Technical Specifications for Photos *Important to avoid a fine*

NOT ALLOWED

*** 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. ***

Signs

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.

Contact Info – Branding - Links

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.

People

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 Maps Photos

Google Map’s images under copyright with Google. Photos taken from Google Maps are not permitted on any MLS site.

Copyrighted Photos

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 from Previous Agents/Listings

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. ***

Required in the MLS

Exterior Photos

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

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.

Virtually Staged Photos (Stellar MLS Only)

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.

Permitted Uses of Virtual Staging in the Service

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.

Prohibited Uses of Virtual Staging in the Service

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.

Photo Order

The order of the remaining photos is your decision. When uploading photos, please upload in the order you wish them to appear, so you will not have to re-order afterwards.

Photo orientation, size and uploading

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.

Tips on Taking Photos:

● 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 effect and other camera effects.
● 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!”