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SHOW US THE GOOD STUFF

It seems lately that Pictures and lack there of seems to be a hot trigger for many of us in the industry.

This got me thinking of some of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to pictures in the MLS.

First of all the quality of some of them leave something to be desired. I know we are not all professional photographers but with technology and the many different types of digital cameras on the market it makes it pretty hard to take a really bad picture. Even if you are skilled enough to take a really bad picture there are programs out there like Picasa from our good friends at Google to correct the mistakes we've made and salvage a bad picture to something that looks quite nice. Check it out I use it all the time and it really is easy.

Moving on to another picture related issue that irks me...

Ok, so there ARE pictures in the MLS, and they are not bad either. As your reading through the comments it say's something like this... "Beautiful kitchen a cook's dream you have to see it to believe it" (I actually took this right out of a listing that is in my MLS as I write this) You guessed it... NO PICTURES OF THE KITCHEN! How about "Fabulous Views" with NO PICTURES OF THE VIEW!

If you are going to boast about a particular feature in your listings have the sense to SHOW US THE GOOD STUFF!

This just drives me nuts.

Posted by Meridian Idaho Real Estate - Donna Lueder on 06/08/2007 06:28 PM

Comments (11)

pictures, photographers, technology, mls, professional

11 Comments on SHOW US THE GOOD STUFF

JUN

2007

I just hate no pictures, out of focus pictures, sideways pictures, 2 pictures of the front of the house and nothing else. I agree with you that a lot of the good things some agents mention in their descriptions don't show up in the photographs. It's so frustrating.

I used to work at REMAX and took photos myself. I did an average job. Not bad but not great. I am now at SKY Sotheby's International Realty which focuses on the luxury market. When we take a listing we call a professional photographer to handle our picture taking. It makes a world of difference! They do amazing things with the camera making an average or crummy house look fantastic. I truly believe we get more showings on our listings because of the high quality photographs. In a market where there are tons of listing competition quality photographs make a difference. You can see an example of some of the photos in one of my blog posts.

Michelle: I agree 100% with all of the above.

Marc: Wow some pretty impressive homes & pictures.

Donna & Michelle, I agree 1 or 2 pictures of the front of the house just isn't sufficient. Of course, there are so many where the rooms are so dark, why even have a picture there -- all we can see is a big black area. Right, if you're going to tell me there's a view that goes on forever you better include a picture of that view. Gourmet kitchen? I want to see a photo of it first.

JUN

2007

Judi, Photos tell a story... you are correct with having your photos support the descriptions in the comments sections of the listings.

JUN

2007

HI Donna: I couldn't agree with you more about taking the time for quality pics. Thanks for the Picasa info I'll be sure to take a look. All the Best!

From a Former Photographer, Great entry. I hadn't thought of the description matching the pictures, but I had instinctivley always done just that IF I could get a good perspective on the subject. My biggest pet peeve? "Crooked" photos. Where it looks like all the furniture should be sliding off the end of the photograph. And don't think you have to show the entire room in all photos. Close ups of extraordinary sinks, kitchen tops, etc are good too.

Lastly, your eye is much better than a camera adjusting to differences in light. During daylight, if you take a picture with a window in the room, put the window beside you in the photo. Windows at the end of the room will "Black out" the room, and the window will be way to bright.

JUN

2007

Therese: Good luck with Picasa, let me know how it works for you.

Greg:Like the idea of close ups on certain features in the home. Crooked pictures drive me crazy too. I will try the window thing as well.

JUN

2007

The house should be in immaculate shape for close ups. I agree good pictures are important.Most buyers first look on line.

As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. Does that mean that a bad picture is worth a 1,000 bad words?

If you are going to put pictures out on your product (your listing) make sure that they are good photos. You are doing your client a disservice if the pictures don't convey the proper message.

gina: Close ups and all pictures, nothing is worse than looking at a sink full of dishes.

Steven: Our listings are our products, best foot forward at all times especially when taking pictures.

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