How to Take High-Quality Photos of Your Business for Sale

A picture tells a thousand words, and this is especially true of the photos you use when you’re selling your business. Bad photos won’t do your business justice and could scare away potential buyers from what could be a very good opportunity. So, how do you take photos that will entice and excite potential buyers? Read on to find out more…

Blurry Photos

Your photos are the first exposure someone will have to your business, so it’s important to make sure they’re crystal clear. A photo where everything is blurry won’t impart a professional feel and will make thh3 look hurried. These photos are representing your business, so make sure you take the time and effort to take sharp photos.

What Can I Do to Stop This?

Make sure the camera has a high shutter speed to reduce the chance of blur in the photo. If you’re using your phone try to rest it (or your hands) on something sturdy to reduce the chance of the camera moving when you’re taking the photo.

People in the Way

Whilst some people might say that having people in your photos makes it look like you have customers (which is always good), it can also make the photos look cluttered and detract from the clean, focused shots you’re after. Try to look at it from a prospective buyer’s view – people in the way make it harder to see the business, whilst a photo with nobody in is much clearer.

What Can I Do to Stop This?

There are two ways you can get around this – either wait for a lull in customers or wait until the business is closed before taking photos.

Framed Incorrectly

You don’t have to be a David Bailey or a Rankin to take good pictures of your business, but knowing how to frame a photo well will help your sale. A long-established technique for photography is the rule of thirds. This can be used in any photo and will come in handy here. The rule of thirds states that the photo is divided up into thirds both vertically and horizontally, and putting points of interest along these lines will make the photo more interesting.

What Can I Do to Stop This?

When taking a photo, look for something interesting and try to imagine the image cut into thirds (some cameras will do this on the viewfinder already) and put it either on one of the lines or one of the corners.

Not Using the Business’ Strengths

If your business has a particular strength like a good view, a quirky design or an interesting location, include a picture of it to give people another reason to be interested in your business.

What Can I Do to Stop This?

Look for anything interesting that you like or visitors comment on and include a photo of it to add something interesting to your listing.

Not Having Enough Photos

The old “less is more” mantra definitely doesn’t apply with the businesses for sale market. Only having a couple of photos (or no photos at all) will put off potential buyers, as they won’t want to arrange a viewing of a business they can’t see anything of online.

What Can I Do to Stop This?

Make sure you have plenty of photos on your listing to show off your business in all its glory, as well as having photos of everything a buyer would want to see – if you run a restaurant, for example, you’ll want to have a few photos of the outside of the building, the dining area, the kitchen and possibly the food to show everything an interested buyer might want to see before booking a viewing.

Advanced Business Photography Tips

If you already have a grasp of the basics, there are a few extra tips and techniques you can use to get the photos buyer's love:

• Use a wide-angle lens – this trick is used by estate agents the world over, and for good reason. A wide-angle lens distorts the photo slightly by exaggerating the distances between ith3s in a room, making it look bigger than it is.
• Edit your photos – if your photo is too dark, too bright or you’re not happy with the composition, you can use free photo editing tools like Fotor to change it to how you want it.
• Use a tripod – if you want to make sure your photos aren’t blurry and all the lines are straight, you can use a tripod to hold your camera steady and level.