Some of you astute readers may have picked up on my hints in a previous Mini-Compressor Monday post – maybe I really was trying to sell you real estate… No, I’m still trying to sell you on Mini-Compressor. However, since many of our customers want to make their image sizes smaller for their real estate businesses, I thought I’d take November to showcase the possibilities of using Mini-Compressor for real estate purposes.
Nowadays, with the power of the internet, photos of properties for sale are important. They help the buyer view the properties online before touring them in person. It’s the photos that grab your attention!
However, many websites either limit the number of photos you post online or the total size of your album*. This is where Mini-Compressor can help in your quest to get it sold. If you want to showcase the property properly, you’ll take a minimum of 10 photos: let’s say, 1 of the front of the house, 1 of the backyard, 2 of the kitchen, bathroom – 5 already… 2 of the master suite makes 7, plus the living room, dining room and basement. 10, easy. Probably more.
DIY: You take the 10 photos with your cell phone (at 1.5 MB a pop – that’s 15 MBs of photos.)
Pro: You hire someone from the realty office to come with their Canon EOS Rebel and Fisheye lens (they take 50 photos at 4.5 MB a shot = 225 MB)
Scenario 1: Your realtor website allows a maximum of 10 photos, regardless of size.
DIY and Pro: Choose the best angles for your 10! Done! Wait for the offers to come in!
Scenario 2: Your realtor website allows a maximum of 10 MBs, with no limit on the number of photos.
Scenario 2 would be a little trickier, but a breeze with Mini-Compressor to meet the 10 MB max.
DIY: Reduce the size of your 10 photos using Mini-Compressor: choose a Compression Index that a) doesn’t compromise the quality of the bathroom reno you did last year and b) meets the MB limit of your total uploads.
Pro: If there is truly no limit on the number of photos, then use Mini-Compressor to reduce the image sizes of your 50 photos.
This is where most people would balk. Why hire a photographer if you’re just going to throw away the quality with some compression program? Because you don’t throw away the quality. Most of the time, you’ll barely notice any quality-loss and the new kitchen backsplash still shines through.
I’ve drummed up a fictional property that is “for sale” for the purpose of this demonstration. It isn’t really for sale. It’s not even real. This is a simulation.**
The feature photo:
200 year old 25,000 square foot villa on 28 acres of land
This heritage Romanesque-style villa could be yours. This 3-storey 15 bedroom beauty has everything you’ll ever need in your forever home: equipped with modern, indoor plumbing, 3 kitchens, wood-burning fireplace, a smoking room and servants quarters. Stained glass windows and hardwood floors throughout. A grand gate greets your arrival at the 28 acres you call home. Your property is guarded by marble lions and a stone wall. Breathtaking views from the 4th floor tower.
Here are the listing photos:
[flickr_set id=”72157637330626336″]
These 23 photos would not meet the requirements of Scenario 2, above. They are 50.2 MB in total. Time to get compressing!
These are the same photos, compressed using a Compression Index of 46***. They now meet the 10 MB requirement:
[flickr_set id=”72157637331715313″]
Here’s one more look at the photos side-by-side. See if you can detect the quality loss:
[flickr_set id=”72157637330714935″]
* I’m not talking about the glossy magazines you pick up at the bus stop before boarding the bus in the morning. I’m talking about real estate websites.
** I wanted to feature some realistic listings without ripping off someone else’s real estate listings or photos. I also didn’t want to show you the inside of our house, or the outside, or the basement. These are, in reality, photos taken during our vacation to Victoria and around fair Edmonton with an iPhone 4S.
*** 46 seems like a strange number. It only took a few seconds to change the compression index, compress the whole folder of photos and check the total. I started at 50 and worked my way down to make 10 MB. You can try that too.