MLS Photo Upload Specs & Restrictions
Technical Specifications for Photos *Important to avoid a
fine*
*** These are all
fineable offenses. The penalty for non-compliance is
an automatic fine charged to the broker, without advanced knowledge of the
compliance issue. If our office receives a fine for photo compliance issues,
your account will be charged as per the notification of the fine and your
listing agreement. ***
No Signage, Text,
Logos, Agent/Office Photos, or Other Graphics are Permitted in any Photo
Photos, images or virtual tours may not contain company or agent logos, agent
photos, commissions, bonuses, contact information for the agent or office,
text, or graphics of any kind (with the exception of the Stellar MLS watermark)
in the virtual tour or photo sections. Only photographs, site plot, property
sketch, property line art or survey of the property can be entered in the
virtual tour and all photo fields.
All content
including remarks, virtual tour photos and images must be owned, purchased, or
licensed by the listing broker/agent, from the content owner. Third-party
virtual tour vendor’s contact information (non-interactive) is the only contact
information allowed on Virtual Tours. The virtual tour link must be a valid URL
and may not contain any Participant/Subscriber names or links to any
third-party business or social networking sites.
Photos, images,
or virtual tours featuring people, including if in costume, are not allowed in
the MLS. This includes public photos around beaches, parks, community, etc. No
photos of children are allowed.
Google Map’s
images are under copyright with Google. Photos taken from Google Maps are not
permitted on any MLS site.
COPYRIGHT NOTICE:
Unauthorized use of any photography owned by another, with or without an
identifiable watermark, or otherwise known (or unknown) to belong to another
party (such as a prior listing agent or from a community website) may result in
a copyright infringement lawsuit (Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C 501). As such, if
such photography is not paid for by the user of GetMoreOffers, copyright
infringement may cause an action or lawsuit that could result in a significant
monetary claim. Per your listing agreement, you will be held responsible for
any fines or legal fees incurred by GetMoreOffers a result of copyright
infringement. YOU MUST TAKE YOUR OWN PHOTOS OR PAY FOR SUCH PHOTOGRAPHY and
have proof of ownership (receipt) when asked by GetMoreOffers or a court of
law. All photos uploaded to GetMoreOffers must be owned by the seller or user
of the account if not the seller.
Photos shot or
purchased by a previous agent cannot be used on your MLS listing without direct
permission by that agent in writing. If you purchased the photos directly,
please send in proof of ownership to info@getmoreoffers.com showing that you
own the copyright to these photos for your MLS listing. MLS fines resulting
from use of copyrighted photos will be charged to the account holder per
listing agreement.
Best rule of
thumb – if you found it on Google or any other search engine, that photos has
been copyrighted and you cannot use that photo.
*** Automatic Fines can range from $500 (regular photo
compliance issues) up to $15,000 (use of copyrighted photos). Use of
copyrighted photos will be brought to a hearing and could lead to possible
broker suspension/termination of board membership. ***
At least one
front exterior photo or rendering, aerial photo, or water view from the
property (unit) must be loaded before a listing will be active. The front
exterior photo or rendering must be entered in the 1st photo slot of the
listing on all property types unless the 1st slot is an aerial photo or an
exterior photo of a water view from the property (unit), in which case the
front exterior photo must be in the 2nd slot.
Note: a photo
of a swimming pool does not qualify as a water view.
For Condos you
need a photo of the front of your condo building. For Flagler MLS Condos, the
MLS requires a photo of the sign to the subdivision/complex as the 1st photo
and the front of your Condo building as the second photo.
Vacant Land
requires a photo or an aerial photo, rendering, site plot or plat map in the
listing’s 1st photo slot. Google Maps images are not permitted.
New Construction,
Pre-Construction and Under Construction Homes can use a rendering or model home
as the exterior photo.
Front exterior
photos must show a majority of the total home/building
and the broker’s yard signage may not be visible in the photo/image. The
penalty for non-compliance is an automatic fine.
Floorplans are
allowed as photos in some MLSs, providing they do not fall under the copyright
laws for compliance. Room types, dimensions and finishes are allowed in
floorplans added as images. Floor plans should not contain any branding but may
display copyright notifications for the author of the floorplan. Subscribers
must have permission to use copyrighted floor plan images prior to entry into
the MLS.
Virtual Staging
shall not be used for Pre-Construction & Under Construction properties.
Disclosure of virtually staged photo(s) is required in the specified field,
namely the photo description entry field by adding the words “Virtually staged”
and by checking the virtually staged field. Additionally, the first words of
the public remarks must read “One or more photo(s) was virtually staged.”.
Photos must always present a “True Picture” of the property.
A. Modifying photo(s)/rendering(s) to
include personal property items not conveyed with the real property is
permitted. Permitted personal property modifications include but are not
limited to: applying digital photos of furniture,
mirrors, artwork, plants, etc. into a photo of a room.
B. Removing existing furniture from a photo
and replacing it with digital images of furniture, mirrors, artwork, plants,
etc.
A. No photos of the exterior of the property
shall be virtually staged, except for unattached furniture or décor.
B. No permanent fixtures of the interior or
exterior of the property shall be attached, removed, altered, or added to
photos.
C. Modifying photo(s)/rendering(s) to
include visual elements not within a property owner’s control is strictly
prohibited. (Example: editing in a view of the gulf/ocean, lighting and/or
popular landmarks that are not physically possible from the specified location
in the real world.)
D. Modifying photo(s)/rendering(s) to
exclude negative visual elements is strictly prohibited. (Example: holes in the
wall, exposed wiring, damaged flooring, etc.)
E. No branding is permitted. The use of
people or persons and/or words on any property
photograph submitted to the Service is strictly prohibited.
F. Modifying photo(s) / rendering(s) to
distort the dimensions of a room or space is strictly prohibited. (Example:
placing small furniture to make a room appear larger than it actually
is.)
All photos must
represent a true and accurate picture of all property features and
surroundings.
Failure to comply
with Virtual Staging Rules and Regulations shall result in the Virtual Staged
photos being removed from the service, and an automatic fine.
The order of the
remaining photos is your decision. When uploading photos, please upload them in
the order you wish them to appear, so you will not have to re-order afterwards.
Photos should not
be more than 10 MB each. Due to varying upload speeds, it is recommended that
if your photos are 1 or more MB that you upload no more than 3 at a time. The
larger the photo, the longer the upload time. If you attempt to upload too many
large files, our system may time out your upload. To determine what your photo
size is, simply right click on the photo and then select “properties”. The size
will be there and will read something like 1 MB or 175 KB. There are 1024 KBs
in 1 MB.
Many MLS boards
have a minimum size limit or recommendation of 1024x768 (3 MB size photo).
Photo orientation – Landscape vs.
Portrait. The length of the longest side of your photo determines the
orientation of the photo. If the height of the photo is longer than the width,
the image is in portrait orientation. While our website adjusts for either a
vertical or horizontal orientation, most MLS boards and other websites will
only allow landscape orientation for photos uploaded to your property listing.
This means that vertically/upright/portrait-oriented photos will be stretched
to fit a horizontal format and therefore distortion/stretching may occur.
Though it can be difficult to capture narrow rooms-such as bathrooms-in a
horizontal format, it is still recommended to hold the camera horizontally when
shooting the photo. You may capture less, but what is displayed will come out
clearly. If you are using a mobile phone, change your settings to wide shot and
16:9 ratio.
·
Remove clutter, trash, laundry, and personal
items from all rooms and make beds. Open blinds and turn on lights; possibly
force a flash for extra light.
·
Clear away all objects from counter tops,
tables, and sinks.
·
Do not capture children, pets, or people in your
photos. **These are usually not permitted in any MLS listing**
·
Get as wide a shot as possible to capture the
entire room; you may need to step back and shoot from a doorway into the room.
·
Try to stay clear of fishbowl effects and other
camera effects/filters.
·
For the exterior photos especially, try to plan
to shoot on a sunny day. Overcast weather may produce a gloomy photo. You want
buyers to see your house and think “happy!”