What Are The Ten Worst Realtor Photo Mistakes?
I’m trying to whip up a top ten list for the worst photographic mistakes agents make. I can easily make the list of errors, but what do most people think the order should be in?
Here is what I have so far, in no particular order;
- Interior photos look dark and gloomy, with bright over exposed windows.
- Photos that aren’t straight.
- Photos that lack warmth and color.
- Photos of rooms with clutter.
- Not using all the photos the MLS allows.
- Shooting things like hallways and not the features of the house.
- Low image quality and/or botched aspect ratio. (I.e. empty space on the sides of the photo)
- Not using a wider angled lens.
- Blurry out of focus images.
- Date stamps on the photos.
- Reflections of you or the flash in the photos.
- Floating hazy orbs in the photo. (Dust particles reflecting the flash).
Is there more? What is worst? What is least worrisome?
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This article published on Thursday, January 10th, 2008 at 11:57 am | Contact the editor
Topics: RE Moments, Realtors
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Here are my Top 3:
1. Reflections of you or the flash in the photos.
2. Photos that aren’t straight.
3. Not using all the photos the MLS allows.
Not posting the maximum number of photos to MLS is a big mistake. It results in less foot traffic, lower sales prices and more time on the market.
A while ago Austin started to require photos. So their were a lot of photos from agents that had clearly not taken photos before. We got things like photos taken from inside the car in the rain. So basically the picture is of a blury car window with a tree in the background and some dark shape that might or might not be a house.
Thanks for the replies.
I used to hire a professional for all of my listings until my clients started telling me that they really like my photos. Not every agent has a knack for taking pictures, they should leave it to the pros. I still hire a pro fro about half of my listings. it saves time and I have someone to yell at if I don’t like the photos.
. . . and there are some homes that are dark and dreary and hard to photograph, where I really need a photographer, not a Realtor.
I suck at taking photos. I have found though there is power in taking LOTS (I mean **lots**) of pictures. It’s digital people, it’s not like you are paying for film. Even a lousy photographer will get lucky if they click the shutter enough…
Oh yeah, and when over your head, seek professional advice.