True Gotham

The next time you get very excited about the presentation of a property on a web site I would recommend calling the listing agent and asking one very simple question:

Was the property photographed with a wide-angle or fish-eye lens?

Being in the industry, there is hardly a moment where I'm not looking for a better place for my family to call home.  Don't get me wrong, we love our current apartment, the views and light, the building amenities, etc.  It has a lot going for it so it would take something special to make us move.  That something would likely be more space and a garden or terrace.  You see, my 6 year old son constantly informs us that he wants to live in the country.  He suggests that the "smells, colors, and air are nicer in the country."  Hard to argue with that.  Having said that, I'm constantly on the lookout for a townhouse or part of a townhouse that would provide the space my family is accustomed too with the added perk of some outdoor space for my son's garden :-D  His bedroom is becoming a jungle of plants and herbs (none of which you can smoke of course).

Yesterday a property came across my desk that piqued my interest.  A three bedroom townhouse garden duplex that looked quite appealing on line and boasted a whopping 2500 square feet of living space plus a south facing garden.  Both my wife and I (she absolutely loves our current home and rarely gets excited about listings I send her) were intrigued and scheduled an appointment to view this property today.   Can you say "DISAPPOINTING?"  None of the rooms were even close to how they appeared in the photographs as the photographer obviously shot all rooms with a wide-angle or fish-eye lens.  This is precisely why buyer's distrust everything that they see on line and why they suspect that we're lying whenever our lips are moving.  The tell tale comment came from my very own wife who detected my frustration and said, "isn't that your job as the agent to make the place look as good as you can?"  More frustration set in as I reminded her that our job is indeed to assist in presenting a property in the best light possible but in a transparent fashion that manages a prospective buyer's expectations.  There is nothing more frustrating than going to see an apartment that you are excited about and it being a huge disappointment because it was misrepresented.  I see this happen with my buyers all the time.

So the next time you're all jacked up about a property you see on line, call the agent and ask them if you can actually see "that" apartment or are they going to show you something that merely resembles those gorgeous wide-angle photos their displaying on their web page?  I suspect more often than not, you're going to see the latter.  Yet another stong argument for video!

very good website, blog...congrats.

Doug,

Understandable but shouldn't the buyer focus more on the floorplan and the dimensions presented to get an accurate idea of the size of bedrooms?

From experience, my company hires a professional photography company to take real nice pics for web use and internal marketing for co-brokers to pass on to prospective clients. Pics ALWAYS come out great and photographer usually uses a special lens type, such as wide-angle, for pics.

However, I never had any issues from disappointed buyers because I personally NEVER lie about square footage in my approximations stated on webad, and always provide a floorplan so buyers can see dimensions online before they come. In fact, many buyers actually come to me to ask who took the pics because they came out so great and prompted them to come and view the property; but they weren't disappointed because I didnt overstate size via sft and had an accurate floorplan to view.

Just a thought. I think buyers should ALWAYS check a floorplan before coming to a property as after viewing a number of properties, they should know dimensions they require to suit there needs for each room of their new house. At least the minimum's!

Noah,

I don't disagree that the floor plan should be carefully consulted but in this instance the dimensions were illegible as often is the case. I have also found in my 15 years that until you actually see a space, you can't know if it works for you. Having said that, it is terribly frustrating for buyers to show up at a property that is misrepresented either intentionally or perhaps not? Accurate floor plans, calculations of square footage, and transparent photographs are all too often NOT provided in our industry.

I know you and know that you, like me are careful to manage expectations and accurately portray property to prospective buyers. Unfortunately, I think many of our colleagues just want to get as many bodies into a property as possible to show the seller they are doing a good job. I have allowed photographers to shoot my properties with a wide angle lens as well but have also had apartments re-shot that weren't accurately represented. I can't believe that you haven't viewed a property (not yours of course) with a buyer who was so incredibly dissappointed that the representation of the online listing was so far off from reality?

Your right, I have! Many times. Mostly because broker overstated square footage!

For me, I prefer to have buyers be pleasantly surprised rather than disappointed when they come in. I even convinced a seller to understate size a bit; studio was 564 sft and I listed at 550 sft. When buyers came in it was clearly the BIGGEST studio at that price point and it had bidding war in under 2 weeks. Most other studios stated 550 were really 480 sft or so and left buyers disappointed. Low end stuff, I know! :)

Anyway, I agree that buyers should be happy when they see a property and that many of our colleagues in fact do not provide the clear floorplans and data that should be verified beforehand to ensure no one is duped. That is just a waste of everyone's time!

Fisheye = Bad.

Good wide angle lense + good photographer = good.

I am in the business I run into this all the time. we get request to make a room look "bigger". Its annoying and dishonest.

Fisheye lenses are used for virtual tours, nothing more. As a general rule of thumb, there should be points of reference within a photo that gives the user a grasp over the perspective and spacing in between elements.

That, and a lack of CURVED WALLS.

Thanks for the insight Vince. Explain what a "good" wide angle lens does versus a "bad" one? Most everything I see shot with a wide angle seems distorted on the larger side? Am I missing something?

A "good" wide angle lens is one that has a focal length of at least 16 - 18 MM. Depending on the model of the camera, this will produce LIMITED barrel distortion -- which is the stretching on the right and left hand sides of the image (assuming a wide crop.) A wide angle lens that has a smaller focal length will produce more of a fisheye effect.

Between using a good wide angle lens and a bit of post production, you can produce some stunning images with little or no spatial fabrication. (can I get away with using that term to describe the uuber wide angle shots that turn the 12 x 9 bedrooms on CL into spherical plazas?)

At the end of the day - a user looking at a good shot shouldn't be able to tell what kind of lens was used if the photographer is using their tools properly.

Great stuff Vince. Obviously you're a pro. Appreciate the insight. I will give you a call next time I need a property shot. Email me your rates if you don't mind.

Thanks again.