I did a search earlier for a perspective client when I came across the following pictue (yes, this was in my local MLS).
What do I call this? The arcade? Bring your Pac-Man console and you're good to go. Wocka wocka wocka.
Or shall we call it the darkroom? Who needs Ofoto when you have your own in-house lab! We'll call it the Pulitzer room.
Seriously, if you do not have a picture that highlights an area of a house, then don't insert it. If there isn't enough light to capture a good picture, then skip over to other parts of the home that will show it off in a good way. Obviously we would all like to have a professional photographer snap great pictures for our listings, however there is an economic reality that prevents us all from being able to do so. Therefore we must compromise. But compromise does not mean throw anything up there. Our job is to sell homes, thus our listings must have clear pictures that are inviting to buyers.
FYI, this picture was even smaller on my MLS and less clear. At least it's larger here.
Now the big question: should I bring my Atari 2600 if my client decides he wants to see this listing? I'm thinking a round of Combat or maybe Asteroids......
Ummm....looks like thats Barney on tv.....are they trying to sell to a 5 year old?? hahaha
That's funny, but also sad a realtor would put that on mls to market a house.
I agree... terrible picture. We can all afford Photoshop Elements. You can adjust shadow, crop, "Photoshop", and do all sorts of things for $75. It's worth it because you can adjust shadows. Spend the money and buy it - its awesome! If you have it, its amazing at how much your camera picks up on. You just can't see it till the software brings it out.
Here's a 30 day free trial I found:
http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshopelwin/tryout.html?sdid=YNYA
look like a bunch of Dark Doom and Gloom to me... and Barney.. not sure what to make of that!
Oh come on Tchaka......they didn't want to wake up the todler watching Barney on TV! You are sooo mean!
....and yes that is sarcasm...just in case! : )
If I was the seller I would be a bit upset. This is a funny pic and should be use on how NOT to stage a home.
J.
Pamela - it just might be Barney. I think I make out some sort of gremlin-like creature.
John & Jessica - thank you for the heads-up. I might DL it for 30-days and try it out. Certainly a number of AR members could benefit from it.
Katrina - LOL @ Dark Doom and Gloom! I think you hit it on the head.
Ines!!!! You're back. I figured you guys were 'stuck' sailing the islands for the next 3 or 4 months. Great hearing from you, hope the time off was relaxing.
Ginger, Gary and Beth - I am smiling at your posts; thanks for responding. A room the whole family would love at nap time just might work!
Jeff - the crappy thing is that some sellers either don't know better or might not even know how their homes are presented online. I mght keep a collection and one day make an online tour of horrendous pics like that guy from Canada.
When a free program (Picassa) from Google will do this in under one minute:
I just get pissed off at the agent who put the picture in the MLS.
Now granted the room is still butt ugly and no amount of light is going to fix that, but at least now you can see just how ugly it really is.
Maybe that is why the agent left it dark!
I love you, you love me, we're a happy family with a great big hug and a kiss from me to you....
Nice, if you like Barney.
Hi Tchaka,
#1 - I'm interested in your name and the origin
#2 - The photo --Sad, sad --what was this agent thinking, guess he/she wasn't. Thanks.
Renee - where've you been? I've missed you!
Todd, Michelle - you both managed to make me laugh. Thank you. :-D
Laura - very well spoken! Pride in our work will also convey to our clientsl.
Scott - I think this pic was taken from one of your Fairlington listings. So you're a Barney fan, eh? ;-)
I'm going with the "dark room". Isn't it amazing how lazy some agents can be on something that's such an easy fix? Even the simplest photo processing programs can lighten a picture. Of course, you then have to increase the detail level, but it's still an easy fix.
Along the same lines, my mom's agent started taking pictures without considering any need to clean up or pick-up even a little. While my mom's house certainly is not messy, but, as an example, she keeps a bed-sheet over the couch to protect it. Good for protection, but bad for sell my house publicity. She had to tell the Realtor to wait a minute while she fixed things like that. You would think the Realtor would know better. BTW, Laurie, I agree with the others, being lightened up actually didn't improve the room, but your program was amazing!