How to Prepare a Calgary Listing for Real Estate Photography

The photos decide whether a buyer books a showing. Most of what makes them good happens before the photographer arrives. This is the checklist we send Calgary agents when they book, with the local details that catch people out.

The day before

• Clear every counter and surface. Kitchens and bathrooms sell on emptiness.
• Remove fridge magnets, personal photos, pet bowls, and bins.
• Replace burnt-out bulbs and match the colour temperature where you can.
• Open blinds and curtains; clean the windows the camera will face.
• Make every bed, straighten cushions, hide cables and remotes.
• Mow, shovel, or sweep. Move cars, bins, and hoses off the driveway.

Book for the light

Calgary's sun is strong and the sky is often clear, which is good news for exteriors. For east-facing fronts, book the morning; for west-facing, book the afternoon. In winter, aim for the middle of the day when the sun is highest. Twilight shoots, with the interior lights on and a deep blue sky, are the single most effective upgrade for a premium listing, and in December that window arrives before five.

Snow, chinooks, and winter listings

A snowy exterior photographs well if the walks are cleared and the snow is fresh. A brown, half-melted January lawn does not. If a chinook is forecast, it can be worth waiting a day. For spring listings shot in winter, ask about a reshoot of the exteriors once the grass is green; we include one for the listings we shoot.

Drones near the airport

A large part of north and northeast Calgary sits in controlled airspace around YYC, and some areas need advance authorisation before a drone can fly. We check the address in NAV Drone before we confirm, so you know at booking whether aerials are possible and what the lead time is. Do not assume a drone shot is included until the airspace has been checked.

What MLS-ready delivery should include

Files sized for the MLS, full-resolution copies for print and your website, straight verticals, true colours, and the exterior sky fixed when the day was grey. If you booked video, ask for a vertical cut for Instagram and Facebook as well as the landscape tour, and for branded and unbranded versions. Our real-estate photography packages include all of this by default, usually by the next business day.

One more thing: the listing page

Great photos deserve somewhere better than a portal carousel. A single-property page with the address as the URL, the tour, the floor plan, and a contact form captures buyers who search the address directly. We build these alongside the shoot as part of our website development work.