18,000 rental photos.Cleaner, not misleading.Engagement up 64%.
How a rental portfolio cleaned up lived-in listing photos without erasing the truth of the property or slowing down its letting cycle.
Client
Rental portfolio manager
Scope
Object removal · Decluttering · Colour
Volume
18,000 photos
Turnaround
24-hour delivery
Before / After
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A rental portfolio with forty-two lived-in properties.
The portfolio included apartments and townhouses that were still occupied when they were photographed. Everyday clutter, personal items and temporary furniture made otherwise good listings feel crowded online.
The manager wanted cleaner images that showed the space honestly, without waiting for every tenant to stage the property or moving furniture between viewings.
Properties
42 rental homes
Photos
18,000 images
Constraint
Occupied listings
Cleaner listings without erasing the truth.
The brief drew a clear line between distracting clutter and the actual condition of the property.
Remove temporary clutter
Bins, cables, washing, toys and packaging removed from listing photos without hiding defects.
Protect the property
Walls, floors, fixtures, windows and room proportions kept exactly as they are.
Keep the space believable
Images needed to feel like a real home, not an empty showroom.
Fast batch turnaround
Photos had to return within 24 hours so vacant periods were not lost to editing.
Honest editing is harder
The team had to improve presentation without creating a misleading picture of the property.
Lived-in interiors
Personal belongings and everyday mess appeared in almost every room.
01Never misrepresent
Removing too much could hide a defect or make a small room feel larger than it is.
02Varied source quality
Photos came from different phones, cameras and lighting conditions.
03Volume and speed
Eighteen thousand images needed to move through a consistent review process.
04A removal workflow with
Editors cleaned each frame by hand, then a reviewer checked that the property itself had not changed.
Manual object removal
Every distracting item was masked and rebuilt from the surrounding surface.
- Cables, bins and packaging removed cleanly
- Floors, walls and shadows rebuilt by hand
- No repeated patches or blurred smudges
Authenticity review
A second reviewer protected the property's actual condition and layout.
- Defects and fixtures left untouched
- Room proportions preserved
- Removal logged for anything ambiguous
Batch colour correction
Each property received a consistent grade after cleanup.
- White balance matched across rooms
- Natural contrast without over-brightening
- Exterior and interior sets balanced together
24-hour delivery
Files returned in portal order with a clear before-and-after record.
- Photos grouped by property and room
- Web and portal sizes exported together
- A simple approval log for the portfolio team
The room should look ready, not fake.
Editors remove what a tenant would tidy away before a viewing, not what makes the property what it is. A worn floor stays a worn floor; a missing handle stays visible.
The honesty check is separate from the retouching pass, so the person cleaning the image is not the only person deciding what should stay.
From occupied home to
A repeatable process for occupied rentals that keeps speed and accuracy in balance.
Upload
The portfolio team submits photos grouped by property and room.
Triage
Each image is checked for what can be removed and what must stay.
Clean
Editors remove clutter and rebuild surfaces by hand.
Check
A reviewer verifies the property's condition and layout are unchanged.
Deliver
Final files return within 24 hours with a before-and-after record.
Tidier rooms,
Better presentation,
The portfolio gained cleaner visuals and a faster route from photos to published listing.
More engagement
Cleaned listings held attention longer on rental portals.
Photos cleaned
Across 42 occupied rental properties.
Batch turnaround
From upload to portal-ready files.
Faster lets
Average reduction in days on market.
Accuracy score
Listings matched the property on inspection.
Properties covered
One consistent standard across the portfolio.
What the
client says.
The numbers tell part of the story. The day-to-day difference is what the team notices.
The images finally look like the home at its best without pretending it is something else. Tenants still recognise the property, and the listings get far more attention.
Sofia Grant
Portfolio Manager
Rental property group
Occupied listings that
deserve a fairer first look?
Send us a lived-in room. We will clean the distraction without changing the property, so you can see where the line sits.