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.
