Readying Your Home for Charleston Virtual Tours

Virtual tours in Charleston, SC can be potent selling tools over the coming holiday season. To make the best use of those tools, it’s important to prepare your home with the special requirements of the medium in mind. How doing so differs from prepping for in-the-flesh showings is a subtle but real distinction. Some photographers use a couple of tricks:

Close One Eye

Virtual tours are assemblages of still or video shots —raw material that is all filtered through the single lens of a camera. When anyone walks through a home, they do so with both eyes open. They experience a three-dimensional impression of their surroundings.

What the “camera sees” is different — it’s why some people and places are said to be more “photogenic” than others. It’s also why you sometimes see a film director examining the next shot through a single-lens viewfinder — he’s viewing the set the way the camera will. The quickest way to start seeing what your virtual tour will convey is to simply close one eye. Strange but true, when you stand back and view each room that way, you get a two-dimensional (flat) version of what’s there.

Snap a Test Shot

After you have arranged a room to look pleasing in a one-eyed view, take an actual test shot, then view it critically. You will probably notice how the camera lens picks up and seems to magnify any flaws that were less apparent before. You’ll want to -  

·         remove excess furniture (and all clutter) to “open up” the space, expanding apparent size

·         scrub any surface or thing that appears less than Q-tip clean  

·         place tasteful accessory combinations (lamps, plants, books) of varying heights next to one another to add dimension 

The goal of virtual tours is to show a comprehensive view of the subject properties, inside and out — a view that will ignite the imaginations of potential buyers. As we enter the hectic holiday season, the importance of Charleston virtual tours can’t be overemphasized! The buyers (and they are out there!) will be busier than usual.

Interested in selling your Charleston area home? Visit: www.jeffcookrealestate.com

Interested in buying a Charleston area home? Visit: www.discovercharlestonareahomes.com

-Jeff Cook

Jeff Cook Real Estate

Charleston, SC