Anyone use professional photography to sell their property?

[Aly W.]

I'm really curious about this...probably because I'm a professional photographer :)

Having seen so many properties online, in newspapers, and free magazines, I have to wonder about the quality (or lack) of the photos of these properties.

It would seem to me that "curb appeal" is just as important online. So many images of properties are taken from wacky angles, with poor lighting, and no regard for what is and isn't in the picture. I've seen plenty of images that are BLACK - simply no lighting at all! You can barely make out what the room is, much less what it actually looks like. I know most agents and sellers are using point 'n shoot cameras, nothing wrong with that if you know how to use them.

If I were a seller, and I saw images of my house being marketed with dark rooms, pictures of just a closet door in a room (yes, I've seen that), a picture of a toilet, yard with every imaginable toy and junk thrown all over, and even a listing with a caption that said "great 2 car driveway, not shown due to photo angle", I'd be very upset. Should agents attempt to help their seller tidy up/stage their house or yard for the photo shoot? Give them some guidance on how the house should look at least for the photos? I'm not saying scrub their floors, but try to clear off some counter space, move the garbage cans away from the front of the house, keep the litter box out of the shot, etc.?

At one point, I had marketed my photography services to several agencies in upscale towns. I did presentations showing samples of what is generally online, and what I could do. I did get a few agents who asked me to shoot their listings, but most said it was just cheaper and easier to use the point 'n shoot. One agent even joked that the flash on the office camera was broken, but oh well! Trying to get a feel for a price point, most agents I spoke to directly said they felt that even $25 was expensive. One agent was marketing a $700K custom restored farmhouse, and said he didn't want to pay more than $100 - and this would have been for a 3 hour shoot with studio lighting in almost every room.

I realize agents have to pay for their own marketing and advertising. If you're listing homes for several hundred thousand dollars, have you ever considered professionally lighted and composed images?