Sure, we can all take some amazing photos with our smart phones, fancy cameras with non-fancy lenses or probably the new Apple watch. Here are great places to use those photos: posted on Facebook or Instagram, texted to a friend or relative, or left on your camera roll forever and ever. At least that’s what I do.
Here is where you should not use those photos: on a real estate listing. Never. Those photos look terrible, and the 97% of buyers who search online won’t make the effort to visit the house if the photos aren’t great.
I have seen some pretty bad photos lately (general niceness prevents me from posting them here). But picture this (no pun intended): living rooms with little else in the photo except a giant TV and about 500 inches of various cords, a kitchen with a cat on the counter, a bedroom with clothes all over, a shot of the driveway with three cars parked haphazardly, and a dining room with a pole coming out of the ceiling – OK, I had to post that picture!
So please, in the name of Yen Lui, use a professional photographer. If you are a professional photographer or at least have a sweet lens then you might be ok. Check out these photos to see the same house shot with a good DSLR camera by an amateur and by a pro with great lenses. See what I mean?
One of the things I do for my sellers is pay for professional photos. They make all the difference in the world and everyone is happy. Bonus: you can still post them on Facebook and Instagram if you want!
By the way, if you want to see some terrifically terrible real estate photos, check out the aptly named Facebook page Terrible Real Estate Agent Photographs out of the U.K.!
Cara Erdman is owner of Cara in the House Real Estate and a Windermere broker. Contact her at 206-919-2505 or cara at carainthehouse dot com with any questions. Make sure you read this original blog on her website.
Windermere Eastside 