part of the sale. Clean windows, floors and bathrooms.
• Repair small things. Burned-out bulbs, scuffs, loose handles: visible in a photo, cheap to fix.
• Give each room a job. A spare room should read as a bedroom, an office or a flex space, not as storage.
• Check the outside. Tidy entry, bins away, lawn or paths clear.

Pass 2: the plan

• Write the shot list. The free listing photo shot list starts from a room-by-room list for a house, condo, townhome or lot. Untick what does not apply, add what does, and send it to the photographer.
• Ask what is on offer. Exterior, interiors, a dusk shot, detail frames: confirm what the booking includes.
• Plan for a reel. Reels are vertical, so ask for a few frames with room to crop to a tall shape. In Kadapt’s Photo Reel mode each photo gets at least 2 seconds, so a 15-second reel holds up to seven photos; the reel shot order planner shows how many you need and in what order. See also how many photos a listing reel needs.
• Check usage rights. Confirm in the agreement what the photographer’s licence covers, including a video reel made from the photos.

Pass 3: the day

• Lights on, blinds open, beds made, bins emptied.
• Pets and daily items out of the way; seller out of the house if it helps.
• Access sorted: keys, codes, parking, building rules.
• Walk the list with the photographer at the start and tick as you go.

For technique, see how to photograph a listing. Then before the first visitors arrive, the open house checklist covers the next stage, and open house checklist for agents explains it.

After the shoot

Tick the shot list against what you received, ask for any missing frames while the property is still staged, and pick the best photos for the reel. A free planner and Kadapt’s Photo Reel mode do the rest: you approve the plan before it renders.

Common questions