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Is a bad picture better than no picture?

By
Real Estate Agent with Realtypath LLC 6799111-SA00

dark

Sometimes as I am running through listings on my MLS I come across pictures that leave me wondering what I am seeing. There are many tools available to help out on so many pictures. Free programs like Picasa by Google, Picnik, just to name a few. The pictures on this post were copied from MLS searches. If you hae examples you have seen please post them here as well.

bush between

sideways

Yes it was really in sideways.

I would love to see pictures you have found. I am just amazed. I am no professional and I know our subjects are not exactly wonderful at times. I would just encourage the use of free programs that can crop photo's, lighten them and in only a few easy steps make an otherwise poor photo useable. It is really hard to go back and re-take the photos in so many instances. The programs mentioned here can save time and photo's.

Comments (28)

Kevin Cavanaugh
Keller Williams Hudson Valley Realty - Tappan, NY
Lic. Associate Broker, ABR, GREEN

Randy, as they say " A picture is worth a thousand words."  In the limited confines of the MLS system, why not let your pictures say what you can't fit in the comments?  Also, don't you think that bad pictures convey what a terrible agent you really are?  After all, if you overlook the detail of your photos, then what other IMPORTANT details are you also overlooking?  Thanks again.  kevincavanaughonline.com

Feb 09, 2009 09:30 PM
Chip Jefferson
Gibbs Realty and Auction Company - Columbia, SC

I am also amazed by the MLS listing photos. So many of our local Realtors and agents just dont care. Its so unprofessional.

Feb 09, 2009 09:55 PM
Fernando Herboso - Associate Broker MD, & VA
Maxus Realty Group of Samson Properties - Clarksburg, MD
301-246-0001 Serving Maryland, DC and Northern VA

Bad photos?

I say over 80% of all photos in our localMLS are in need of a touch up. .

Feb 09, 2009 10:07 PM
Jim Dvorovy
Cutler Real Estate - Canton, OH
REALTOR - Canton Ohio Real Estate

Many times the property is the problem, and will not lend itself to great photos. I'm glad I was following along the comments in yesterdays posts about what cameras are sort of okay for use in taking real estate photos because of the wide angle lens feature.

For some really GREAT pictures, take a look at the ones that Margaret Hokkanen is posting here on AR.

Feb 09, 2009 10:19 PM
Eileen Brigantino
EB Properties, LLC - Parrish, FL
Property Investor

I think pictures are incredibly important since most buyers look online first to see what is out there and choose which homes they want to look at.  Isn't that what marketing a "product" is all about?  As a homebuyer,  I have searched for houses online and in my opinion, the pictures should be a high priority when posting on the internet. 

Feb 09, 2009 10:47 PM
Charlottesville Solutions
Charlottesville Solutions - Charlottesville, VA

LOL! Well no picture might be better. For awhile on AR there were a lot of BAD MLS photos posted. It was very funny!

your friend for Charlottesville Real Estate!

Charles McDonald

Feb 09, 2009 11:18 PM
Rob and Camille Di Maio
San Antonio Real Estate - Keller Williams Legacy - San Antonio, TX

A bad MLS picture is good for a nice chuckle while I'm working.  My pet peeves are those that are so dark that you can't see anything and those that have people in them!  However, once I saw one where someone had painted obscenities all over the wall, and those pictures were in the MLS!

Feb 10, 2009 01:29 AM
Kevin Vitali
EXIT Realty Beatrice Associates - Middleton, MA
Helping Massachusetts Home Buyers and Home Sellers

I am amazed at some of the photographs we can see in our MLS.  As agents get more tech savvy, you need to take better pictures to compete.  One of my pet peeves is the highlighting of the open toilet.

Feb 10, 2009 09:00 AM
Andrew Mayon
Triad Real Estate Photography - Greensboro, NC

I have to agree with Kevin.  As a REALTOR you are considered a professional.  To have pictures like the ones shown above would tell me as a seller 1) you don't care 2) are lazy and 3) don't have a seller's best interest at heart.  I could go as far as to say too frugal to invest in having pictures done professionally. 

Of course, there are certain price points that really don't warrant professional photos.

Bottom line, the internet is "Main Street."  Your website AND your listing photos are your storefront.  People will more than likely shop at a site that looks like "Barney's of New York," than "Barney's Pawn Shop."  If you can't take good photographs, get someone that can.

Feb 10, 2009 12:32 PM
Randy DeLaMare
Realtypath LLC - Salt Lake City, UT
Helping friends Realize their Real Estate Dreams

Doug,

I guess we work hard to get the listing and then suddenly have deadlines to get the listing in to our MLS. We upload something just to get the listing in and think we will bget the good shots in later. I know it happens to me sometimes. Like Robert said earlier I guess we can make a milion excuses.

Karen,

I see you got the real point of my post. There are tools out there to help us post better pictures to the MLS. They are not difficult to use and they are free. I think we owe our sellers at least that. Thanks for your comment.

Len,

Thanks for your viewpoint. I don't necessarily agree with what you said but understand your viewpoint. I know how hard it is to show some rooms and some of the places we go into are scary. My point is that there are tools out there to improve the photos we take. When I see poor photos I wonder if the sellers are receiving our best efforts. I don't think that a bad photo is better than no photo as long as there are some photos that work. Photos can detract from what we are trying to accomplish.

Feb 10, 2009 02:16 PM
Randy DeLaMare
Realtypath LLC - Salt Lake City, UT
Helping friends Realize their Real Estate Dreams

Kevin C,

I agree with your comment and thank you for it. Well said.

Laura,

Thanks for reading my post. I hope that Realtors care and just don't know that there are tools available to make bad shots better. I agree it looks that way sometimes.

Fernando,

Wow that is a high number. Do you think it is worth the expense of having a professional take the pictures? Or do we all need to take some lessons and improve our equipment and software?

 

Feb 10, 2009 02:33 PM
Randy DeLaMare
Realtypath LLC - Salt Lake City, UT
Helping friends Realize their Real Estate Dreams

Jim,

Wow thanks for sending me to her blog, She has some great examples. You are correct that we have to work with some pretty rough places at times.

Charles,

I'm sure there are all kinds of things that have been done here on AR. I just started keeping a file that I dump bad pictures in just for the fun of it. Sometimes I have to open the file and show my wife and we have some good laughs along with true amazement that the photos mad it to MLS. I always enjoy your comments. Thanks

Bob & Camille,

I too have seen some with the graffiti on the neighbors wall and thought use the crop tool or something. It certainly doesn't make me want to live there, so I can imagine what the buyers that are shown the pictures think.

Feb 10, 2009 02:47 PM
Randy DeLaMare
Realtypath LLC - Salt Lake City, UT
Helping friends Realize their Real Estate Dreams

Kevin V.

Thanks for posting a picture with your comment. Not a bad picture, it is funny to me because every time I leave to go and take pictures my wife says make sure the toilet lid is down.

Andrew,

Thanks for your comment. Very well said. There are obviously price points that make a difference. That being said I believe we owe it to our clients to better our skills and tools when there is a price point. There are a lot of people here on AR willing to give us tips and advice on how to do just that. Thanks AR

Feb 10, 2009 02:56 PM
Lee Jinks
Jinks Realty - McAllen, TX

"I never could understand why an agent would take a pic of a house at night!

Nancy, my best photos of homes were taken at night.

night 01

night 02

Feb 11, 2009 06:18 AM
Paul Macapagal
Town Residential - Manhattan, NY
NYC Sales Expert

There should be a picture police task force patrolling the Internet for bad property pictures.  They would be handing out tickets lest and right. I bet we could fix the deficit from the proceeds!!

Feb 12, 2009 01:25 AM
Mindy & Jay Robbins
Robbins Real Estate - Dallas, TX
Expect Excellence from Robbins Real Estate

If forced to make a choice a bad photo is better than no photos...BUT GREAT PHOTOS help sell the property! Mindy

Feb 16, 2009 03:53 AM
Randy DeLaMare
Realtypath LLC - Salt Lake City, UT
Helping friends Realize their Real Estate Dreams

Lee,

When proper techniques are used night pictures can be awesome. Most realtors do not have the proper equipment to make this happen. Longer exposures using a tripod, not better flashes are normally needed here. Nice examples, thanks for posting them.

Paul,

Would the task force also ticket for no pictures or just for bad pictures? Just curious, is a bad picture worse than no picture?

Mindy,

I think I would agree that a bad picture is better than no picture as long as you can see some detail in the bad picture. Sometimes they are pitch black and you can't see any details. In those cases I think it would almost be better not to post it. Thanks for your comment.

Feb 16, 2009 04:35 AM
Andrea Swiedler
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New England Properties - New Milford, CT
Realtor, Southern Litchfield County CT

Have certainly seen my share of bad photos, and NOT because the house was hard to photograph. I take that into consideration. They are worth a chuckle though. One of my pet peeves is taking a picture of the toilet in the first place! IMHO if all I can see in the shot is the commode, then I move on! Bet we have all had at least one listing where you pulled out your camera and said.. uh... where can I shoot from to inflict the least amount of damage. As far as editing programs go, I had to take a car out of a shot one time, but, I did it and you can't even tell. I used the cloning tool.

Feb 19, 2009 12:54 PM
Marie Ogle
Mortgage Processing Solutions - Spokane, WA
Contract Mortgage Processor

I don't think bad photos are as bad as creative photos.  Pictures are worth a thousand words but they can also be deceiving.  I've seen some photos of properties but once we got there realized the home was not at all what the picture had depicted.  I recently heard about having video tours of properties.  Now that sounds like a great idea!

Lee those are gorgeous photos.  I can see your point not all night pictures are bad.

Feb 19, 2009 03:09 PM
Maria Tascon
Keller Williams Realty Spartanburg - Spartanburg, SC
Spartanburg SC Short Sale Specialist

To me, no picture is even more agravating that no picture at all.  I don't event want to take the time to rotate my computer to see the unrotated picture (how lazy and unprofessional is that)

Feb 20, 2009 01:55 PM