The difference between a good gallery and a great one is usually decided before the photographer rings the doorbell. Editing can fix a grey sky; it can't remove a room full of clutter frame by frame without the budget ballooning. An hour of vendor preparation is the highest-return hour in the entire campaign — but only if the vendor knows exactly what to do.
The fix is simple: send a one-page checklist a week before the shoot, and frame it the right way. Below is the list we wish every vendor received.
How to brief the vendor (psychology first)
Vendors don't resist preparation because they're lazy — they resist because 'declutter your home' sounds like a judgement about how they live. Reframe it as staging for a product photo: 'buyers need to imagine their own life in the rooms, so we temporarily remove yours'. That one sentence turns defensiveness into cooperation.
Send the checklist seven days out, not the night before — decluttering takes a weekend, not an evening. And set the expectation that the photographer will make final micro-adjustments on the day, so the vendor doesn't need to achieve perfection, just readiness.
It's also worth telling vendors why it matters in their language: listings compete on the portals within hours of launch, the first week of views decides how the algorithms treat the campaign, and preparation is the one input that costs nothing but effort. Vendors who understand the stakes almost always do the work.
Exterior and street appeal
The exterior supplies the hero image, and the hero image decides the click-through. Ask the vendor to:
- Move all cars off the driveway and away from the front of the house
- Hide the bins — the classic Australian listing-photo fail
- Mow the lawn, edge the paths and sweep the driveway a day or two before
- Remove hoses, tools, toys and pet items from the yard
- Clean outdoor furniture and set it as if guests were coming
- Uncover the pool or spa, clean it, and skim the leaves
- Open exterior blinds and shutters so the house looks awake
Kitchen and living areas
These rooms carry the campaign — buyers rank kitchens and living zones as the images they study most. The goal is 'display home with a pulse': clean, open surfaces with one or two deliberate touches of life.
- Clear benchtops completely, leaving at most a bowl of fruit or a coffee machine
- Remove fridge magnets, notes, calendars and kids' artwork from the fridge door
- Hide bins, dish racks, tea towels, sponges and paper towel
- Straighten couch cushions and throws; remove pet beds and toys
- Tuck away remotes, chargers, cords and gaming controllers
- Clear coffee tables down to one book or one small plant
- Turn every downlight, lamp and pendant on — replace any dead globes beforehand
Bedrooms and bathrooms
Bedrooms sell rest and bathrooms sell cleanliness — both are undone by the small personal items nobody notices in their own home.
- Make beds hotel-style with the best linen in the house; iron or steam the covers
- Clear bedside tables to a lamp and a book; hide tissues, chargers and medications
- Remove clothes, shoes and washing baskets from view; close wardrobes fully
- Clear every bathroom bench and shower shelf of products — all of them
- Hang fresh matching towels; hide bath mats, toothbrushes and razors
- Put toilet lids down (the photographer will double-check, but start the habit)
- Remove kids' bath toys and pet litter trays
The morning of the shoot
A short final pass keeps the big work from being undone by breakfast:
- Open all curtains and blinds fully to let natural light flood in
- Turn on every light in the house before the photographer arrives
- Run a final surface wipe over kitchen benches and bathroom mirrors
- Empty all bins and hide them
- Secure pets with a neighbour or in the car, and stow their bowls and beds
- Park cars up the street, not on the driveway or nature strip
What to leave to the photographer
Vendors don't need to style vignettes, replace furniture or fix a tired lawn — that's what professional composition and hand editing exist for. A good photographer will fine-tune cushions, straighten linen, adjust chairs and choose angles that flatter each room; the edit handles skies, lawns and window views.
What no photographer can do is conjure clear benchtops out of a cluttered kitchen in a 90-minute shoot. Send the checklist, send it a week early, and frame it as staging rather than tidying. The gallery — and the campaign — will show the difference.
