A buyer scrolling through your Grand Rapids listing stops on photo six. It is a great living room, except there is a dog bowl by the couch, a chewed rope toy on the rug and a blurry tail leaving the frame. Nobody is thinking about the room anymore. They are thinking about the smell.
Pets are part of the family, and I would never ask a seller to pretend otherwise. But on real estate photography day in West Michigan, an animal in the house can cost me an hour and cost you a photo set that looks distracted. Here is how I handle it.
Why pets are a problem on shoot day
I shoot most rooms with multiple exposures and I move around a lot. Doors open and close, I carry a tripod through hallways, and I often leave a front door propped for gear. That is a perfect setup for a dog to bolt or a cat to disappear under a bed.
Even a calm animal changes the shoot. A dog that follows me from room to room ends up in frames I did not want. A nervous cat hides, and then I am waiting instead of shooting.
Get the pet out of the house if you can
The easiest fix is the best one. Take the dog for a long walk right before I arrive, or drop your pets at a friend's house, a daycare or a relative's place for the morning.
If you live near Reeds Lake, Riverside Park or the Millennium Park trails, a real walk beforehand also tires a dog out, which helps if it has to come back and wait in a crate.
If they have to stay, pick one closed room
Some listings are occupied and there is no good place to send the animal. Then pick one bedroom, bathroom or garage space that I can skip or shoot first, and close the door. Tell me which room it is when I arrive.
Put the crate, bed, water and a favorite toy in that room. I would rather shoot that space last, once the animal has moved out, than photograph a room with a barking door.
Do not leave a pet loose in the yard
Exteriors and drone shots tempt sellers to let the dog run outside. Please do not. A dog in the yard barks at me, runs into frames and can slip through a gate I open to reach the backyard.
If you have an invisible fence or a large kennel, tell me before I start. I will plan exterior shots around it, and I will never open a gate to a pet I have not met.
Next business day delivery. Book a Listing Shoot
Clean up what pets leave behind
This is the part buyers notice. Before I arrive, take care of the details that photos and showings both expose.
Pick up bowls, mats, chew toys and beds from every room I will shoot. Vacuum hair from couches and floors. Empty the litter box and move it out of sight, into a closet or the garage for the morning. Scrub any spot near a door where the dog waits or scratches.
Then do a quick smell check. Buyers cannot smell a photo, but they can smell your house at the showing, and the photos got them in the door. The ASPCA has a good general resource on pet care if you are boarding a pet for the first time.
What happens if the pet is still there when I arrive
It happens, and I work around it. I shoot the rooms the animal is not in first, come back to the rest, and clear obvious pet items out of a frame before I press the shutter. If a pet wanders into a shot, I take another.
What I will not do is spend forty minutes chasing a cat around a bedroom. If the animal cannot be contained, I will tell you, and we will either reshoot that room or reschedule that part of the visit.
Should pets ever appear in listing photos?
For a listing, my answer is almost always no. Buyers are trying to picture their own life in the house, and someone else's dog on the couch gets in the way. Allergies and fear of dogs are real reasons a buyer scrolls past.
If you want photos of the family with the pets, that is a great idea for a lifestyle session after the sale. I just would not use them on the MLS.
I shoot homes across Grand Rapids and West Michigan, and pets are a normal part of most of them. Tell me about your animals when you book and I will plan the day around them.