Way back in my early days on the Active Rain real estate blogging network, I wrote a post called “Faux Staging.” It was partly inspired by my love for playing with images, and partly because of my fixation with the HGTV show Hidden Potential.
ANYWAY, the other day I was taking pictures of the master bedroom for the new listing I share with my colleague Libby Petch. This day was a busy one, with many things to accomplish in a short period of time – unfortunately, I rushed the photos for the master bedroom and missed a few – rather OBVIOUS – issues.
Oops, Not Quite Tidy Enough!
I did not notice the cap on the bedpost, nor did I notice one of the slats on the headboard was missing.
No problem! Spending some time with the image in Paint Shop Pro (v. 9) gave me this result:
Fixed the Master Bed!
Now, I could have gone a step further and made the bed look neater – but my skill level isn’t quite there yet. But wouldn’t you agree this is an important improvement? The first picture looks shabby, this one looks much better after taking some time to tweak it.
I have also added flames to fireplaces with Paint Shop Pro:
Adding Flames to a Cold Hearth
Now, let me set the record straight – in no way am I advocating altering pictures to hide a fatal flaw with the property, such as covering a neighboring house with trees to make the home look more private than it is, erasing power lines, etc.
If the BED were going to be included in the sale of the property, I would not have “fixed” the missing slat. If the fireplace was inoperable, I would not have added flames to the picture. There is a difference between enhancing a photo to show a home in its best light, and being deliberately deceitful.
As professional REALTORS, we are required to be truthful in advertising, while at the same time, showcase our client’s property in the best possible light. An interesting discussion about this can be found here. A buyer was extremely frustrated because he drove out of his way to see a particular listing because of the way it was presented in the picture only to discover that the yard did not look at ALL like the listing photo.
Many agents don’t even bother to color correct or lighten dark/cold photos, or straighten crooked ones before uploading them to the MLS. As part of my obligation to my seller, I believe in making the photographs as attractive as possible. After all – photo appeal is the “curb appeal” of the Internet Real Estate community!
This does not take a special talent; it is a learned skill. I did not know how to do ANYTHING on a computer except type until about 10 years ago. Then I somehow got sucked in and became a web designer! Imagine that! A friend gave me a copy of Paint Shop Pro (Version 7) and taught me how to do basic graphic work. I found tutorials online and soon knew how to perform basic tasks.
In most cases, agents can have stunning photos if they just take a few minutes editing them in Picasa, a free photo editing program by Google. It is very user friendly and excellent for most basic tasks and even more artsy ones. The techniques described above, however, are beyond the scope of Picasa and require something more sophisitcated. I love Paint Shop Pro V. 9. I purchased it new off eBay relatively cheap, since it was an older version (the new version is not as good since PSP was swallowed up by Corel!).
Shhh! Don’t tell my competition about my tricks!
Tomorrow, I’m going to write about some easy/inexpensive home staging tips I picked up from today’s Realtor.org webinar. Stay tuned!
Filed under: Home Sellers, The Rambling Realtor Misc. Category
