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Step away from the potty!

Did I get your attention?

It's driving me crazy to see so many photos of toilets in the listings. It seems that some listing agents feel like they have to take a picture of every toilet in the house! I understand that it's difficult to get a shot of a bathroom without including the toilet, but it doesn't have to be the focal point! Everyone knows there's a toilet in there ... otherwise, it wouldn't be a bathroom. Enjoy these photos, then scroll down for some hints on shooting bathrooms:

If there's no way to avoid including the toilet, at least CLOSE THE LID!!
Don't center the toilet in your shot ... focus on the vanity, the bathtub, the shower curtain ... anything but the toilet.
Don't take a picture of your reflection in the mirror ... just don't! Move to another spot, crouch down, clone it out, whatever. There's no excuse for something as silly as this.
Try to avoid shooting from eye-level - you'll usually get better results shooting from a lower point-of-view (3 to 4 feet above the floor).
Mirrors can be your friend ... some bathrooms are very small and, even with a wide-angle lens, it's difficult to show a lot of the space. When possible, use the mirror to capture other areas of the room:

bathroom

Do you have other tips for shooting bathrooms? Share them here!

Posted by Glenda Cherry / Realtor / Photographer on 06/25/2010 08:17 PM

Comments (75)

Bathrooms in the Technology and Tools Channel

photography, real estate photography, bathrooms, toilets

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75 Comments on Step away from the potty!

JUN

2010

Glenda,

So funny but SO TRUE! Prior to title sales, I worked as an agent for 8 years. Toilet pictures are one of the things that always killed me. I never understood it.

I think that, unless the bathroom is truly something special -- and large enough to be photographed properly -- that it's best to just skip posting the pic.

Another one is ... cars in the driveway, open garage doors, trash cans on the curb, etc. If the house isn't 'curb appeal' ready ... don't take the picture. Period.

Thanks for the 'sad but true' laugh!

Nicole

Your number one hint is my pet peeve. I see the messiest bathrooms and that makes me wonder, but why oh why can't they at least put the toilet est and lid down before taking the picture? Do they really want to sell? Most buyers, especially ladies, will be grossed out by that and wonder if a slob lives there.

Would you buy a house from a person who lived like a slob? Makes you wonder what creepy stuff you'll find. It might not be fair to think that, but buyers want the home of their dreams - not nightmares, and a silly thing like leaving the seat and lid up can turn a buyer off - way off.

I started doing the crouch and shoot on bathrooms. Half the time though it is better just to leave them out unless they are spectacular. Really a sink is a sink and a toliet....well we all know what they are.

Many buyers want reassurance that the home has indoor facilities, and that they include running water. It is imperative that all listings include a photo of the throne and visual verification that it is plumbed. :-)

Um, Yeah....I don't think that a picture of the toilet is gonna sell the house! You have touched on my pet peeve here. I hate toilet shots on MLS, especially with the seat up. Unless the bathroom is truly something special, I prefer not to see it! It is sooooo rare to see a great photo of a bathroom!

Funny!!! Thanks for the suggestions -- some powder rooms are so small that it's hard to avoid getting the toilet in the shot. I always try to take a photo, but if I can't show off the room well, then I don't include it in the marketing photos.

I have seen some good bathroom pictures but most are very bad.

JUN

2010

I agree 100%! And you're spot on about the lid. Put it down!

But the toilet is such a marvolus invention! :)

I have to agree with you and thanks for the pointers.

Great tips Glenda! I must admit, I hadn't really thought about the toilet shots in photos. But your absolutely right! I'm smiling at Lee's comment. Only a guy would see a toilet as a "marvelous invention." But to that, I say, if you've seen one then you've seen them all:-)

Great point...I always try to focus on the vanity. or the bathtub tile if there is any. I am like you wondering why so many photos focus on the toilet. Maybe they just want us to know they have one ;-)

JUN

2010

Nicole - I've never understood why agents feel they have to use every photo! Just use the ones that show the property at its best!

Susan - there's something about an open toilet that so very inviting ... not! It takes a second to close the lid - but it seems like the agents think we won't know it's a toilet unless the lid is up!

Cindy - yeah, the old "crouch-and-shoot" works well, but my knees are starting to protest ... LOL!

Mike - perhaps we should take photos of the toilet mid-flush to prove that it's a real toilet and not just a prop? :-)

Amy - I'm starting to get to the point where I only shoot the master bath (because people always want to see that) unless the other baths are special in some way.

Melanie - yeah, it's hard to avoid including the toilet, especially in a powder room - it's half the room!

Gene - the bathroom shots are usually the worst shots of the entire house ... if you can't do it well, just don't do it!

Richard - I'll bet your wife is happy to hear you say that ... LOL!

Lee - I agree! I wouldn't be without one :-) But it's like air - I don't have to see it to know it's there!

Myrl - if the guys think it's such a marvelous invention, why do they go out of their way to avoid cleaning it once in a while?? LOL!

John - I was shocked at how many of the photos center on the toilet ... and how many of them had the lid up! All of the photos above were taken from listings in one neighborhood!!!

So true, and...guilty as charged, officer. My fave is the blue taped one! For a potty diversion however, if you have the time, check out Jennifer Allan's post concerning the "Super Potty" I found in a home I was showing :). OK, enough toilet talk...

all the best...

Hi Glenda,

Great tips. I hate shooting bathrooms. Here's one I had to shoot awhile back that was a nightmare. As you can seem it is mirrored on all four walls. Such fun. : )

JUN

2010

Bill - Okay, exception to the rule: if you see one of these, take a photo!

Michael - I've had to shoot some of these nightmare bathrooms myself! You either have to do a good job hiding yourself or become very familiar with the clone tool :-)

JUN

2010

Hi Glenda,

Now THAT shot is a classic! : )

JUL

2010

Hahaha, great stuff Glenda. I love the toilet collage. Nothing says "love" in a listing like a toilet winterized and taped down with blue painters tape.

JUL

2010

Hi Glenda. I have seen pics of toilets in our MLS. I do not mind them just not those with the lids open which are uploaded far too often.

JUL

2010

Hey Glenda,

This was laugh out loud funny, thanks.

But so true. At least I haven't seen a realtor use the toilet picture as the main MLS shot, yet.

Good hints on shooting though.

Margaret

JUL

2010

Very funny post but also very true. I like the tip about using the mirror.

JUL

2010

I'm glad I'm not the only one who doesn't like to see the toilet in the shot. There are plenty of other rooms to get good shots.

When I take pictures, the goal is to get people interested in the house. I think with some of these reo agents, the goal is to show how well they winterized the bathroom.

AUG

2010

And it that isn't bad enough -- during a showing, seeing one with the lid up that hasn't been flushed -- now there is a real sellling feature! Sometimes I think common sense gets sparser by the year (not implying I have a ton of it! LOL). BTW...I used to live in the Lakeport Cluster...small world.

Chris - ewwwww!

Iran - the toilet collage was fun ... in a strange sort of way. You think it means I have toilet issues? LOL!

Margaret - I'm pretty sure I've seen at least one listing where the main shot was a toilet ... if I ever see one again, I'll link to it here :-)

AUG

2010

Glenda ~ your post has some great tips for sellers and agents. I also hate to see photos of the toilet as the main focal point of the bathroom. There is an art to photographing bathrooms and all it takes is a little practice with a wide angle lens.

SEP

2010

Glenda- in the toilet seat up or down, feng shui says down. A lid up means that the good luck in the house can be flushed away. Unless the toilet is scrubbed at regular intervals, there is just more than a little chance that it will not be spotless. Good post. I like the list. Thank you.

DEC

2010

It is amazing the number of toilets that seem to make the 6 or 12 shots that get in the MLS! Good advice. I am confused as I was always told to leave the seat up!

JAN

2011

Maybe the seat is the seller.

You know what they say there is one for every ...

Take 5 minutes to put down the seat, draw the curtain or don't take it.

Enjoy the day

Hi Glenda, I love the mirror "trick". Works every time! Awesome post and I couldn't agree more!

If you must - close the lid! I'm with Valerie - it's a feng shui thing.

Glenda, the other thing about mirrors, don't get yourself in the mirror or have the flash bounce back at you.

Ha ! This is classic !

One of my hugest of huge pet peeves for sellers is that they dont put the loo seat down .... ALWAYS !!!!!!

I must diplomatically repeat this reminder an average of 10 - 20 times over the course of a listing "Mr Seller, you have a showing tomorrow at 2pm. If you can remember to put the dishes away and pop the toilet seat down that would be great ...." !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cheers ! Loved the post :o)

JAN

2011

... and at least, if you HAVE to take a photo of the toilet with the lid open... please, please, please make sure that the toilet has been flushed!! (and yes, I have seen one of those on the MLS... can you say "Baby Ruth"?)

I have to admit I am guilty of a few toilet-esque shots. Nothing focused ON the throne but it is in the picture. I am the queen of cloning myself out of mirrors however!

Glenda,

I have to admit #1 & #3 are my Pet Peeves too. The only other addition to your list would be don't take photos of toilets with your cell phone that leaves the date or time in the corner of the photo and then post it on the MLS. I hate that!

Thank you for the funny but true post.:)

Seriously, what's wrong with including a bathroom picture?

This is great - Okay #36, that's pretty gross... But I do like capturing the toilets that do tricks #15. I will have to watch for them.

I have to say I've never given the toilet any thought in reference to listings.....but now I will. Thanks for the awareness.

It's a tough one, but ok. Bathrooms are tough - even if it is a nice one, decorated well, someone won't like the decorating anyway. If you don't post pix, people probably won't care unless they are expecting a master bath that is amazing.

HILARIOUS post!! It had to be said!! One of my pet peeves about listing photos too. The bathroom with the commode is fine. But just the commode . . . really pisses me off :-)

Glenda,

Thanks for the tip. Although, I don't take the photos my self. I will make sure if I see one come in from my photographer I will let him know.

HAHA that is funny! Seriously I found a picture of a toilet on a listing in the MLS with poo in it!!!! I couldn't believe it! I had to call a couple people around me to "check" it to make sure I just wasn't seeing things, but it was really there!

How daft do you have to be???

I completely agree! At least shut the lid. Please leave some things to the imagination.

Maybe that's the best feature of the house?! =( Yikes!!

Seat UP and dish towel on the stove handle are so very common that I think many people just overlook them now....they see it and know something is wrong and don't know what!

Good tips, Glenda. You should send this to your board so all of the area agents get the message.

I'm with Dave Halpern. It doesn't present an issue for me.

I was OK until I got to this post. . now I have the urge to run to the bathroom.. . see you

All I can say is a quote from a famous book I once read to my kids, "Everybody Poops". There's nothing to be ashamed of. Be proud of your poop and the toilet you do it on.

Glenda - you're hilarious as usual! One tip from buyers' perspective (if it's not already been mentioned) - if there's a separate tub from shower stall - take two pics and make it known they're a part of the same "suite". Of course a wide-angle lens will be your best friend there, but I haven't graduated to that myself just yet.

TESTIMONIAL: This woman is a photo genius. While out of modesty Glenda might not have promoted her work, I will. Enjoy!!

Glenda - This post is hilarious! I think small rooms should be left out completely - no - you do not have to include every single photo you take, nobody wants to see a toilet, the idea is to leave them with a positive impression not negative - a little too much information.... great job!

Glenda, unless the bathroom is spectacular, why even take a photo. If you seen one, you've seen them all.

Excellent suggestions - and its tough to get those mirror images without the photographers reflection, isn't it.

Ironically, I just had to return to an REO property I listed Christmas week - failed to take potty photos (ugly, and blue-tape winterized) - and then the BPO photo list required them! So from now on, I'll take even ugly potty photos, but hold them out of marketing photos...

Glenda, this is a classic, I was with the owners of my new listing yesterday and we discussed that very subject. I took fifty pictures and not one of a toilet!! Awesome Post.

Larger master baths are much easier to photograph. The smaller ones are difficult even with a super-wide angle lens. I shot this yesterday as part of a couple of new listings.

Tom

Glenda,

Some peopel just don't think. Oftentimes, it is the bathroom which is the main feature in a house. That's a problem too.

Brian

Glenda - unfortunately, many bathrooms are just small, small, small. If I take a photo of a bathroom that has a toilet in it, it's because I'm trying to show that the floor is no longer linoleum, or a one-piece plastic tomb shower has been replaced with custom tile. The toilet just gets in the way ... with the seat and lid down!!

Glenda - excellent advices, and I love your photos!

We shoot the bathrooms , so our over-informed and sophisticated potential buyers don't even suspect that there is a beautiful pink or green tile circa 1950 in the master bathroom:)). They know that if we don't photograph the bathroom that means only that it would be a shame to show it, which is true in many cases.

Taste and ability to balance are a-must skills and quaities of a good agent, aren't they?

I dont usually put them in my listings, I like to leave something for them to come see.

I agree depending on the age of the house a bathroom shot is a must most buyers want to know if the house has been updated even though you put that in the listing information they like to see the picture themselves. Toilet seat down of course.

I agree, of course that last bathroom at the end is a piece of cake compared to the others! Photographing bathrooms is one of the most difficult parts of our jobs. I agree -- lid down! It's a pet peeve of mine too along with having cars in the driveway. You know these pictures are getting syndicated everywhere so I make sure to get it right.

Great Post... First off I have to say how poor most agents photos are period, let alone pictures of the toilets. If I was a seller I would want good photos of my home. But I agree 100% close the toilet seat and leave the throne out of the pic.... Bathrooms are a difficult thing to photograph and if I dont like the pics I leave them off the MLS..

I always make a point of telling my clients to close the toilet seats when there is a showing as well. It seems that about 90% of the homes I show lately seem to have the seat up and a few nice dribbles for my buyer to admire... A quick way to turn a buyer off..

Glad you posted what I have thought so many times! CLOSE the lid at the very least. If you have a nice sink, just include it in the shot like your example with the granite.

Glenda, funny post...I laughed with acknowledgement. Sometimes it's just such a small space we want them to know there is one??? DAH...But the lid down is a must.

The photo of #14 is great! Tough one to photograph too. I always try to take a photo of every room in the house, especially since something unexpected might come up. Such as, I had a home robbed, so I could just go back to see what was there in the home prior to the robbery. I usually will not include toilet photos, unless I really have a serious lack of photos for the home, and want to get in as many as possible. About the only possible scenario for this is a very small 2 bedroom 1 bath home that doesn't have much to be photographed anyway. I agree that the toilet lids should always be closed. It's a fung shuey thing...

Glenda,

Unless a bath is magnificent, I usually don't post a picture. In foreclosures or inexpensive home, I just might to show it is "not that bad." But I knew better than to make the potty the focal point...

Hi Glenda -- I have learned a lot from your expertise, so I don't have any additional insights other than something you know and have pointed out as improvements in the past of my own photos: if a wide-angle lens is used, ensure the verticals are straight (either after wards in editing) but ensure there is not tilt/angle with the camera to start with and using a tripod can go a long way to ensuring less editing and less distortion occurs.

Your photos are amazing, you do incredible work. Your photographs of rentals look 100x better than 99% of sale photos in MLSs.

I am flabbergasted that the not only the seat coveris up sometimes, but the lid as well, and the toilet brush and/or plunger sitting next to the toilet is a huge selling feature lol. Just like putting trash cans in photos, or pets, TVs on, etc. It's a crying shame what passes for marketing sometimes in our industry.

great post

great pics

yes they are annoying

best practices ?

i like the dopey look at me in the mirror pics for nothing other than the lack of professionalism

give me hope that there is little competition other than between my ears

I had a seller recently insist I photograph every tiny bathroom, and all you could see is the toilet. I didn't use them online!

OMG.....I couldn't agree with you more! What the heck are these agents thinking?? I really dislike seeing these lousy bathroom shots. Geeeze......leave it out entirely unless you've got a "beautiful bathroom, neat and lovely to look at !"

Patricia/Seacoast NH & ME

Great post! Amen to that...now we just need all those agents to hear you and change their ways!

#36 is just absolutely disgusting.

There are several great tips for shooting bathrooms and making the most of them.

Glenda, you are absolutely correct. If your going to showcase, please close the lid..

JAN

2011

What a fun post plus good advice re crouching and cloning out in mirrors. I think unless exceptional the bathroom can be left out of pictures unless there is no inside plumbing and you need to make the point by taking a pic of the Outhouse.

Really enjoyed all the conversation and pics this generated.

Sue of Robin and Sue

Wow, I'm astonished! I posted this on my blog back in June and now it's been featured! Thanks to all for your comments and I'm happy I was able to amuse and/or educate to some extent. Guess it's time to update my blog :-)

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Glenda Cherry / Realtor / Photographer

Herndon, VA

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