We all know that the INTERNET is critical in marketing your home in today's sluggish Real Estate economy. One of the most critical aspects of your exposure is quantity and Quality of the photographs that your Realtor takes. If He/She is not maximizing the number of pictures available on your local MLS service, then you are not getting the best service. The quality of your uploaded photos will determine whether your potential buyer will take the time to come and see your house in person. 

Here are some pointers:

1. Take LOTS of pictures: I have been known to take HUNDREDS of pictures of one home. When you download to your computer, it's important to make sure that you have enough choices to get the best perspective. Also, some of the Visual/Virtual Tours require multiple pictures. Another reason, is to have back-up photos down the road if you decide to "freshen-up" the pictures.

2. ASPECT is important: Depending on the lens, angle of the camera, settings, flash, etc., your home can look like the Taj Mahal or much less.  The time of day and ambient light can determine the look as well. Make sure you have a WIDE ANGLE lens. There are several affordable Kodak versions on the market with very good lenses.

3. DE-CLUTTER: Put away the hoses in the yard, the dishes in the sink, etc. Pretty obvious, right?

4. TWEAK if necessary: You may have to photoshop that brown grass green to make it look more appealing. Show how the house will look in the Spring, not how it looks in the Winter. There are also some excellent STITCHING programs on the market that can help combine two or more photos to show a complete view of a room.

5. QUALITY: You will probably also use these photos for Flyers or Brochures. Make sure that the Pixels are high enough to get a crisp photo. Make sure it jumps off of the page!

That's about it for now. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Best of luck selling your home!!

 

 
This post has been included in Georgia Real Estate News

13 Comments on Photos are the Key!

JUL
20
2007
158,751 Points 2 Featured Posts Outside Blog
Great point, a good photo with the right vierw can make or break someone even looking at the listing say on Realtor.com , if the photo's look bad people will flip right past them. A good point was my cousins house which a neighbor listed and did a terrible job with photo's, the house sat for 6+ months and expired with minimum showings. He listed with an agent I referred and sold the house in 3 days and had more showings in 3 days than the whole 6 months, was it luck or good timing? Who knows but I do know that the new Realtor took some great photo's and spend a few hours editing them to look great!
11:22am • #1
1,908,313 Points 384 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Al, you are so right, especially about the wide angle lens. 

I recently traded in my old Kodak for a Nikon D50 with a fabulous lens that doesn't round out the walls - there's almost no distortion.  It's more than paid for itself - I don't have to resort to "Home Visit" to do my virtual tours and brochures. 

Thanks for your post. 
11:22am • #2
129,532 Points 3 Featured Posts Outside Blog
Well done!
2:30pm • #3

Al,

Wonderful post.  I've got a blog rolling around in my head that I need to get written.  I've bookmarked yours as a reference to link too. :)

Kathy
3:58pm • #4
1,372,840 Points 7 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Outside Blog Called Shot Master

Howdy Al

Congrats on a very good blog post you did.

Have a good one
4:14pm • #5
1 Featured Post

Although, I am not a photogapher, I have learned through experience and I take a lot of pictures some time at different times of day. I have never relied on others. Coincidently, our MLs has stopped photo shooting for our listing. That didn't bother me. I feel no one has more of a vested interest than I to capture the key attributes of my listing.

One final point, as a REALTOR(R) prior to previewing a home I view the  photos. Nothing disturbs me more than to go to a site and find that their are no photos or no interior shots (or 2 or 3 photos). My first question is what is the agent hiding or ashamed of?
4:30pm • #6
It seems like every time I look at the new listings on our local MLS I am shocked by what some agents will put in there. How can you do the home any justice if the pictures are terrible? I too take many, many photos and spend a lot of time picking the best of them.
4:32pm • #7
246,612 Points 2 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Outside Blog Called Shot Master
How true, great points Al. I take lots of extra picutures then go back to my computer and pick the best ones, like you said.
4:42pm • #8
276,112 Points
very very true! Excellent information Al. I cannot believe some agents actually do not upload pictures to the internet!
4:47pm • #9
You made some very good points. Another is to choose a good high quality flash. With the right cameria, len, flash and experience you should be able to drop the number of photos you take from the hundreds to 20 per listing. We normally take between 20 and 40 photos per listing and can use nearly all of them.
8:30pm • #10
JUL
21
2007
 Pictures at different times of the day (which means going back a second or third time) and outdoor pictures with the sun at the correct angle make all the difference.  I too cannot beleive that agents can list a property without pictures, without quality pictures, or without the maximumn allowed by the MLS.
6:17am • #11
145,276 Points 1 Featured Post Outside Blog Hit Router Attended Rain Camp

Great points and we all know these things! But it is always good to hear again.  I love photography and what sometimes bothers me is when--I take lots of photos and I know some of them are pretty good espeically for the property and the seller doesn't like them and wants them changed. Usually this is because the home hasn't sold and they want to blame the photos.  That really bugs me sometimes. Any thoughts?
6:59am • #12
2 Featured Posts

Hey Al - Great article - I've been thinking about investing in a new digital camera (I think the one I have is over 5 years old, but was top of the line then).  In addition to houses, I also take a lot of nature shots for my website.  Can you suggest a good solid camera that I can attach a wide angle lens and a zoom lens to? 

11:42am • #13


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Al Maxwell - Real Estate Agent -

Marietta, GA

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Coldwell Banker

Address: 37 Johnson Ferry Rd, Marietta, GA, 30068

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