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.

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

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

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

I don't use wide angle lens myself

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

David,

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

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

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.

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.

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!

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

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!  

I get annoyed at agents that do that.

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

no

There is nothing wrong with  using a wide angle lens. 

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

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

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

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. 

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

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.

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. 

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

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

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. 

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.

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!

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. 

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. 

Good point but everyone does it I think.

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).

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.

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