Three Things – Shoot Me Now

The folks over at the Edmonton Real Estate Blog posted another article last week on how important photographs are (and should be) in the marketing of a Client’s home. It’s the third post on this topic I’ve read on their blog going back to August of last year. After reading their most recent post and thinking about just how poor some (okay, many) of the images are on the MLS® system, I felt compelled to write about another three things and add my two-bits on the subject.

I have conversations with my buying Clients almost daily about pictures of homes they are interested in viewing and their level of frustration with said pictures; both before viewing and following viewing. Generally speaking, many of the listings I see tend to fall into one of the following categories when it comes to photos:

First Thing – Get a camera
…there is absolutely no excuse to justify “No Photo Available”…

Second Thing – Get a good camera
…the likelihood of poor quality photos can be minimized with a good point-and-shoot digital camera…

Third Thing – Don’t mislead buyers
…buyers are truly disappointed when the home doesn’t match the hype…

Get a camera: Come on…’No Photo Available’!? I can forgive REALTORS® that do not load pictures of their listings the second they hit MLS®. As REALTORS® we have the flexibility to conduct our business and leverage our experience in ways we think best serve our Clients; at times we have differing opinions on just what that entails. Personally I load photos of my Clients homes as soon as I’ve hit the submit button on their listing and been granted the MLS® number by the system — but that’s just me. I happen to believe that the faster I can get the images online, the faster prospective buyers can begin to form an opinion as to whether my Clients’ homes suit their needs. As a home seller, the online marketing of your home to potential buyers should be one of the things you consider before signing any listing contract.

Get a good camera: REALTORS® don’t need to spend a thousand dollars on the latest-and-greatest in digital hardware and image processing software to be able to put up good photos that represent their Clients’ homes in the best possible light. A decent point-and-shoot camera that will more than suffice under most circumstances can be picked up for two or three-hundred dollars these days. I happen to use a $250 (three years ago) Olympus D-something-or-other model camera that allows me to take SHQ resolution photos with a resulting image quality that more than satisfies the requirements of my graphics artist (she produces the custom brochures for my listings). I definitely don’t consider myself a great photographer but attention-to-detail helps me overcome my shortcomings in this regard. I always ensure there isn’t any background ‘noise’ in my photos (e.g. TV remotes, yesterday’s newspaper, etcetera). Another way I ensure I have the best photos (within my abilities) is to turn on every available light source in the room and then take multiple photos from multiple angles of each room; both with the auto-flash setting and the manual flash setting. By the time I am done I usually have somewhere in the neighbourhood of fifty photos of my Client’s home.

Don’t mislead buyers: I am of the belief that good photos of a home are ones that actually show the home the way it is (i.e. the home does not show better or worse and is no more or less dramatic ‘in person’ than it is in the pictures). Buyers should not leave a home disappointed or deflated after a viewing because the property they were expecting to see didn’t exist at the address we saw. The photos my buyers see during our pre-viewing homework should match what they see when they walk through the door.

Pictures are an important part of the marketing process (especially when many buyers are doing their own snooping online) and are often overlooked and not given the attention they deserve during the listing process. Having said that, I don’t think photos should be altered, doctored, or otherwise re-touched to make a home look any different than it does when you are in it. In my opinion you don’t have to be a professional nor do you have to go to the lengths these guys do to get the ‘perfect picture’ however, if you have the tools and the technical know-how a bit of extra effort can go a long way.

///…CP