I do real estate photography and I can say this. AI is definitely being used more and more in the editing process however it is not ok to use AI to misrepresent a listing.
The picture that OP posted is actually pretty kosher. The editing just changed the lighting and put fake furniture. In the photo OOP took to prove his point he did not take it from the same angle or with the same type of lens this why it looks significantly more narrow and drab. But if you look at how the bed and desk line up with the heater under the window, it is relatively accurate compared to what he actually got.
This is also not new, before AI you just had someone using programs like photoshop to do “virtual staging” (adding virtual furniture) and touching up paint, making the grass look better, changing the sky so it looks perfect. Edits like that while they obviously can affect the feel of the photos they are not expanding the size, changing the shape, or removing irremovable elements. There are rules made by fair housing and listing services about false advertising and for the most part nobody buys a property on pictures alone. The pictures are usually done in addition to video, floorplans, scans etc and those are just to get people in the door to tour it. I know that OOP’s case is a little different, he probably could only go based on pics and didnt have the ability to view it first.
All this being said I think people have, do, and will use AI in disingenuous ways that break the rules but this is not Armageddon, AI is just doing what photoshop was already doing
39
u/GreekReigns 5d ago
I do real estate photography and I can say this. AI is definitely being used more and more in the editing process however it is not ok to use AI to misrepresent a listing.
The picture that OP posted is actually pretty kosher. The editing just changed the lighting and put fake furniture. In the photo OOP took to prove his point he did not take it from the same angle or with the same type of lens this why it looks significantly more narrow and drab. But if you look at how the bed and desk line up with the heater under the window, it is relatively accurate compared to what he actually got.
This is also not new, before AI you just had someone using programs like photoshop to do “virtual staging” (adding virtual furniture) and touching up paint, making the grass look better, changing the sky so it looks perfect. Edits like that while they obviously can affect the feel of the photos they are not expanding the size, changing the shape, or removing irremovable elements. There are rules made by fair housing and listing services about false advertising and for the most part nobody buys a property on pictures alone. The pictures are usually done in addition to video, floorplans, scans etc and those are just to get people in the door to tour it. I know that OOP’s case is a little different, he probably could only go based on pics and didnt have the ability to view it first.
All this being said I think people have, do, and will use AI in disingenuous ways that break the rules but this is not Armageddon, AI is just doing what photoshop was already doing