Another "Professional Photographer" Tries Their Hand at Real Estate Photography

Recently, a good-natured and well-intentioned real estate agent said to me that he uses [a part-time local photographer] for "all my photography needs" including real estate.  I appreciate and value loyalty, but the results of this line of thinking only confirm the fact that just because someone is a great or "professional" photographer, does not mean they are a good real estate photographer! See what you think:

"Professional Photographer" is not the same as "Professional REAL ESTATE Photographer"

Ok, again, these are not *awful* photos, taken by someone described as a "professional photographer."  That's all well and good, but as you'll see below, just because you're an amazing wedding photographer or portraiture photographer, doesn't mean you know how to take excellent, successful real estate photos!  Don't get me wrong, these are sadly, NOT the worst mls photos I've ever seen. They're just not doing a great job of making this incredible home look its very best and most appealing. The uneven lighting is wonderful for portraiture, but for mls photos, not so much. Same goes for the off-putting blurriness throughout this set. Wonderful effect for portraiture, but doesn't belong in mls photos. And seriously - if you're a "professional photographer," PLEEEEEZ straighten these photos before you deliver them for use!!!  Come on!!! 

Sooooo much of the ceiling and floor that the room itself looks like a hallway, and the furniture seems tiny and almost doll-house-ish. Vertical photos are awesome for portraiture, but rarely appropriate for real estate pix.

Again with the verticals. I don't know about you, but I'd much prefer to see the width of this room, rather than the blank space of the ceiling.  So unless you have soaring vaulted ceilings, a vertically-oriented photo of a room is just not a good idea. See my posts under "Verticals are a bad idea" right here in the right sidebar!

Just plain weird photo.

I can't even begin to tell you all the reasons I dislike this photo.Vertical orientation squishes this space into a ridiculously distorted caricature of a room. The off-putting blurriness, the strange darkness around the edges with extreme brightness in the center - ack!!

I can hardly deal with how weird this perspective makes this home look.

Bad shot, awful lighting with the contrast between the super bright sun and super dark shade.

Again - straighten this photo up, and how about coming back and shooting it when the sun is full on this little corner of paradise?

Not Exactly Awful, But a Convenient Side by Side Comparison

This week I took photos of a house which had been photographed by someone else about a year ago. The homeowner asked me if I was the same one who had done the photos last year, and when I said no, she was SO relieved! She said she had hated those photos, and that she felt she could have taken better photos herself.  I promised her she'd be much happier with the photos this time around!  Meanwhile, I was able to pull 3 of the former photos to compare side by side with my own. Here's the result (make sure you scroll all the way down to see all of the comparisons!):

Last year's photo of the entry foyer. Not terrible, but not up to my own standards!

That's more like it! Not only is this photo much brighter and evenly lit, but with my ultra-wide-angle lens, we certainly see a lot more of this foyer, from side to side as well as top to bottom!

Again - dark, and an awkward angle of this master bedroom.

I deliberately chose to show both windows, rather than one window and the door on the left. Doesn't this room look absolutely huge here?

I'm getting soooo tired of all these dark photos!!!

Yes. This is the exact same bathroom, right down to the same items on the counter that were there when the other person photographed it a year ago.  Notice not only how nice and bright this photo is, but how much nicer the color is, and how much more of the room this lens includes. 

Do I even need to say anything about this one?

I don't know about you, but hands down, I prefer this photo.

Weird House Photos on the MLS

Here's a few more I stumbled across recently in my mls travels. I continue to be amazed that people can get away with this stuff. Sellers actually accept this and pay this agent commission if the house does ever actually sell??  Shameful service. Just a disgrace.

Good luck with that.

Another picture-popping agent.

I Like To Eat Chicken, But Not Crow . . .

Yes, I haven't posted in while, and it's because I have to eat a little crow myself. Yes, my tail between my legs, eating humble pie - sorry for the mixed metaphors, but it all boils down to this: I have become an offender myself!!!  But I promise, I won't let it happen again - EVER!!!  Join me in the confessional, if you dare:

Yes, after just recently posting "Picture Popping Pets," I myself became a victim of the phenomenon, and it slipped past my notice. Of course I replaced the photo within the virtual tour, and luckily, since it was a glamour shot (ambient lighting only - no flash), this didn't ever get posted on the mls. Still - I will now be looking ever so carefully at ALL of my photos before sending them off!!

My trusty assistant on the screened porch, fussing with an uncooperative door. The irony is that I actually KNEW she was there when I took this shot, but it was coooold out, and I decided that rather than continuing to stand there in the cold, waiting for her to move out of the shot, I'd take the shot, hurry inside, and make everything better later in Photoshop! The key to success with that approach is to actually remember to fix it in Photoshop. Ha!

Picture-Popping Pets

One of the most annoying things that can happen while you're photographing a house is to have a picture-popping pet. Perhaps the owner is nowhere to be found, and no matter how hard you try, you simply cannot get that pet to scurry on out of your photo!  The advantage that I personally have, is that being "just the photographer" and not the real estate agent, I can usually ask the agent or homeowner to keep the pet rounded up, without the risk of offending the pet owner.

Clearly, this DIY real estate picture-taker had met his/her match with this pooch! It was literally in every single photo EXCEPT for the exteriors! Ironically, the first of these photos is actually not terrible. While not up to my own personal standards (no offense meant, please), still-compared to the other photos we usually see on the mls, they're not disgraceful by any means! Enter Fido . . .

Not a terrible photo, right?  If they had just picked up the dog toys and coaxed the dog itself out of the shot.

Sorry - don't love this shot with or without the pooch. But that's another subject for another post.

Also don't like this photo for many reasons, although it's definitely not among the worst I've seen. Then there's the dog . . .

Maybe They Don't Want Us To See What It Really Looks Like?

Because, seriously, I can't think of any other reason any self-respecting real estate agent would post photos like these. It's hilarious, except for the fact that it's REAL Disgraceful.