The photograph below is from an actual listing in the Chicagoland MLS. And yes, that’s a cute little puppy posing for a shot. I don’t think the puppy comes with the home, but maybe the agent who used this as a listing photo wanted to portray that this home is full of love! Unfortunately, it’s probably more likely that this particular agent either knows absolutely nothing about how to market a home, or, just doesn’t care. But is this just what “bad” agents do? Or, is bad real estate photography a symptom of a much larger problem that the industry is faceing? I believe the later is true. The problem is not “bad” real estate agents. The problem is our industry is not doing a good enough job of training good ones.

Cosmetology School VS. Real Estate Agent School

If you know anybody that went through cosmetology school, then you would know it’s no joke. It can take up to 2 years of hands-on real world training, plus 100’s of hours of classroom study! A typical cosmetology student in the U.S. may have to put in 1,200 to 2,000 hours of schooling to get their certificate. Furthermore, it can cost anywhere from several thousand dollars to 20K to get that certificate. If you want to know what it takes to complete cosmetology school, watch this. Now let’s compare this to what you need to go through to get your real estate license. The real estate exam in all 50 states is also not a joke, it’s tough. I failed the Illinois Real Estate Exam, twice, before passing it. Did you learn how to execute contracts, fill out listing agreements, use the MLS, taking out buyers, hosting open houses, etc… Unless some changed, I didn’t learn jack shit about practicing real estate, I was lucky to work on a team when I started to show me the “ropes”.

Shouldn’t we actually teach real estate and provide hands on experience before getting a license to practice

I wonder if these agents who use their smartphone to take listing photos even know that it’s wrong. Do they know how bad their iPhone pictures look for marketing a home? Do they know that the first showing is taking place online? I don’t think they know. Maybe these agents truly believe that their smartphone pictures are beautiful and will actually help sell the listing. Or maybe, they just have some really bad taste in photography. But what I really think is that they were never properly trained in marketing and have adopted some really bad marketing skills. They never had a true mentor, hands on experience in real estate school, or any type of an apprenticeship. And if our industry isn’t properly training agents, where do you think the industry is headed?

Real Estate Photography in 2018

The first showing is taking place online. That’s it, end of discussion and the debate is over. Buyers don’t show up at your brick and mortar office asking for help in seeing some homes anymore. They pick up a mobile device and start searching.

Really Bad Real Estate Photo Websites

There are several websites and even a Facebook page dedicated to really bad real estate photos. Here are some interesting ones that I found. http://terriblerealestateagentphotos.com/ https://www.realtor.com/advice/sell/really-bad-mls-photos-real-estate-pics/ http://badmlsphotos.com/ http://www.buzzfeed.com/patricksmith/inexplicably-terrible-estate-agent-pictures https://lightersideofrealestate.com/real-estate-humor/30-real-estate-listing-photos-cant-real