The Daily Peeve / Rant

[iris lilies]

I look at real estate a lot on Realtor.com and it is amazing when there are bad photos, includng ones loaded upside down or sideways.

I also think "WTF" when I see an illogical sequence of photos. Like, the first photo is the basement, then the upstairs bathroom, then a closet, then the living room, dining room, and front porch. Makes no sense.

There is a weird filter or lense I am seeing around here, or maybe it is photoshop work, and Ill find some examples so that you, Steve, can tell me what I am seeing. I sort of like it, but sort of dont like it. It looks artificial.

back soon with some examples.

edited to add: I cant find exmles now,of this photo technique I need explained, but when I run across it, I will make a new post.

[kib]

Or 4 bad pictures of a ratty bathroom that's clearly, well, just a bathroom, yes, we know there's a bathroom, you already said so, but no pix of the outside space or the views at all. Like, maybe I will overlook the fact that this is on a busy corner across the street from a Quicky Mart if only you show me enough pictures of your shower.

[JaneV2.0]

Or "photo unavailable." There's no excuse for that these days. Ditto dark, distorted, or multiples of the same shot.

[Williamsmith]

Most realtors feel confident taking their own pictures even if they aren't. They are usually that narcissistic anyway. Plus hey are just like any other business person trying to cut out any costs. Why share commission money with a professional photographer when you can do it yourself. AND.......most realtors give themselves credit for the sale and don't wan to think photos had much to do with it. After all, you can't tell much by pics anyway. So they think.


Now if I am the seller, and there are details laid out in the contract that call for professional photography and I get amateur hour......Im going to start questioning my choice of realtors.

[SteveinMN]

Yeah, all those fauxs pas are what get me. I've had any number of buyers tell me that if the pictures stink, they're not interested in visiting the property. Hard to make a sale when no one looks at the listing. There's actually a funny blog I link to from my Web site: Terrible real estate agent photographs . Fail after fail.

The homeowner can hire the photographer (that’s happened for me a couple of times; I then sell the images to the agent). But in this case even if the seller did hire me on her own, there's still the matter of the crappy cell phone shots now representing the house. But that's hers to take up with her agent. There is a way to update MLS pictures. But if I can go by the number of listings I see in January that show the house in summer, most RE agents don't think that far and most sellers don't think they can ask for a re-shoot. And then everyone wonders why the house isn't selling...

[SteveinMN]

Like, maybe you can overlook the fact that this is on a busy corner across the street from a Quicky Mart if only I show you enough pictures of my shower.

When I started out in this field, that kind of thing presented an ethical dilemma. My job as photographer is to present the property as positively as possible.

Sometimes that's flat-out impossible (see Terrible blog, above). But typically I have no problem moving random stuff out of the field of view or arraging shots so that the room can be viewed without a reflection of me in the mirror or without the lights from the Quicky Mart. I take flattering shots like those and realistic shots which include the bus stop sign just past the driveway, the edge of the Quicky Mart parking lot, etc. I give the agent more than enough pictures for him/her to choose which they want (most MLS systems around here will carry 18 pictures per listing) and wash my hands of it. I have yet to be asked to "Photoshop" the sign or crop the parking lot from a picture. I'm starting to be more convinced that the agents look at the images and don't let those little details bother them.

[kib]

Loved the link, Steve.

I do see your point about painting the house in its most flattering light, my friend had a really neat mid century house at the top of a hill, quite unique and Frank-Lloyd-Wrightly, but with a long uphill driveway that was falling apart. The house itself was lovely and the views could knock your eye out, but the agent chose to feature the picture at the bottom of the driveway looking up a rutted catastrophe with the house indistinguishable in the distance. WTF.

My example wasn't the greatest, but I am always very interested in garages, outbuildings, fences, views and other quasi permanent things, I really don't need to see pictures of other people's furniture. I'd be totally fine with shots of the exterior plus a floor plan.

[SteveinMN]

The house itself was lovely and the views could knock your eye out, but the agent chose to feature the picture at the bottom of the driveway looking up a rutted catastrophe with the house indistinguishable in the distance. WTF.

Agent: "They want to pay me 4% commission? I'll give 'em a 4% sale!"

My example wasn't the greatest, but I am always very interested in garages, outbuildings, fences, views and other quasi permanent things, I really don't need to see pictures of other people's furniture. I'd be totally fine with shots of the exterior plus a floor plan.

My favorite houses to shoot were the empty ones (foreclosed, etc.) because I didn't need to be concerned with refrigerators encrusted with pictures and magnets, rooms overstuffed with furniture, etc.

My deal was to talk with the seller and the agent and find out what they thought made the property special -- and then make sure there were good pictures of that. It "grinds my geahs" to see an RE agent go on about a "gourmet kitchen" (which seems to mean it isn't completely walled off from the rest of the house) and then show just one long fuzzy shot of the kitchen from an adjoining room. Maybe people don't need copious pictures of the new boiler and water heater. But if there are four bedrooms, there probably ought to be at least one picture of each of them.

Once an agent asked me to take a picture of the hockey rink down the block from the listing because that school district's hockey team was a state powerhouse and he figured buyers might be attracted by a quality rink so close to home (don't know if he was right but the [upper-bracket] house sold in a month back in 2010, so not bad). At least the rink was mentioned in the description of the property.

[SiouzQ.]

Thanks for the link Steve...it got me to laugh out loud on one of the worst days I've had in awhile.

[ctg492]

The curb side recycling program here. I had two bags of trash all week, 6 bags of recycling as I got rid of a lot of paperwork and such. I don't get the Everything in same can theory . I feel there is no way someone picks through everything and I spent so much time organizing.