When to schedule listing photos

Good photos depend on when they're taken almost as much as on who takes them. Shoot too early and the house isn't ready; too late and the listing goes live without them. Here's how to time it.

Shoot when the house is finished

Photos should show the home buyers will walk into. Book the shoot for after the painting, repairs, cleaning, landscaping and staging are done, not while they're still underway. Reshooting a room because the new countertop arrived late costs more than waiting a day. The pre-shoot checklist covers what to do before we arrive.

Work back from the list date

Plan the shoot about a week before the listing goes live. That leaves room for:

• Booking. We need at least 3 days' notice, and popular days fill up.
• Delivery. Photos usually come back the same day or the next day; videos take two to three days to edit.
• Your review, and time to load everything to the MLS and write the description around the photos.
• A rain date for the exteriors or aerials, if the weather turns.

Choose the time of day by the light

Interiors are forgiving, but the exterior shots depend on where the sun is. As a rule of thumb, the front of the house should be lit, not in its own shadow:

• Front faces east: morning.
• Front faces west: afternoon.
• Front faces south: midday works, with the sun across the facade.
• Front faces north: an overcast day can actually help, with soft, even light and no harsh shadows. Twilight is another option.

If you're not sure which way the house faces, choose "Flexible" when you book and we'll plan around the light.

Weather

An overcast sky is fine for interiors and often fine for exteriors. Heavy rain, wet driveways and strong wind are different: they make the outside look gloomy and can ground the drone. If the forecast looks bad, talk to us before the 24-hour cancellation cutoff about moving the shoot.

Seasons

Late spring and summer show yards at their best, and winter can make the same yard look bare. If you know a listing is coming up later in the year, consider shooting the exterior and aerials now, while the landscaping looks its best, and the interiors closer to the list date. Just be sure the exterior photos still match the house when it hits the market; a summer photo on a listing that sits through the winter should be updated.

Twilight is its own appointment

Real twilight photos are taken in a short window after sunset, so they're usually a separate visit from the daytime shoot. Digital twilight skips that by editing a daytime exterior to dusk. More in is twilight photography worth it?