Real Estate Blog - What are you trying to sell?

What are you trying to sell?

I can't hold it in any longer....I have bitten my tongue long enough. If I don't get this bedroom post out, it's just going to eat at me until it's all I am thinking about.

So, I am strolling through the Multiple Listing Service checking out the new active listings. I click to view the pictures because the front of the home is enough to spark my interests. And there it is....one of my pet peeves, staring at me again....ugh! The bed. Yes, the bed. I am not seeing the room as a whole, I am staring at a bed. It's a very nice bed with a beautiful bedspread and fluffy matching pillows. Does it come with the house? I mean, why else would you take the shot right smack in the middle of it?

Don't you think you're doing a disservice to your sellers? Shouldn't the picture be of the bedroom as a whole? So, I go to the next picture and the next. Same story....nice kitchen table and nice Dell Laptop on the mahogany desk. What is wrong with this picture? I can't see the room!!!! That's what is wrong. I want to see the floor and the size of the room...geesh! Am I asking too much?

If you're selling the furniture then go ahead.....shoot away, but, please, please don't give me a close up bed of the monogrammed pillow on the bed if you're trying to sell the HOUSE!!!

Okay, I feel better now. And I won't be looking at anymore new listings tonight...I promise.

Posted by Tina Allen on 09/21/2009 08:25 PM

Comments (66)

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66 Comments on What are you trying to sell?

SEP

Nice bed but yes I agree...they should show off more of those floors...they look pretty nice!

Tina, you are a hoot! I agree with you completely on this issue of taking photos of furnture and not the room. This post really made me laugh..

the picture that is not a close up is not so bad

Yes, Michelangelo...the first shot I posted is the great shot of the room, the second one is the close up of pretty much just the bed. I just wanted to show how different the rooms could look in a shot.

But look at my lovely sectional couch that eats up the entire room and leaves little room for anything else in my family room...great post

That's too funny. But it really is a nice bed. Was that a craiglist add? How much did they want for it? j/k

SEP

My personal pet peeve is bathroom photos of ... the toilet!! Wow! Shocking! This bathroom has a toilet! What a bonus!

Tanya in Montreal

Agents who take their own photos need to invest in a camera with a wide-angle lens. They're really not that expensive. My Panasonic Lumix was under $200 last year, and can be had for cheaper now. Well worth it!!

Great post!

you make a great point for having a panoramic lens...however, i think our MLS system makes them initially look like goofy pictures..you have to click on the picture for it to look like a nice shot. Good post though...

I found your post from the e mail to all members and I'm happy they include your post because we also need to smile in this market and this bring a smile.

that is why it is a great idea to use a wide angle lens for their photos! It shows much more of the room in the photo and puts a new perspective on things!

My favorite one is the car in the driveway! A close second is a pet in a picture. One more thing, In my MLS we can put descriptions, which I find helpful. I think only half the agents use this tool. It is great for telling prospects what kind of flooring, or size of rooms, etc.

Tina...the picture taking skills of realtors has also been right up there on the peeve list for me as well. Photo stitching software has worked for me to build tours but just does not represent the rooms well with still shots. What camera did you use for the wider angle shot and or do you have a photographer take your pictures?

Hi Tina,

How true, how true! I have to say though, that sometimes I'm determined to get a shot of every room and the bedrooms are so small that all that's in there is a bed! I hate posting that photo but, I want to share the TRUE picture of the listing!

Great floors in the sample photo! Have a great week...

Tina, I feel your pain. My favorite is the picture of a toilet "yes we have indoor plumbing" shot.

It's like an ad that says, "Come see this lovely 3 bedroom home, featuring wood floors, upgraded fixtures, and...drumroll please...this BED!!!"

The only positive I can say about having such a picture is that it might "work". Buyers don't quantify everything when they look at a listing on the internet and decide what homes to go see. Seeing a lovely bed might say to the buyer, "This is a classy home, a place where I could live!"

Tanya, in Montreal, hit mine fav ....THE TOILET! I mean it's nice to be reassured that the house has one in each bathroom but really, can we close the lid or just catch the tank in the pics? Second fav is the Realtor in the mirror taking the picture! We run our photos enough, don'tcha think?

Seriously, wide angle lenses are nice but often just standing on a chair and photographing from up high can do the trick without the fishbowl look. My advise is take LOTS from different places and PREVIEW them before posting.

Now, I have to go check all my photos to make sure that I'm not going to have to eat crow after posting this!

It's amazing to me how few agents in my area use cameras with a wide angle lens. It makes a huge difference. I have another pet peeve. When I look at photos that make you feel as if you're on a ship that's listing, it makes me nauseous and looks horrible. Fix it before it goes out to the world.

Ill take it! the bed of course:)

Great post! You hit one of my biggest pet peeves right on the head. I stopped using a particular photographer because he was hell bent to take dramatic pictures of my listings and instead of featuring the house, he featured the furniture.

I now take my own photos. Works much better. I also invested in a wide angle attachment for my camera. Wasn't very expensive, but gives a whole new perspective of the pictures I'm taking. It's a magnetic lense that fits on the front of most cameras. Great gadget!

One of the best investments I ever made was in a 10-22mm wide angle lens (canon). It was expensive and seemed like a crazy luxury at the time. But I was tired of trying to "knit" photos together to get more of the room in a single shot. That lens gets most of the room - it is invaluable - particularly in tight spaces such as bathrooms and walk-in closets.

I also use a wide angle and take about 50 pictures of each listing so I can sort through and find the ones that look the best.

My pet peeves are the ones that are camera phone and look fine in thumbnail but pixelize when blown up to normal size. Oh and the super dark ones where you can barely see.

I'm also a home stager so I know all about bad photos. A lot of times I come in to re-take photos that aren't attracting buyers. My personal pet peeve are pix of vacant rooms. How are you supposed to know what you're looking at? There's no sense of proportion, either. It would be very nice if a class in photography for realtors was offered.

Hi Tina,

I think Eric, Sandy and a couple of others hit it on the ead. A lot of it comes down to what camera setup people are shooting with. If they don't have a fairly wide-angle lens, they can't get the whole room.

My personal favorite MLS photo, the homeowner sitting at the breakfast table eating Cheerios, come on folks!

Tina, great post! I'm amazed that some homes sell in today's market with some of the horrible pictures some agents use. I recently joined a group on Facebook called "Really Bad MLS Photos." There are some real losers in there. Congrats on the feature!

Has no one ever heard of taking several picts of the room and stitching them together. Real easy with PhotoShop.

Bad pictures kill me, especially lots of them.

I have been curious about this for some time. IMO, A few high quality photos highlighting the best features of a home is a much more intelligent marketing option than plastering as many pictures as possible on a listing. This invitably leads to low quality filler photos, which leads to potential buyers deleting a property because they do not like the pink celling fan that the listing agent inlcuded three photos of...

Great Post! It's really a shame but some really nice homes don't sell as quickly as they should because the sellers don't have nice furniture.

I do agree about the wider photos. The website for the magnetic lens that Susan mentioned is http://www.magneticlens.com. Reallyn nifty gadget and really helps with small bedrooms and other smaller rooms. Reasonably priced too...

Tina (and others) you might also want to join a group on facebook that just came to my attention--Really Bad MLS Photos:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=146553387152&ref=mf

Check out some of the photos and get your chuckle for the day.

LOL, ok, put down the drink and back away from the MLS pics. j/k I see the same thing here, I guess that's why I leave the photography to the pros.

Good point, I've thought that a few times myself when looking at MLS photos. Unless the furniture's included, focus on the room itself.

I have a file of bad mls photo's because they make me laugh. I actually previewed a home just to figure out what the picture was of because no one could figure it out. Thanks for the post

Thank you, thank you for getting this out there, it's my pet peeve. I tell my agents to press themselves into the corner of the room if they have to, in order to get a wide enough shot. And there is NOTHING wrong with moving a lamp or whatever to help the photo. Also if the photos are too dark... get back there with a flash and try again!

Tina:

I wonder what the seller thinks - are they trying to sell their bed or their house?

It's amazing how some agents do not realize the importance of putting good photos of the home into the MLS. It's our first filtering process and their home could be lost in it if those pictures are bad.

Tina - this is all too common! Great post! Wide angle cameras help considerably.

Very true. Maybe the want to distract from the house and use pictures of nice furniture! :)

It's kind of like using pretty girls to sell cars. We all know the girl does not come with the car, but young stupid males are under the assumption if we get the car we will find a girl just like that one. Well maybe the home buyer gets this little fantasy about how nice their life, furniture and everything else will be in this home.

Dear Tina;

I resently started using a local professional photographer. She takes 50 to 60 pictures and I always get 15 to 20 that are great. She charges me $50 and I get the photos on a disk. What a great service.

OK, my pet peeve is seeing the toilet in REALTOR marketing photos! If we must see it, at least put the lid down! I have laughed out loud on too many occasions at the sight of a TOILET! Jeeeeeez..........

so true! and the comments here are all so true too. It seems so simple... get why do we all see this kind of stuff STILL????

Agree that starting with a good lens is the most important factor. This is not the place to go cheap; it's the place to impress EVERYONE who sees the shots. Someone mentioned squeezing into a corner--squeezing or whatever, into every corner of a room is my method. If I'm posting a few stills, I select the best for each room. If I'm creating a slide show I have the room from each perspective. Professional photographers "bracket" shots to get the best exposures. Non-professionals should use the same basic technique without the photography technicalities--as someone said, shoot LOTS of pictures.

Not every agent will shoot good pictures, even if using a great camera/lens. I know some offices where one agent shoots the shots for the entire office. Not a bad idea.

Perhaps "point and shoot" has become our mantra rather than "compose and shoot!"

good advise

Thank you!!!! Bad pictures result in so many houses sitting unsold it is horrifying. We are marketing professionals who SELL, we should know how to market!

And spare me some of those distorted wide-angle pictures...sometimes I have to blink my eyes twice, is it me or the picture?? (usually it's the picture).

Fuzzy out of focus pictures, "as is" meaning how the room looked at that moment with dirty clothes laying around, counters cluttered, dishes in sink, bed not made....the list goes on. I even have one documented of a house photographed just after dusk with a cars headlights illuminating the garage door and nothing else, couldn't really make out the rest of the house at all.

Hi Tina,

Yes, so often do we see the most gorgeous furniture just getting in the way of the room! I use a professional photgrapher every time and this certainly helps get a good perspcetive on the house itself and not the clutter all over the place!

Oh Tina, now we all realize you are addicted to "Real Estate Porn".... ;) This is a term my good friend from Toronto used to describe his new interest in buying a condo. Not that he is addicted to porn, but it's all in the pictures. Great pictures would induce interest and further investigation. So I too say to other agents out there, if you're skills are lacking, and you are not inclined to hire a professional photographer, consider an aspiring armature or photography student.

Shot with a Nikon D70 w/Tamron 11-18mm lens

So True! I take way more pictures than I could ever use, just trying to decide what showcases the features best! Joy

Tina, bad photos are a pet peeve of mine. I dislike the distorted ones as much as the narrow ones and totally agree with you - sometimes it looks like Craigslist rather than the MLS!

Tina,

Excellent suggestions to follow.. what are we selling! A wide angel lense on the camera is a good investment or buy one that has that feature.. that could help.. maybe some don't know how to use it.. but your post will get us all talking!

Hi Tina~ I have bought those magnetic lens that you add to your camera. I do not think they are worth it. You are better off investing is a good wide lens that is built in to the camera.

I used to take my own photos for listings. I thought I was a pretty good picture taker but not a good photographer. I have a high quality camera and stitching software. I understand some basics about lighting. I know to put the seat down on the toilet and not stand where my reflection in the bathroom mirror will show up in the photo. Reality was, I was never completely happy with my pictures. They were o.k. in an average kind of way, but they did not issue a "call to action".

A few months ago, I joined with another REALTOR, Carl Medford, who has always used a professional photographer. What a difference! The photos that we put on the MLS and on various websites are so much better than average that there is no comparison to what I used to do and to what most agents do. Sure that's my opinion, but check them out http://www.38580goodrich.com/

These photos separate our listings from many that you will see and issue a strong invitation for potential buyers to see the house in person.

If you are not a professional photographer, hire one. You wouldn't refer a client to an amateur real estate agent, would you?

John Juarez, REALTOR

Windermere Properties of the East Bay

John@CarlMedford.com

510-673-0686

What a hoot. I used to be an amateur photographer and it is amazing to me what I see for pictures on the MLS. Pictures of furniture, as you said, grainy pictures, way too dark pictures, and the list goes on. If you can't take acceptable pictures, then hire someone to do them for you. Otherwise you are not doing an adequate job for your client.

Very great point. I like the ones with the dog, does he come with the house?

Well, at least it was a nice bed. I've seen photos of just a mattress on the floor. Maybe that was to demonstrate the size of the room??

Worse, I've seen a LOT of photos of toilets. Kind of like they think not every house has one so they need to show it's there.

Now that everyone has digital cameras there is no excuse not to take enough shots to get some good ones.

And if you stand to make some hefty change when you sell the house, why not invest a few dollars in hiring a person who is trained to make homes look the best they can... a professional photographer.

SEP

Funny post Tina. I try to get as many pics as poss into the Listing. However, you will be glad to know that I do not include the "bed" pics. lol

How about 2 pictures (main is front view, okay; click for 2nd picture and behold side door picture) or no pictures of the home at all? According to writeup the home is so great; a picture doesn't do it justice so no picture?? Even with a cheap digital you can usually get a good shot of the room standing in a corner. When I find pictures taken from the middle of the room I expect they are trying to show a unique feature in the room but not looking at the window treatments. Also about 3 pictures of bedrooms; is it different views or separate rooms, no captions so who knows what you are looking at.

My buyers have told me don't send them MLS feeds that have no pictures because they are probably eyesores which is why the agents didn't take at least outside pictures. Like Joy #48 I fill my camera with pictures; I might take 2-3 pictures of one room, from different sides or entrances (if more than one entry into room); I always make sure that items in the room complement (straighten bed covers; straighten coffee table, open shades for natural light, etc.) the atmosphere of the room I'm shooting.

Great post-Also one of my pet peeves. At least this bed has no clothes on it. I have acutally seen photos on MLS where the bed is piled with clothes, or there is a laundry basket with clothes spilling out onto the floor, or they very blurry, or very dark pictures that you cannot quite make out what your looking at!

What are these agents thinking, or better seeing when they post these pictures??

Tina,

Good morning. You are so right, but was it the first or second photo that was used ?

I take all my own photos, and am very critical of those I post. Growing up in Retail, if the very first impression is not a good one, 'they' will just click to the next property- not seeing any additional photos or taking the opportunity to read any text.

Recently Paul Meleedy (RE/MAX International) created a FaceBook page for 'Really Bad MLS Photos' its quite ... interesting.

Steven Zimmerman Realtor ABR GRI / Prudential Best Realty, Inc. / GULF HARBORS - on Florida's Gulf of Mexico - Resident, Waterfront Specialist & Developer's Representative http://retaggr.com/page/StevenZimmerman

I absolutely agree....it would be great if we all focused on pictures of the property not the contents.

I prefer to focus on the marketing of a home and let a photographer do the photos, but I am still very critical and only choose a small % of photos to go online. I want pictures that will create interest in the home.

With the quality of equipment out there, some amatures can provide tremendous shots and spend the time improving the photos with Photoshop etc...so not doing a good job can not be blamed on cost.

Unless a Realtor has the time and skill to do this themselves I do not understand why they would not invest a few dollars.

Tina,

You stepped in it, one of my biggest pet peeves. I use ridiculous pics in my listing presentation to show my prospects how I will effectively market their home, not their FURNITURE!

I really like pics with the trash can in the kitchen showing, or a kitchen counter with a huge bouquet of flowers in the middle of the shot, personal favorite- bath tubs with shampoo and soap laying out. REALLY ?!?!

Tina, I have the same problem seeing the house sometimes, because I tend to get caught up looking at the decorating or family photos. It is hard to see the house when the things are distracting, even when you are in the house and not just looking at pictures of it.

SEP

Wow...with all of the comments, it seems most of us are in agreement....maybe I can track the habitual bad picture takers and send them a copy of this post. Thanks all for commenting.

Tina, good post. Yes it's a pet peeve of mine also. Please show me the 'room' Mr. or Ms. Listing Agent and forget about the sellers stuff highlights. The picture of the toilet is also a bath pic favorite of mine also.

SEP

I have never been able to figure out why possesses some agents to chose the photos they do. Dogs, plants, candles, sinks full of dishes. What are they thinking?

SEP

This is a bad one because the room looks big enough that an amateur could have taken 20 pixs and gotten an angle of the room, not the bed. I think that's the key, take lots of pictures of each room. You don't know what you will end up with. Now if it's a small room, it is much harder, so maybe stand on a chair.

This is, of course, for those of us who do not hire a professional photographer each time.

Practice can make perfect; or, at least, much better.

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