Listing CameraShort answer: To photograph a kitchen for a listing, clear the counters further than feels normal, turn on every light including under-cabinet lights, and raise the camera a little, about a foot above the counter, so it sees across the tops. Take a wide overview, island angles from both sides and a straight-on shot, keep cabinet edges vertical, and edit only for light and color.
After more than 2,500 homes, I'd put the kitchen and the front exterior as the two photos that do the most work in a listing. A buyer wants to know three things from the kitchen photos: how much counter and storage there is, what condition it's in, and how it connects to the rest of the house. Every shot below answers one of those.
1. Clear the counters further than feels normal
A kitchen that looks tidy in person can look cluttered in a photo, because every surface is in view at once.
- Put away small appliances, knife blocks, utensil crocks, dish racks, paper towels and sponges. Leave one or two simple things at most, like a bowl of fruit or a single plant.
- Empty and dry the sink; move the dish soap out of sight.
- Clear the fridge door of magnets, photos and papers.
- Hide trash and recycling bins, pet bowls and floor mats.
- Wipe appliance fronts and stainless steel. Fingerprints and streaks catch the light.
The photo prep checklist has the full kitchen list, ready to print for sellers.
2. Turn on every kitchen light
Overheads, pendants over the island, under-cabinet lights, the range hood light, even the light inside a glass-front cabinet. Under-cabinet lights in particular make counters glow and show off a backsplash. If the under-cabinet LEDs are a very different color from the ceiling lights, it's worth noticing: a blue strip under warm pendants can make the counters look like two different stones.
3. Raise the camera a little
In most rooms I shoot around chest height. In kitchens I go a bit higher, so the camera can see across the counter and island tops. From too low, an island becomes a wall that hides the room behind it; from too high, you're looking down at the floor. Somewhere around the top of the island plus a foot usually works. Keep the phone perfectly upright so the cabinet edges stay vertical. Tall cabinets and a fridge make leaning lines very obvious.
4. Take the shots buyers look for
The wide overview
From a corner or a doorway, show the main run of cabinets, the counters and the appliances, plus a glimpse of where the kitchen leads: the eating area, the family room or a back door. This is the photo that answers "how does it flow?" Use 0.5x if you need it, but keep the fridge and tall cabinets away from the frame edges, where they stretch.
The island, from two sides
If there's an island or peninsula, shoot across it toward the cabinets, then turn around and shoot from the cabinet side toward the eating or living area. The first shows the working kitchen; the second shows the island as a gathering spot and the open plan beyond it.
The straight-on shot
If the main wall is symmetrical, for example a range centered under a hood with matching cabinets on each side, a straight-on shot from the middle of the room looks clean and architectural. Stand square to the wall, phone upright, and keep the horizontal lines level.
One or two details
A standout range, a walk-in pantry, a coffee bar or a beverage fridge deserves its own photo at 1x. Keep details to features a buyer would care about; skip the close-up of the faucet.
5. Watch the shiny surfaces
- Stainless steel, glass cabinet doors, the oven door, a dark microwave and polished stone all reflect. Check them for your own reflection and shift a step to the side.
- Keep the flash off. It turns every glossy surface into a white hot spot.
- If pendants are reflecting as bright blobs in the countertop, a small change in camera height often moves them out of the way.
6. Windows over the sink
A window over the sink is common and tricky: it sits right in the middle of the frame. Tap on the cabinets rather than the window so the kitchen doesn't go dark, and avoid shooting when direct sun is coming through it. More in how to photograph rooms with bright windows.
7. Don't edit the kitchen into something it isn't
Brighten it, correct the color so white cabinets look white, straighten the lines. Don't change cabinet colors, swap countertops or remove a dated appliance. Buyers will see the real kitchen at the showing, and photos that misrepresent the home cause trouble for agents. If you want to show what a kitchen could look like, that's a job for a clearly labeled rendering, not a listing photo.
The short version
- Counters nearly bare, sink empty, fridge door clear, stainless wiped.
- Every light on, including under-cabinet and the range hood.
- Camera a little higher than usual, phone upright.
- Wide overview, island from both sides, a straight-on if it's symmetrical, one or two details.
- Check reflections, flash off, tap the cabinets not the window.
Related: how many listing photos to take, with a shot list by room and 15 listing photo mistakes.
When the kitchen is prepped and shot, Listing Camera, the iPhone app I built, handles the editing step: it fixes light, color and exposure and helps correct crooked verticals in the background, about 30 to 40 seconds per photo. It doesn't add, remove or stage anything, so the counters you cleared are the counters buyers see. Free to try with 3 enhancements.