SHOW US THE GOOD STUFF

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.

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.

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.

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.