I’ve written before about the importance of having GOOD photos in the MLS or on agent web sites. I wish I could post some of the worst here, but that would violate copyright laws since using other’s photos is illegal.
When you’re searching for homes online, have you seen homes or rooms that make you laugh or just cause you to shake your head? Watch for these offenders …
- Photos so dark you can’t see the room. The agent didn’t turn the lights on or they don’t know how to adjust their camera settings.
- My personal pet peeve is a fridge loaded with magnets. Messy, messy!
- Photos with the agent’s books, listing papers and car keys on the table or center island. There’s a local agent that does this all the time.
- Agents taking a photo of themselves taking a photo with a blast of the flash. Usually this occurs in bathroom mirrors.
- I saw one for an upscale home with a cat in the middle of the frame. The cat was sitting on the kitchen counter near the sink. I think I’ll pass on eating any food at THAT home. Having a cat’s rump and litter box feet on a counter is just yucky.
- “Leaning” walls and cabinets. You see this mistake a lot. It’s totally avoidable by lining up the frame box in the view finder, and can be further adjusted in the imaging program that comes with cameras. It’s just a matter of caring about quality.
- So how do you like viewing baths with the toilet seat up and wet towels draped over the shower bar?
- I personally think that trash cans and cars in the driveway enhance curb appeal. NOT!
- Blurry photos. Perhaps the agent needs to use a tripod if they can’t hold the camera steady.
When you’re “interviewing” agents online, critique the photos they post on their listings. If you don’t like what you see, pick another agent. If your current agent is using bad photos, tell them you want new photos.
What’s some of the funny or pathetic photos that you’ve seen?
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Elaine,
The funniest photo I saw was an inadvertent sunbather on the back deck of a home – shot from a bedroom window above. The agent may have been trying to capture the size of the back yard, but they captured a skimpy bikini as well.
Maybe the agent decided the bikini would get extra eyeballs to the listing.
Another funny one I saw was a ranch home, built on a hilly street, with a garage underneath. The agent made the street level, which then made the home tip up in the air at about a 30-degree angle.
And then there are those that use the fisheye lens …
Elaine-
Here is one for you. No, I did not take it!
http://activerain.com/blogsview/948900/How-NOT-To-Photograph-a-Powder-Room
Dan, did you ever see Athol Kay’s blog where agents all across the Nation sent him “bad” photos. It was hysterical! The kind of funny that leave tears of laughter streaming down cheeks. He’s no longer in the business and his blog has been taken down – shucks. He was a CT Realtor®.
I remember he had one with a worse looking toilet than the one in your AR post.
We can’t pull funny photos here because it violates copyright rules. DARN!