If a picture is worth a thousand words, what are you saying about your seller's home? Realtors are paid to help sellers market their homes, but some do a terrible job using the most basic marketing tool there is -- photographs.

That's why Canadian broker and blogger Norm Fisher has compiled a hilarious virtual tour complete with dead-pan commentary of the worst pictures he's found in the MLS. These photos do anything but help sell the home. From blurry marketing photos taken with cell phones, to bathroom exposures featuring empty toilet rolls and open come-sit commode lids, Fisher's gallery of gaffes is an object lesson to all real estate agents. Learn how to use a camera!

"I'm about to add the latest -- a cat licking its paws on top of the kitchen counter," says Fisher.

If that doesn't send germaphobe buyers running for the soap, nothing will. And it gets worse. "The Unbelievably Bad Real Estate Photography Hall of Fame" catalogs kitchens turned on their sides like the Poseidon going under water, backyards cluttered with lifetime supplies of firewood, spooky hallways and bedrooms with unmade beds and dirty socks on the floor, an incongruous pair of shoes left in the frame of an otherwise nicely-staged living room, hotspot windows that make it look like a nuclear bomb is going off in the backyard, and more.

One wonders what these agents actually see through their viewfinders. Some don't even bother to step back and get the whole house in the frame.

"It's been a pet peeve of mine for years," says self-taught photog Fisher, "but I've learned enough to recognize a really bad photo, so many agents and sellers don't seem able to recognize that these homes are being marketed so poorly."

A few years ago, Fisher bought himself a "decent" digital camera and spent a "fair" amount of time reading and studying photography, later added lenses and flashes. Today, he takes hundreds of photos of each of his listings.

"Many agents weren't using photos at all," recalls Fisher, "and people would comment on the fact that we were posting interior photos, so I always recognized that photos were going to be important to the homebuyer. I think the bad photographs became more obvious to me as I got more interested in photography, and now, even photos that I took a year ago, I can see where I missed the mark. It's a long-term learning process. I wouldn't call myself a photographer, but I've learned to compose a shot and look through the viewfinder and see what's there."

Here are a few of Fisher's tried and true suggestions for taking better real estate photographs:

1. Put the toilet seat down.
2. Prepare the scene. If you have to move the remote and clean up the newspapers, do it.
3. Turn on all the lights.
4. Don't point the camera at the light source. It fools the camera.
5. Remove clutter and excess furniture.
6. Use the right equipment for the room. A point-and-shoot digital camera won't capture a 9 by 9 room -- you'll need a wide angle lens to get more out of the scene.
7. Learn to use photoediting software.
8. Follow the camera's instruction manual.

"Sellers aren't aware of what's been done for their homes," says Fisher, who uses the tour as a market differentiator. "They should ask agents for samples of their work. They should ask, "How are you going to present my home?" and challenge them to do a better job. If they don't see photos that represent their home, they should insist on retakes."

With 80 percent of homebuyers turning to the Internet to view homes before contacting a Realtor, first impressions will be more important than ever to buyers, but it is also important to be the best so your photos aren't used against you in someone else's listing presentation.

Published: March 13, 2007

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Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. For more articles by Blanche, click here.