Real Estate Photography Ethics
How much should things be removed from the photos? When flying my drone for real estate photos, I follow the philosophy of removing or cleaning anything that I can do with a broom, a hose, or a pick (dirt in a driveway, grounds signs, cars, and trash cans). Yesterday, my client asked to remove the wires above.
Should I remove the wires (and their shadows), green telephone boxes (in the corners of the crowd), moss on a roof, or fix a patch of grass on the lawn?
As another example, if you were told that the homeowner would remove their swimming pool for two weeks, but they need pictures now, should you cover the pool with green grass now?
What are the legal and ethical principles to follow?
Over the years, we have had many heated discussions here about the image change ethics in the context of real estate photography. The topic is essential. Hence, I have a separate page devoted to summarizing what has grown in these discussions over the years.
Real Estate Photography Ethics Guidelines
1. Real estate photographers usually work for the agent list. In some cases, homeowners ask them to change the images of the property for sale.
2. Listing agents everywhere has a legal responsibility that a property is "incorrectly confused." That is a significant announcement to lawyers because it keeps pop up every time a discussion includes this topic.
3. Modification or removal of temporary items such as waste trucks, cars, or clouds are customary and generally not considered minor property representations.
4. Removal of permanent objects such as power lines, telephone poles, and neighboring homes is generally considered a misrepresentation of property because they hide undesirable permanent features of property.
5. When there are questions about whether a feature is permanent or temporary, it is safest to treat it as a permanent feature. It looks like a place where everyone does not agree. Landscaping seems to be between permanent and temporary. Many people believe that fixing grass or landscaping defects is fine, but others believe it is not okay.
Real Estate Photography Ethics Summary
To sum it up, the photographer works for the agent list, not the potential buyer, and property representation is the legal liability of the recorder, not the photographer.
However, if the photographer is asked to alter the photographs and they feel it is declaring small objects on the property, they must document the fact that they are changing the photo at the agent's request.
Removing items like power lines is not a good idea. It can make a better picture, but sometimes buyers have issues with things that are a part of the property. No one in my realtor would waste their time getting potential buyers in homes to waste a trip because the house was next to a power grid, or the photos were told to buyers that the rooms are still huge; in fact, they are convenient.
It is not okay to manipulate any visible part of the property. Sometimes I took the freedom of removing a power box if my only photo position to get the photo had to have something in the foreground. I remove it because it can be argued that I was zoomed past it in place, so that's not a problem. However, if I edited a wide shot showing sides to the edge of the property, then I was misrepresenting the lot.
Real Estate Photography Ethics Examples
However, it's easy to stick with your guns and let clients know that some things are incorrect to remove. If you think you can remove or fix something that isn't an issue with the sale and requested by the agent to do it, then charge for your extra time on the invoice.
As a rule of little things like garbage cans and garbage, give your homeowners a checklist to follow to prepare a home before the photos and let them know you're not responsible for anything in pictures that the owners or agents do not or cannot take care of.
Garbage bins are easy to hide in the garage or pull in the road BY YOUR OWN / AGENT. In my experience, I did not get excuses on those things and hold the agent at high expectations to have a property ready for me to photograph to the best of their ability in our Terms of Service and our Preparation Checklist.
That said, on rare occasions, I fix or clean something in the post if asked, and that is when I decide to do it, or when it's easy and secure by the agent or owner, it is well as a little stubble on the wall. If you agree to remove something ethical, then I CHARGE for extra services.
