Agent guide

Using virtually staged photos in your listings

Virtual staging helps buyers picture a home. Used honestly, it sells rooms; used carelessly, it loses trust. Here's how to get it right.

1. 01

   How to take the best room photos

   Staging can only work with what the camera gives you, so the photo you take matters more than any style you pick afterwards. A bright, straight, tidy frame makes the staged version believable; a dark, tilted, cluttered one is what makes it look fake.

   • —Let the daylight in. Shoot mid-morning or mid-afternoon with the sun off the glass, every curtain and blind pulled fully open, and all the lights on. A bright room reads larger, and staged furniture sits in it far more convincingly.
   • —Hold the camera level at chest height, around 1.3m, and point it straight into the room rather than down at the floor or up at the ceiling. Door frames and skirting boards should run straight up the sides of the frame — if they lean, the room looks distorted.
   • —Skip the extreme wide-angle. A slightly wide lens is fine, but the fisheye stretch that turns a box room into a ballroom is obvious to buyers, and it makes staged furniture look like it's floating.
   • —Clear the room, then clear it again: bins, washing up, cables and chargers, laundry, towels, pet bowls and family photos. Leave a cushion or a throw so it doesn't feel uninhabited. Clutter is what makes a staged room look false, because the staging has to work around whatever is already standing there.
   • —Stand in a corner and shoot diagonally across the room so two walls and the floor are in the same frame. It reads bigger than a head-on shot of one wall, and it gives the staging a proper view of the space to work with.
   • —Expose for the window, not the wall. Shoot into the daylight, take a few frames at different brightnesses (or leave your phone on HDR) and keep the view outside visible. A blown-out white window flattens the whole room.
   • —Leave some bare floor and clear wall. Push furniture back or out of the shot so there's room for a sofa or a bed to realistically go — a room already packed with its own furniture leaves the staging nowhere to sit.
   • —Take three photos of every room: a wide view from the corner, one from the doorway, and one detail such as the fireplace, the outlook or the fitted kitchen. Use the same lens for the whole set so the listing feels consistent.

2. 02

   Always say it's virtually staged

   Buyers must not be misled about what they're buying. Label every staged image clearly — use the “Virtually staged” watermark when exporting, and mention it in the image caption and description.

3. 03

   Show the empty room too

   Put the original, unfurnished photo alongside the staged one. It builds trust and means nobody arrives at a viewing feeling surprised.

4. 04

   Keep the room as it really is

   Don't change windows, walls, views, room size or fixed fittings. Only add movable furniture and decor that would realistically fit the space.

5. 05

   Property portals

   Portals expect staged images to be clearly identified. Add “Virtually staged” to the caption, and lead with a real photo as the main image where possible.

6. 06

   Pick a style that fits the buyer

   Match the style to who's likely to buy: Scandinavian or Japandi for young professionals, Farmhouse or Coastal for family homes, Luxury for high-end stock.

7. 07

   Use it where it helps most

   Staging works best on empty, cold-looking rooms — living rooms, main bedrooms and open-plan spaces. You rarely need to stage every room.

This is general guidance, not legal advice. Check your portal's current rules and any local advertising rules where you sell.