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Taking Great Photos For Your MLS Listing

Photos that you include with your MLS listing are critical. This is the first impression that viewers and buyers will have of your property and will ultimately help them determine if they will view your home.

Your photos should be horizontally oriented. Do not send images that are vertical shots. The MLS system will distort the photos.

Make sure your photos are the right size: 640 x 480 pixels. This is the size they will be online and we request that you send images that are this exact size. We have included detailed instructions below on how to resize your photos.

What areas of my home should I photograph?

Show the areas where most of the "living" goes on. These are the areas that most buyers want to view. Whatever amount of photos that your MLS allows, take full advantage of that total. Remember that first impressions for the buyers are those photos!

Make sure to include:

  • A front exterior shot of your property
  • Primary living area
  • Kitchen
  • Primary eating area
  • Formal dining area
  • Formal living area or second angle of primary living area
  • Master bedroom
  • Master bathroom
  • Other bedrooms / Other bathrooms

If your MLS allows more photos consider including the following:

  • Backyard, Garden, Patio, Sunroom
  • Entryway (If unique)
  • Basement Den/Recreation room
  • Pool, Hot Tub, BBQ Area
  • Neighborhood play yard, pool, tennis courts or recreation facility

If you are on water:

  • Lake views! Dock views, Intracoastal water views
  • Balcony view of a pool, a park, BBQ area
  • Ocean, Bay or River views

Tips for taking and editing better photos!

Lighting is the key when shooting photos for your MLS listing. Natural light is preferred, but when shooting an interior photo, if the light coming from a window is very bright, the camera's setting will adjust for that bright spot, darkening the rest of the room. Ideally, shoot your interior rooms on an overcast day with the window coverings open to allow natural light to come in. Keep the flash off. If your photos are still too dark, turn on interior lights, but remember that interior lights can make your rooms appear yellow in photographs.

When you are shooting outside home features, a sunny day is the best option. Avoid dark spots by positioning yourself so the sun is behind you. If your home faces north, you may need to shoot the face of your home on an overcast day so the bright sky will not cause the face of the house to darken in your photos.

Review your photos with a critical eye before submitting them. If they do not show your home's features in the best way possible, try shooting photos at a different time of the day and see if you get better results. Remember that first impression!!

Photo sizes

A photo size is measured in pixels. The Multiple Listing System will not display images larger than 640 x 480 pixels. However, most digital cameras will produce high quality images that are far too large for emailing or posting online.

To figure out what size your images are, and you are using Windows XP, you can run your mouse over the image file and a small window will pop up which will tell you the photo dimensions. Aso, you can right-click on the image file, select "Properties", select the "Summary" tab, and you'll see the dimensions there as well.

Resize Photos

When you log in to your FlatFee.com account and upload photos for your listing, they will be automatically resized.

If you would like to resize or crop your photos before uploading, most computers have photo editing software preloaded on them that will suit your needs. If you do not have any image editing software installed, there are some great free image editing tools available for download. For quick image cropping and saving right from your web browser, try Pixlr Editor.

Remember that photos help sell properties. Show in your photos how beautiful your property is!

Sending Photos

  • Make sure that your photos are taken with a horizontal orientation - NOT vertical
  • Once you take the photos, do not crop the image unless you are positive you are maintaining the 4:3 image ratio. If you are not sure how to do this, please send us the image with a detailed note of how you would like the image cropped so we may do it for you.
  • Email your photos to us in a JPG format. When you download the images from your camera to your computer, they should be in this format. As long as you do not change the format, the images will be in the correct format. If you send a photo not in one of these formats, we will ask you to resave the photo in JPG format and resend it.

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