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Rainmaker
1,725,996
Sandy Padula & Norm Padula, JD, GRI
HomeSmart Realty West & Florida Realty Investments - , CA
Presence, Persistence & Perseverance

I use a 12-24 lens and not a Fish Eye. It captures more of the room and I have never had a complaint. Nothing is doctored.

May 27, 2016 01:12 AM
Rainmaker
613,494
Eve Alexander
Buyers Broker of Florida - Tampa, FL
Exclusively Representing ONLY Tampa Home Buyers

It is only a problem if the buyer is buying sight unseen...since when do pictures show the real thing?

Hmmm...so what about hiring an agent from their 20 year old glamour shot?

Eve

May 27, 2016 03:42 AM
Rainmaker
5,583,278
Barbara Todaro
RE/MAX Executive Realty - Happily Retired - Franklin, MA
Previously Affiliated with The Todaro Team

I think it's expected by homeowners that the agent will have a wide angle lense..... 

May 27, 2016 12:42 AM
Ambassador
3,345,091
Kathleen Daniels, Probate & Trust Specialist
KD Realty - 408.972.1822 - San Jose, CA
Probate Real Estate Services

Anything that creates illusions or deception is a misrepresentation ...IMO. I do not use wide angle lens. 

May 27, 2016 12:41 AM
Rainmaker
989,652
Jennifer Mackay
Counts Real Estate Group, Inc. - Panama City, FL
Your Bay County Florida Realtor 850.774.6582

I don't use wide angle lens myself

May 27, 2016 08:52 PM
Rainmaker
1,157,785
FN LN
Toronto, ON

Reference to the local MLS rules would need to be made in order to determine whether such an issue exists for that MLS.

May 27, 2016 12:14 PM
Rainmaker
5,772,575
Ron and Alexandra Seigel
Napa Consultants - Carpinteria, CA
Luxury Real Estate Branding, Marketing & Strategy

David,

What Sandy Padula and Norm Padula, JD, GRI said.  A

May 27, 2016 09:30 AM
Rainmaker
1,466,207
Michael Setunsky
Woodbridge, VA
Your Commercial Real Estate Link to Northern VA

David Popoff Less is more. Don't use a wide-angle lens.

May 27, 2016 03:42 AM
Rainmaker
823,579
Susan Laxson CRS
Palm Properties - La Quinta, CA
Realtor in San Diego, CA & Naples, FL

Really?!? A wide angle lens helps viewers see the corners of the room, windows out of the view of a normal lens etc... I don't believe any of them actually complain that the room is not EXACTLY like the picture.  If anyone is uncomfortable with it, then they should add a disclaimer to each photo they take.

May 27, 2016 02:43 AM
Rainmaker
921,504
Annette Lawrence , Palm Harbor, FL 727-420-4041
ReMax Realtec Group - Palm Harbor, FL
Making FLORIDA Real Estate EZ

That is correct. Wide angle and fish-eye's are misrepresentations and deception. All agents so convinced should cease and desist IMMEDIATELY.

Meanwhile I will keep on providing the best images possible for the intention for which I decide. And that will include wide angle images and any other technology that enhances the homes appeal.

 

May 27, 2016 01:18 AM
Ambassador
2,684,009
Fred Griffin Florida Real Estate
Fred Griffin Real Estate - Tallahassee, FL
Licensed Florida Real Estate Broker

There is a legal line that can be crossed:  "False and Misleading" or "Misrepresentation". 

   The fish eye lens and wide angle lenses can push us across that line.  Be careful!

May 27, 2016 01:03 AM
Ambassador
5,049,183
Jeff Dowler, CRS
eXp Realty of California, Inc. - Carlsbad, CA
The Southern California Relocation Dude

It's pretty common and buyers often complain that photos make houses or rooms look much larger than they are

May 27, 2016 12:48 AM
Rainmaker
5,868,544
Joan Cox
House to Home, Inc. - Denver Real Estate - 720-231-6373 - Denver, CO
Denver Real Estate - Selling One Home at a Time

The wide angled lens do make rooms look larger, but certainly better than when the agent takes photos with their cell, rooms are dark, and unable to see what they are!  

Jun 01, 2016 02:13 AM
Rainmaker
1,525,616
Sybil Campbell
Fernandina Beach, FL
Referral Agent Amelia Island Florida

I get annoyed at agents that do that.

May 30, 2016 12:47 PM
Rainmaker
3,071,489
Tony and Suzanne Marriott, Associate Brokers
Serving the Greater Phoenix and Scottsdale Metropolitan Area - Scottsdale, AZ
Haven Express @ Keller Williams Arizona Realty

what Marc Swartz, CPA, CA, Real Estate Broker said...

May 27, 2016 10:45 PM
Rainmaker
4,434,127
Gita Bantwal
RE/MAX Centre Realtors - Warwick, PA
REALTOR,ABR,CRS,SRES,GRI - Bucks County & Philadel

no

May 27, 2016 09:47 PM
Rainmaker
7,836,134
Roy Kelley
Retired - Gaithersburg, MD

There is nothing wrong with  using a wide angle lens. 

May 27, 2016 09:29 PM
Rainmaker
634,482
Kathleen Luiten
Resort and Second-Home Specialist - Princeville, HI
Kauai Luxury Ocean Home Sales

No. When done properly I don't see the room a bigger. Wide angle does a better job capturing the space of some rooms.

May 27, 2016 07:08 PM
Rainmaker
4,319,419
Praful Thakkar
LAER Realty Partners - Andover, MA
Andover, MA: Andover Luxury Homes For Sale

David Popoff - having wide angle lens to cover the whole room is desirable.

Most consumers now are aware of this photography 'trick' anyways....

May 27, 2016 04:17 PM
Rainmaker
519,324
Dan Tabit
Keller Williams Bellevue - Sammamish, WA

If you use a wide angle and then take the view from very low or very high, you create a false impression about the room size, you also run the risk of making people dizzy.  I use a wide angle, but I don't want false impressions as they are very hard to overcome. 

May 27, 2016 02:19 PM
Rainmaker
533,993
Robert Havana
Park and Protect- Alberta Real Estate License Parking - Calgary, AB
Alberta Real Estate License Parking

i dont think that is, however i have seen some virtual staging and photoshop which is suspect

May 27, 2016 01:02 PM
Rainmaker
3,988,007
Debbie Reynolds, C21 Platinum Properties
Platinum Properties- (931)771-9070 - Clarksville, TN
The Dedicated Clarksville TN Realtor-(931)320-6730

I don't think it is misrepresentation but if it makes it look like a gymnasium that is not doing the seller or the consumer right.

May 27, 2016 10:50 AM
Rainer
5,206
Jaydeep Shah
The Virtual Realty Group - Richmond, TX
Real Estate Agent serving Sugar land, Houston area

Yes it is. To me it unnecessarily creates a credibility issue when there may be none. Why create a doubt in buyer's mind for such a small thing? I feel like everyone does it for the fear of not being left out. 

May 27, 2016 10:43 AM
Rainmaker
911,338
Jeff Pearl
RE/MAX Distinctive / LIC in VA - Lovettsville, VA
Full Service Full Time Realtor

It can be, but not always. Is the square footage listed and the room measurements? Present  a true picture in all advertising.

May 27, 2016 09:23 AM
Ambassador
6,393,404
Bob Crane
Woodland Management Service / Woodland Real Estate, KW Diversified - Stevens Point, WI
Forestland Experts! 715-204-9671

People expect things to look differently, most of them that I tour look much different than the photos, especially the outside.

May 27, 2016 09:14 AM
Rainmaker
1,622,432
Inna Ivchenko
Barcode Properties - Encino, CA
Realtor® • GRI • HAFA • PSC Calabasas CA

I like wide angle lenses and I'd love to buy one. The pictures do look much better and nope, I do not believe it is misrepresentation. 

May 27, 2016 07:58 AM
Ambassador
3,727,873
Patricia Kennedy
RLAH@Properties - Washington, DC
Home in the Capital

Some do and others just show the room.  Our office photographer uses a side angle lens that does not distort the room or make it look huge (unless it is huge).  And my question is, why would you want to raise prospects expectations far beyond what the property will provide.  It's a waste of everyone's time.

May 27, 2016 07:43 AM
Rainmaker
1,502,998
Ryan Huggins - Thousand Oaks, CA
https://HugginsHomes.com - Thousand Oaks, CA
Residential Real Estate and Investment Properties

No.  So long as you aren't stretching or altering the photo after the fact, the width of the image is irrelevant.  As a matter of fact, our MLS supports (and prefers) wide images.

 

Don't even get me started on fisheye lenses!

May 27, 2016 07:13 AM
Ambassador
3,383,334
Chris Ann Cleland
Long and Foster Real Estate - Gainesville, VA
Associate Broker, Bristow, VA

To some degree, yes.  I remember going for a listing that had been listed previously.  I looked at the pictures and was so excited because the home looked HUGE.  When I got there, it was nothing like the pictures.  Shared this observation with the seller, but he didn't like what I had to say.  He loved the pictures for the same reason I was excited to see the home.  It looked huge.  Unfortunately, it wasn't. 

May 27, 2016 06:29 AM
Rainer
98,823
Becca Rasmussen
HomeSmart Cherry Creek - Highlands Ranch, CO

I think it just provides a different perspective than the human eye, and that doesn't make it a misrepresentation. How large or small it looks in a picture is highly subjective and what lens was used to take the image is only one component to that.

Now if someone typed a room's dimensions as 12x14 and the room was actually 10x12, well then we have a potential misrepresentation issue. 

May 27, 2016 05:21 AM
Rainmaker
4,800,082
Gabe Sanders
Real Estate of Florida specializing in Martin County Residential Homes, Condos and Land Sales - Stuart, FL
Stuart Florida Real Estate

If it's not super-wide, I think it's fine.  They provide a greater range of view.

May 27, 2016 05:05 AM
Rainmaker
4,936,677
Will Hamm
Hamm Homes - Aurora, CO
"Where There's a Will, There's a Way!"

Good point but everyone does it I think.

May 27, 2016 04:09 AM
Rainmaker
922,083
David Popoff
DMK Real Estate - Darien, CT
Realtor®,SRS, Green ~ Fairfield County, Ct

All great comments, it seems that using a wide angle lense when necessary to capture room is acceptable. Wonderful feedback .

May 27, 2016 03:49 AM
Rainmaker
679,404
Diana Dahlberg
1 Month Realty - Pleasant Prairie, WI
Real Estate in Kenosha, WI since 1994 262-308-3563

Personally I think any pictures that distort the reality of the room size should not be used.  A beautiful "better homes and gardens" look is great but if you walk in the house and it's a smelly messy house that only looked great for the photo?  Well, the buyers are offended and end up walking away disappointed.  Does not help the seller, buyer or agent(s).

May 27, 2016 02:46 AM
Rainmaker
4,882,355
Richard Weeks
Dallas, TX
REALTOR®, Broker

I do not consider that false advertising.  Now if there was a power line in the back and you photo shopped it out that would be a problem.

May 27, 2016 01:18 AM
Rainmaker
2,781,173
Richie Alan Naggar
people first...then business Ran Right Realty - Riverside, CA
agent & author

Not if you have a general statement that says subject to buyer/agent approval and acceptance & seller makes no claims clause in the agent remarks section

May 27, 2016 12:55 AM