Photographing a Marshfront Home in RiverTowne, Mount Pleasant

A marshfront listing in Mount Pleasant has a strange problem. The thing buyers are paying for is behind the house, spread out across the marsh, and most of it is invisible from the front walk. If the photos lead with the front door, the listing undersells itself before anyone scrolls.

This month our Charleston team photographed a home in The Point at RiverTowne Country Club for Julie O'Reilly with The Boulevard Company. It sits at the end of a quiet street with the marsh running out toward the Wando River, and it has porches on every level plus a rooftop deck. Here's how we approached it, and what any agent listing on the marsh can borrow from it.

Put the drone up first

On the marsh, the setting is the listing. So the drone goes up before anything else, and the first image in the sequence shows the house and the marsh in one frame. Buyers see the roofline, the trees, the open marsh beyond the yard and the river on the horizon, and they understand the setting in a second.

We fly a mix of heights on a marsh listing. Low and close, so the house is clearly the subject. Higher and wider, so the marsh and the river read as part of the property's story. And a few straight shots of the water and the community dock, because in a neighborhood like RiverTowne the access to the water matters as much as the view of it. Our drone work around Charleston follows the same plan from Daniel Island to the islands.

Shoot the porches like rooms

A Charleston single style house like this one lives on its porches. On this one there's a front porch with rockers, a screened porch off the main living level, upper porches and a rooftop deck reached by a spiral stair. Each one got its own frame, set up the way you'd actually use it: chairs facing the view, cushions straight, the table set simply.

A few things make porch photos work on the marsh:

• Sweep the floors and clear the towels, shoes and pool toys that collect outside.

• Stop the ceiling fans. Spinning blades blur, and blur reads as sloppy.

• Open the blinds on every door that faces the porch, so the inside and outside connect.

The pre shoot checklist covers the rest, room by room.

Show the view from inside, not just the windows

The difference between a good marsh listing and a great one is whether the photos prove you can see the marsh from the rooms you live in. We frame the living room, the kitchen and the primary bedroom so the windows and doors are in the shot with real light coming through them, and we keep the exposure balanced so the view outside doesn't blow out to white.

Here the living room is anchored by a fireplace with built ins on both sides, and the kitchen has a big island with bar seating. Both got a wide frame that shows how they connect, then a tighter frame on the details buyers remember, like the range wall and the hardwood floors.

Sell the neighborhood too

RiverTowne buyers are buying the community as much as the house. The pool, the clubhouse, the playground and the neighborhood dock are all part of the decision, so we photographed them for this listing too. Those amenity images do double duty: they help this listing, and they can be reused every time you list in the same neighborhood.

If you list often in one neighborhood, ask us about a community set. A strong set of amenity photos and aerials saves you a shoot every time a new listing comes up there.

One shoot, a whole launch

A strong listing should be more than an MLS gallery. Photos, aerials and the twilight are the foundation, and the Marketing Kit included with our packages gives you more to post the week it goes live. When a listing looks this good, the agent should be the one getting credit for it, in front of their own followers.

That matters most in the first week on the market, when the most buyers and agents are looking. If you want help planning that first week, ask when you book.

Close with the twilight

The twilight exterior is the image that stops the scroll. Warm windows on every level, the porches lit up, color in the sky. It gives the agent a hero image for print, the MLS and social. Twilight and drone come with every Listings In Motion package, so a marsh listing never has to choose between them.

Listing on the marsh this fall?

Tell us what the view is when you book, and we'll plan the shoot around it: drone first, porches like rooms, the view from inside and a twilight to close. We photograph Mount Pleasant, Daniel Island, the islands and the rest of the Charleston area every week, with photos, drone, twilight, video and floor plans from one team, and Pay at Close when you need it. See Lowcountry pricing and everything we offer, or book your shoot online.