Experienced Colorado Springs real estate agents know the value of properly marketing a home.  And in today’s competitive real estate market, you can never do too much to make your home stand out in the crowd.  Working with an experienced real estate agent to sell your Colorado Springs home will make a difference in how quickly it sells.

Some real estate agents recommend hiring a professional “stager” to make your home more attractive to potential buyers, but if you are strapped for cash, it may be more sensible to do the staging yourself, especially when it’s time to take pictures for a virtual tour.

One effective way to “stage” a home is by carefully composing the photographs in your online virtual tour.  Whether your Colorado Springs real estate agent uses professional photographer or takes the pictures for you, here are some ways to prepare your home for its virtual online “debut.”

1) Determine the focal point, angle, and lighting for each shot.  Start by taking several pictures of a room in its “pre-staging” condition.  This will help you see clearly which areas need to be played up, and which you will want to avoid in your final photos.

2) Study each room and determine its most appealing features.  If you are having the home professionally photographed, print out your initial pictures and show your virtual tour photographer which angles you want.

3) When the final shots are being taken, be sure to move any excess furniture out of the room. Pick up any piles of magazines and remove excessive decorations too.  Rooms will appear larger when they are open, clean and clutter free.

4) Consider raising the level of the camera a little higher than eye level, as this will help eliminate glare or uninteresting views outside of windows.

5) Once your final photographs are done, be sure to start the tour with the most interesting element in the home.  This is what will give your viewer their first impression of the home, so don’t start with a doorway or uninteresting area.

Not only does a well-shot virtual home tour attract more potential buyers to your Colorado Springs home, it will also enhance the perceived value of your home and provide more information than a few still photographs.

Read more blog postings about selling your Colorado Springs home.