How to Get Your House Ready for Listing Photos: A Room-by-Room Checklist

By Mariah Lowinske

Here is how to get your house ready for listing photos: turn on every light, clear every flat surface, and get cars, pets and personal items out of the frame. Most homes need an evening of picking up plus about 20 minutes the morning of the shoot, and this room-by-room checklist covers all of it.

I'm a real estate photographer and FAA Part 107 drone pilot in the Twin Cities, and this is the list I wish every seller had before I walk in. Agents, send this page to your sellers. Sellers, start at the top and work your way down.

How to get your house ready for listing photos in 20 minutes

Short on time? Do these five things. They make the biggest difference in the photos, and none of them cost a thing.

1. Turn on every light in the house, even in the middle of the day.
2. Open every blind and curtain, all to the same height.
3. Clear the kitchen counters and bathroom vanities.
4. Move the cars out of the driveway and off the street in front of the house.
5. Put pets, pet bowls and anything with a name or face on it out of sight.

Have more time? Keep going. The rest of the list goes room by room.

Every room, before anything else

Do these in every room I'll photograph, and the room-by-room lists get a lot shorter.

• Turn on overhead lights, lamps, under-cabinet lights and the range hood light. A room lit only by its windows goes gray in the corners, and gray corners look small on a phone screen.
• Replace burned-out bulbs, and try to match the bulbs in each room. A warm bulb next to a cool one turns one wall yellow and the other blue.
• Open blinds and curtains to the same height in each room.
• Turn off ceiling fans. A spinning fan shows up as a blur.
• Turn off TVs and computer screens.
• Pick up the floors: shoes, laundry baskets, toys, dog toys and cords.
• Tuck chargers and power strips behind furniture.
• Empty the small trash cans and put them out of sight.
• Wipe fingerprints off mirrors and glass doors.

Front of the house and driveway

The front exterior is usually the first photo buyers see, so this is the one to get right.

• Move every car out of the driveway and off the street in front of the house. If a neighbor's car usually sits out front, it's worth asking them to move it for an hour.
• Close the garage door.
• Put trash bins, recycling, hoses, bikes and yard tools in the garage or around back.
• Mow, edge and rake if the yard needs it.
• Sweep the porch and steps, and put away a worn doormat.
• Turn on the porch and exterior lights.
• Leave the for-sale sign out of the yard until after the shoot. The NorthstarMLS photo rules don't allow broker or agent signs in listing photos.

Kitchen

Buyers spend a lot of time on kitchen photos. A clear counter is the fastest way to make a kitchen look bigger.

• Clear the counters almost completely: dish rack, sponges, soap, paper towels, knife block, small appliances, mail and chargers. Put them in a cabinet for the day.
• Empty the sink and run the dishwasher.
• Take everything off the front of the fridge, including magnets, photos, notes and the school calendar.
• Take the dish towels off the oven handle.
• Wipe the stovetop and turn on the range hood light.
• Close every cabinet door and drawer.
• Put the trash and recycling bins in the garage or a closet.

Living room and family room

• Straighten the couch cushions and pillows, and fold or put away throw blankets.
• Clear the coffee table and side tables of remotes, cups, magazines and coasters.
• Put toys in a bin and the bin in a closet.
• Put game controllers and consoles away, and turn off the TV.
• Move furniture back to its usual spot so the walkways are open.
• Clear the fireplace hearth and mantel down to one or two pieces.

Dining room

• Clear the table completely, or leave one simple centerpiece.
• Push the chairs in evenly.
• Clear mail, homework and paperwork off the buffet or sideboard.

Bedrooms

• Make the beds with smooth bedding and straight pillows.
• Clear nightstands down to a lamp.
• Put away laundry and laundry baskets, including the chair that collects clothes.
• Close closet doors, unless it's a tidy walk-in you want buyers to see.
• Push anything stored under the bed out of view.
• In kids' rooms, put toys away and take down anything with a child's name on it.

Bathrooms

• Clear the vanity of toothbrushes, razors, makeup, hair tools, soap pumps and medications.
• Put the toilet lid down.
• Hide the plunger, toilet brush, scale and bath mats.
• Take shampoo bottles, razors and loofahs out of the shower, and straighten the shower curtain.
• Hang one set of clean, matching towels, or none at all.
• Empty the trash can and put it under the sink.
• Wipe the mirror and faucets.

Home office, basement and laundry room

• Clear the desk of paperwork, and turn off the monitor.
• Take down sticky notes, especially any with passwords or account numbers.
• In the basement, stack storage boxes along one wall and clear a path across the floor.
• Put workout gear and kids' gear in one corner or a closet.
• In the laundry room, empty the baskets, close the washer and dryer lids, and clear the detergent off the top.

Backyard, deck and garage

Every real estate shoot I book includes drone photos, so the backyard, the roof and the whole lot get photographed from above. Pick up the yard like it will be in a photo, because it will.

• Straighten the patio furniture and put out the cushions, or put them all away.
• Close and cover the grill.
• Put away toys, hoses, tools and kiddie pools.
• Mow, and pick up after the dog.
• Sweep the deck and patio.
• If the garage will be photographed, clear and sweep the floor.

Winter and seasonal prep

• Shovel the front walk, the steps and the whole driveway, edge to edge.
• Clear boots, coats, salt bags and ice scrapers away from the entry.
• Take down most holiday decorations, inside and out. They date the listing fast.
• In fall, rake the leaves off the front lawn and the walk.
• In spring, pick up whatever the snowmelt left behind.

More on timing a shoot around Minnesota weather in Listing Photos in Winter in Minnesota.

Pets, personal items and privacy

• Pets can't be in listing photos under the NorthstarMLS photo rules. A walk, a crate in the garage or an hour at a friend's house all work.
• Put away pet beds, bowls, crates, litter boxes and toys.
• Take down family photos, diplomas and kids' artwork with names on it.
• Put away mail, bills, prescriptions and anything with the address on it.
• Put jewelry, keys and cash out of view.

This part is about privacy more than looks. Listing photos stay online for years.

What you don't need to do

You don't need to buy new furniture, repaint or fix what can't be fixed in an afternoon. Small stuff gets handled on shoot day. I do minor tidying on the spot, and light object removal in editing is included at no charge, within reason.

The agent doesn't need to be there either. Most agents leave lockbox or code access and get the gallery back within 24 hours. If a home isn't ready when I arrive, I text you before I shoot, and we reschedule or you meet me at the property.

A text you can send your seller

Agents, copy this, fill in the time, and send it with a link to this page.

Questions agents ask me

Booking is in your agent portal. No card is needed to reserve a time.

AI-optimized blog post, overseen and edited by Mariah.