The brilliance of Active Rain and Localism is that they can work together to everyone's benefit. As Active Rain provides a forum to share ideas and information amongst peers, Localism provides a place to apply this knowledge and better reach clients... immediately. Here is an example to make my point...
As a home stager I believe what a home buyer sees, regardless of where, when or how they see it, matters greatly. (I believe in the importance of this so much that I am ongoingly investing in and building an entire company devoted exclusively to improve what buyers see and visually exprience.)
So to keep my eye on just what is happening with technology and in the marketplace I often go out to realtor sites to research and SEE just what has been put there by realtors for buyers to look at and evaluate. And I have to admit it surprises me to see so much sloppy photography that realtors use to market their client's properties.
The MOST common photo composition error that I see over and over again are interior room shots that feature way to much of the ceiling in the photo. WHY... I do not know. When was the last time you had a client ask you to show you a house with the biggest ceiling? If you ask me, with digital photography being easy, quick and cheap, there is NO EXCUSE for this to to occur in room shots. To me... in the not too distant future bad photography this is going to be the sign of a lazy agent.
Yes, there are times when beams, skylights, light fixture, or some other ceiling feature or element should be featured in the photograph... but let's face it, this is NOT the case for the majority of the rooms that are being photographed. Below are 12 of nearly 50 images I found last week when I sat down for about 1¼ hours to do some on-line research. I know SEEING what I saw will help SEE what buyers are SEEING.
The good news is this does not take expensive photo editing software or classes in photo composition to correct this error. All it requires is that the realtor take an extra moment and look at what is in their camera's view finder and lower it if too much ceiling is being included in the shot. TIP: More floor is typically better then more ceiling.
As more and more consumers rely on internet sites (like Localism.com) to prescreen and preview properties, the knowledge and application of BASIC photographic skills is going to be another critical competence that WILL distinguish the amateur from the professional realtor in the areas that the consumer is selling and/or shopping in.So remember, simply lower your sites... to raise your standards and gain the marketing advantage shooting and posting good room photos will make in creating a favorable impression of you and the properties you are selling.
Variety of images were taken from random properties advertised in the market where I grew up (NOT Chicago-land). I scanned interior images across 5 zip codes of properties for sale in one evening on January 9th, 2007 and found MANY more equally as bad.
The only problem is, how to carry the ladder; seriously lol. I LOVE the idea. Seem to recall an info mercial from a few years back about some foldable ladder. I'll have to scour the web
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