Business Marketing

Give it Your Best Shot

Published

12 years ago

August 15, 2008

Artist Loft – Artist Wanted

This isn’t a new idea and it has been said before, but this time I am begging. As I surf through our local MLS, I am exposed to photos (pardon the pun) that are so bad I can’t decide if I should laugh or cry.

Bad Photos Are Plentiful

Sometimes the photos are good but who ever took them focused on something weird like an open toilet, or the upper half of a room, or part of a closet. Usually becasue they don’t have a wide angle lens, which is a must have. it is OK to take some detail shots, but it is best to show entire rooms so those buyers can imagine the space.

Then there are the photos taken with the fish eye type lens that totally distorts the room, especially a small room. The counter tops look like they are going in a semi circle and the rooms kind of look like something from a fun house, that isn’t very fun.

Some Photos are Easy to Fix

Sometimes the photos are too dark, easy enough to fix with Photoshop elements, Picnik, or photofiltre, or Picasa. The last three I mentioned are free. It is easy enough to lighten them, adjust the contrast and maybe sharpen them up a bit. Most of the tweaking can be done in “auto fix” mode and no special skills are required.

Watch where you aim

Sometimes there are people in the photos, or pets, or both. Please ask everyone to leave the room when photos are being taken and either shoo the pets away or edit them out.

Pointing a camera at a window makes for a craptastic photo. As does shooting into a window when it is dark outside and letting the camera flash. What is going through a Realtors head when he or she takes such a shot. Sometimes the Realtors themselves are in the picture, reflected in a mirror or window.

You are a Realtor dammit, Not a Photographer

Not all agents are photographers. it doesn’t cost very much at all to have a home photographed. Interior shots are much harder to take than exterior shots are, and they are the shots that the buyers really want to see. If it is a matter of money, I would scrimp on the glossy brochures inside the home that no one will ever see unless the place gets some showings.

I Hang my Head in Shame

As an industry we have a lot of work to do when it comes to how we present our listings on line. I laugh when I read about how important video is. It may be important but I don’t imagine the photography is going to be any better in video than it is on the still shots.

I guess I should be thankful that the photos on our MLS are so spectacularly bad. Mine really stand out, even the shots that I think could be better. With practice they do get better, and when they are not good enough I hire a pro. On one recent listing the agent told me that it was the photos that got the buyer into the home, and it was not one of the homes she would have been interested in seeing. When I hear things like that it just reinforces what I already know. Listing photos are very important.

Thanks, I feel so much better now. Maybe if I can stay off the MLS for awhile my eyes will stop hurting. Please don’t make me have to write this post again.

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I Must Give Up Something

Teresa Boardman

Full time REALTOR and licensed broker with Saint Paul Home Realty Realty in St. Paul, Minnesota. Author of StPaulRealEstateBlog.com, Columnist for Inman News and an avid photographer.

22 Comments

Chuck G

August 15, 2008 at 9:22 am

Teresa,

Amen! We make it a point to forward the unbelievably bad MLS shots (and there are many) around our office. Not only is it humorous, but it’s a sobering reminder that we are indeed Realtors, NOT professional photographers. Our office contracts a professional photographer for all listing shoots — this guy has more lenses and flashes than I have fingers and toes, but more importantly he KNOWS how to shoot homes.

I recently purchased an LG Dare phone so I could shoot some random “fun” shots and post them via TwitPic to my blog (I know, SnapTweet is cool too!) but this is no replacement for professional photos. We’re earning some serious $$ when we sell a home — we owe it to our clients to spend a little bit of that money on good photography.

Chuck

Reply
Mike Mueller

August 15, 2008 at 9:41 am

There’s a whole blog segment being made out of bad MLS pictures.
(as in Athol Kay)
While they are fun to laugh at, they shouldn’t have ever happened.

Poor homemade video tours? Bad idea #2.
There’s a whole industry out there to make your home video tour better as well.
Unless you do it right – no video is better than a poor video tour.

Good stuff!

Reply
Holly White

August 15, 2008 at 9:58 am

Good one Teresa! I just saw one that had the whole team laughing. The photo was of half of a beat up, rusted out pick-up truck, a massive tree and about 1/4 of the actual house…. and that was the ONLY photo.

A great idea would be to take that daft MLS listing (once it expires) to the seller with what their listing looked like before and what it could look like after some more intuitive professional like photography was taken, along with the difference between list price to sale price and time on market of homes with 1 photo compared to homes with multiple photo’s and virtual tours…

Reply
Laura Cannon

August 15, 2008 at 10:16 am

This is an important article. I wish it was required reading for my MLS. I just wrote a similar article on my blog a couple weeks ago (I have to admit it wasn’t as thorough, though 🙂 ).

In my area, it only costs $100.00 to hire an excellent professional photographer who will bring in the best equipment: an excellent camera, a tripod, and good lighting. Moreover, he or she will bring in a trained eye for what looks good on camera. For example, powder rooms rarely photograph well. My photographer doesn’t shoot them; he spends extra time on the deck or patio instead.

Frequently on tour I will come across a home that has been beautifully and expensively staged only to find out later that the pictures on the MLS are horrible. What are the agents thinking? I don’t get it. Is it ignorance, laziness, or fear of the unknown? Perhaps it is a fear of technology, i.e., “it was hard enough to learn how to use a digital camera; what if the photographer emails me the photos? How will I access and submit the them?”

If brokers stepped in and offered more basic technology classes, I think it would mitigate the problem. I know that many agents in my office are still using Internet Explorer 6. eek!

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Chris de Jong

August 15, 2008 at 11:47 am

Great article. Every so often I will take a peek in our listings database, and it always amazes me how quickly the well shot photos stand out amongst the rest, which makes me appreciate tips and tricks like these even more.

I have also noticed that many Agents are starting to embrace HDR photography, which really draws eyeballs when consumers are pouring over listings. However, the one drawback to this I have noticed is that HDR photography sometimes gives an inaccurate representation of a property – I have heard all to many stories of Agents spending hours on post-production of the shots, only to have prospects turning down a property because it looked nothing like the photos!

Finally, if you are looking for a laugh I highly recommend Athol Kay’s blog Bad MLS Photo of the Day . Go for the amusing pictures, and stay for the witty commentary!

Reply
sabrina Huang

August 15, 2008 at 12:26 pm

I totally agree with you. Let me share my personal experience with all of you.

I am a Realtor and a Photographer. I really want to help other agents to learn some basic photography knowledge. So I offer a FREE one-hour Real Estate Photography class – I blast an email to 3000+ local agents; I got my office to hold a class; I got a Title company to hold a class. Guess what? I got 3 calls from the email blast to ask about the class but no one came; I got 7 people from my office to attend the class (we have 125 agents in the office); and I got 4 people attend the title company’s class.

I was disappointed but I don’t know why not many people care. I always feel sorry for those sellers who’s house looks better in person than online. In the down market like now, I thought it is the best time for us as agents to learn new skills and sharpen the old one to prepare when the market turn.

If you are interested to learn a little bit about real estate photography, here is info I wrote for my class.
https://mesh.sabrinahuang.com/2008/05/real-estate-pho.html

To #5, about HDR, it’s not what software they use, it’s how they use. I saw some HDR real estate photos are really nicely done. Check this one https://www.atticfirearchitecture.com/main.htm

Reply
Lani Anglin-Rosales

August 15, 2008 at 12:43 pm

Teresa, regardless of our equipment, we’ve always hired photographers for every listing, it saves time and they’ll always do it better.

What’s interesting about your having to regurgitate this message so frequently is that many real estate agents try to do everything themselves. The irony in this is that our entire industry is based on the “use me, I’m a professional” premise yet attempts to cut out professionals that can undoubtedly do it better. When a FSBO fails, there is a solid result- an unsold home (and how many people laugh when they drive by FSBO signs?). When an agent’s photography fails, the results may not be so evident but you’re right, bad photography harms agents, their listing success and most importantly, their clients.

Amen, T!

Reply
Jennifer in Louisville

August 15, 2008 at 5:54 pm

I’m not overly great at taking photos, but I have practiced quite a bit over the years – and I take a LOT of a photos for any home I’m listing. So, even if the photos aren’t spectacular, I still end up with 300-400 to choose from, and at least a few of those are going to be quasi-decent.

And if you still can’t the hang of taking photos even after a lot of practice – recruit friends/family to give their creative eye to it and give it a go.

But, even not-so-great photos, are at least better than no photos (or 1 photo). There are many many properties that have 1 (or zero) photos – and they wonder why the property isn’t selling.

Reply
Paula Henry

August 15, 2008 at 6:51 pm

I like to take photos and like Jennifer, take a bunch. I use two wide angle lenses and have fairly good success. I haven’t yet hired it out, but would absolutely love to, only to save time and offer the very best service for my clients.

Sometimes, though, I think bad pictures are worse than no pictures

Thanks Sabrina for the links – I’ll check it out.

Reply
Matthew Rathbun

August 16, 2008 at 8:09 am

“If it is a matter of money, I would scrimp on the glossy brochures inside the home that no one will ever see unless the place gets some showings.” – That’s a great point, but agents who don’t get the point of good photos aren’t putting anything other than a print out of the listing on the counter – if that.

I do think that some folks can learn how to take photos and maybe should take at least a few, while waiting for the photographer to come out. Our area has a requirement that listings must be entered into MLS within some time frame. Agents are putting them in with no photos waiting for photographers come out….

Reply
Ginger Wilcox

August 17, 2008 at 12:44 am

I wouldn’t dream of taking my own photographs. Buyers look online first. A bad photograph often equals a click on to the next listing. A good photograph may mean the buyer favorites it, will attend an open house, or ask their agent for a showing.

I couldn’t agree more with lani, agents spend a lot of time defending why home sellers shouldn’t do it themselves. Perhaps we should practice what we preach and hire a professional where warranted (unless you can take photos like Teresa Boardman).

Reply
Herman

August 17, 2008 at 6:49 am

Dear Teresa,

Great idea, this photo you posted, whith text written trough it!
Do you have more ideas?

I”l love to use them, if that’s allright?

Keep up the good work (mother)Teresa!

Greetings,

Herman de Jong
RE/MAX Connect Hoorn, Amsterdam Holland/ the Netherlands

Reply
Kim Wood

August 17, 2008 at 7:11 am

I’m still trying to convince my husband we need to hire a professional housekeeper. I am all about being a professional Real Estate Agent, and yes, I can take my listing photos (usually two different times of day for different lighting)…..

…. but one has to learn to delegate those tasks they are not an expert in, to leave more time to be productive with those you are……………… right?

Reply
Teresa Boardman

August 17, 2008 at 10:32 am

skip the mother part, I find it offensive. The photo was used for some posters I made. It is an artists loft and I went to an art even and used the poster to market the property.

Reply
Linsey

August 17, 2008 at 9:29 pm

A little over 2 years I hired a professional photographer for one of my listings that I was struggling to sell. It was a low price point for my market but I knew that it needed a ‘MLS makeover’. Within 2 weeks I sold it in multiple offers. I’ve hired a professional photographer for every listing at every price point ever since.

It’s become a critical point in my listing presentation and I am a true believer that if we are taking our job as marketers of properties seriously, we cannot be considered true professionals if we are going the cheap and easy route in this department. My clients are so ‘sold’ on the concept that we won’t list the home in the MLS until the professional work is available. ‘No photos’ or temporary shots will do the trick. You only have one chance to make a first impression, as they say.

Reply
Teresa Boardman

August 18, 2008 at 5:17 am

Linsey – for years I hired a professional photographer for each listing no matter what the price range. I ran into trouble on some of my historic homes in that the photographer did not shoot some of the important architectural elements. Like a close up of the marble fireplace etc. I began supplementing the photos the photographers took. My clients told me that my photos were better than the photographers and that I should take my own. These days some hire me because of the photos. It doesn’t save me any money to take my own, and it does take time. So for me the cheap and easy route would be to hire someone to do it. With some of my listings, I do hire it out to save time and money but with the historic homes and the lofts I do it myself and will until I find someone who understands the real estate the way I do and can take pictures of it.

Reply
Fred Kogler

August 18, 2008 at 6:09 am

I recently read a little essay by Larry Lohrman entitled: Photography for Real Estate. It’s a great read and is loaded with basic information and advice about “how to use photography to effectlvely market real estate.” Its substance and attitude are both features that would enhance T. Boardman’s perspective.

Two other matters that are triggered by big “T” in her comments and articles include spelling and grammar. If one can’t sppell, or foloow the ruoles of grammar, how can she/he be trusted to read the many-paged contracts required to conduct business! So I implore you all, please, oh, please, use your spelol checker and reread your copy before submitting your comments.

Reply
Linsey

August 18, 2008 at 8:18 am

Teresa,
I think you are certainly the exception to the rule. The vast majority of agents have no business shooting their own. But I think you are great for recognizing that it’s often in the details. In Socal there is no such thing as ‘historic home’. The latest construction we have is circa 1968. 🙂

Reply
Caitlin Mulhern

August 18, 2008 at 6:24 pm

To all of you,

Thank you so much for such great comments and suggestions. I am comforted to know that I am not the only one mystified by so much real estate photography. You really do begin to wonder about people….

I am just getting into real estate sales and I have been researching digital cameras that are ideal for real estate photography. Another website suggested the fuji finepix E500 or the Kodak EasyShare P880. Do any of you have any suggestions?

Thanks!

Caitlin Mulhern
Mark David NY Realty

Reply
Susie Blackmon

August 31, 2008 at 6:42 am

I love photography and most anything T does. This is a great post (duh). I am embarrassed by many of the MLS photos I see, and I’d love to forward it to many!

Reply

Business Marketing

How one employer beat an age discrimination lawsuit

(BUSINESS MARKETING) Age discrimination is a rare occurrence but still something to be battled. It’s good practice to keep your house in order to be on the right side.

Published

1 week ago

March 23, 2020

Dawn Brotherton, Staff Writer

In January, the EEOC released its annual accounting for reports of discrimination in the previous year. Allegations of retaliation were the most frequently filed charge, which disability coming in second. Age discrimination cases accounted for 21.4% of filed charges. As we’ve reported before, not all age discrimination complaints rise to the level of illegal discrimination. In Cesario v. Jewel Food Stores, Inc., the federal court dismissed the claims of age discrimination, even though seven (7) plaintiffs made similar claims against the grocery store.

What Cesario v. Jewel Food Stores was about

In Cesario, all but one of the seven plaintiffs had spent years with Jewel Food building their careers. When Jewel went through some financial troubles, the plaintiffs allege that they began to “experience significant pressure at work… (and) were eventually forced out or terminated because of their age or disability.” Jewel Food requested summary judgment to dismiss the claims.

The seven plaintiffs made the same type of complaints. Beginning in 2014, store directors were under pressure to improve metrics and customer satisfaction. Cesario alleges that the Jewel district manager asked about his age. Another director alleges that younger store directors were transferred to stores with less difficulties. One plaintiff alleged that Jewel Food managers asked him about his retirement. The EEOC complaints began in late 2015. The plaintiffs retired or were fired and subsequently filed a lawsuit against their company.

Age discrimination is prohibited by the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, (ADEA). The ADEA prevents disparate treatment based on age for workers over 40 years old. However, plaintiffs who allege disparate treatment must establish that the adverse reactions wouldn’t have occurred but for age. Because none of the plaintiffs could specifically point to age as the only determination of their case, the court dismissed the case.

A word to wise businesses

Jewel Food was able to demonstrate their own actions in the case through careful documentation. Although there was no evidence that age played a factor in any discharge decision, Jewel Food could document their personnel decisions across the board. The plaintiffs also didn’t exhaust all administrative remedies. This led to the case being dropped.

Lesson learned – Make personnel decisions based on performance and evidence. Don’t use age as a factor. Keep documentation to support your decisions.

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in 2021 the EU will enforce ‘right to repair’ for phones and tablets

(BUSINESS NEWS) The EU says NO to planned obsolescence by…letting you fix your own stuff? The right to repair has started to make headway again.

Published

2 weeks ago

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April Bingham, Staff Writer

Not to be a loyalist turncoat about it, but sometimes the European Union comes out with stuff that makes me want Texas to go back to being Mexico, and then back to being Spain.

The latest in sustainability news from across the pond is that in 2021, the Old World is saying no to Euro-trash, and insisting on implementing:

Right to repair laws
Higher sustainable materials quotas
Ease of transfer for replaced items (ie: letting you sell your old phone without the need for jailbreaking anything)
and Universal adaptors for things like phone chargers, and connection cables

Hallelujah!

Consumers worldwide have been feeling the pinch of realizing their (cough cough, mostly Apple brand) technology not only breaks easily, but either can’t be fixed afterwards, or requires costly branded repairs.

The phenomenon has given rise to rogue mobile repair shops, Reddit threads, and renegade fix-it philanthropists like Louis Rossman. And while they certainly HELP, the best thing for a problem is to cut it off proactively. Since companies were making too much money not picking up the slack, the EU’s decided to take the steps to force their hands.

I’m always on my soapbox, but I’ll stack another one on top for this: Planned obsolescence and the assumption that a company has any right to tell you you can’t repair, restore, revamp, or re-home your own possessions are obscene. And to be fair to Apple fans, it’s not just in tech—it’s in damn near everything that’s not meant to be EATEN. Literally.

I bought a STAPLER for a volunteer gig I had. A good, sturdy Staedtler one that I figured would serve the project and continue to stand me in good stead for a while. After a few dozen price tags attached to baggies, the stapler jammed, as staplers do. No worries, you find a knife and wedge out the stuck staple…except I couldn’t. Because the normal slot for that was covered by a metal plate literally welded in place so that I couldn’t perform a grade-school level fix on something I paid for less than 24 hours prior.

Rather than stand behind a product that’s supposed to last, companies, even down to simple office ware, have opted to tinker away to force consumers to trash their current products to buy newer ones. Which I did in the stapler case. A rusty second hand one that didn’t HAVE that retroactive BS ‘Let’s create a problem’ plate on it, meaning no company but the resale non-profit I was helping out in the first place got any more money from me.

Consumers are wising up, and fewer lawmakers are still stuck in the fog of the 90s and 2000s surrounding our everyday machinery. The gray areas are settling into solid black and white, and SMART smart-businesses here stateside will change their colors accordingly.

Now while we’re all still quarantined and hoping for these laws to wash up onto American shores…who has craft ideas for the five-dozen different chargers we all have?

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Uber Eats waives delivery fees during COVID-19 quarantine

(BUSINESS MARKETING) Uber eats has decided to take a friendly helpful step forward while everyone seems to be quarantined, they have started to waive delivery fees!

Published

2 weeks ago

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Mary Ann Lopez, Staff Writer

With everything canceled, including dining out for social distancing’s sake, food delivery service Uber Eats is waiving delivery fees in an effort to lessen the financial strain local restaurants are experiencing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the company, Uber Eats has more than 100,000 independent local restaurants on its app. In addition to Uber Eats, Grubhub said it will waive commission fees up to $100 million for independent restaurants across the country.

“As more people stay home, local restaurants need your business more than ever. That’s why we’re waiving the Delivery Fee for all orders from every independent restaurant on Uber Eats—more than 100,000 local restaurants on the app,” the company said in a news release earlier this week.

To find the local independent restaurants on Uber Eats, just look for the EAT LOCAL banner. Delivery fees will automatically be waived, according to this story on Tech Crunch.

Uber Eats is also making it easier for locally run restaurants to get paid faster, offering daily payments rather than the normal weekly payouts, according to Endgadget. Also, the company is giving back saying it will provide 300,000 free meals to health care workers and first responders in the US and Canada.

Not only will waiving fees help restaurants and customers, it’s sound business for food delivery companies. Local restaurants drive roughly 80 percent of business on Grubhub.

“Independent restaurants are the lifeblood of our cities and feed our communities,” Grubhub Founder and CEO Matt Maloney said in a statement published on Endgadget. “They have been amazing long-term partners for us, and we wanted to help them in their time of need. Our business is their business — so this was an easy decision for us to make.”

To limit human interaction Uber Eats and other food delivery services, including Grubhub, Postmates, and Instacart, are encouraging users to select the no-contact delivery method. According to Uber Eats, as is the norm, once packed at the restaurant food items are not touched or opened.