Posting photos of homes to Instagram

dsmith76 · Nov 21, 2020

I am fortunate to get hired four or five times monthly by realtors to take photos of luxury homes along the north shore of Chicago. Realtors frequently post these photos to MLS and their Instagram accounts and credit my Instagram username for the photos. To increase my Instagram following in an effort to attract more business, I want to post photos on my Instagram account to show other realtors the quality of my photos. Law is about intent. My intention is simply to show my skills and attract realtors to hire me? I Assume I do not disclose property address and there are no people in the photos. Do I need to get permission from the realtor or homeowners to post such photos?

mikea59 · Nov 21, 2020

You do need part 107 certification, that much I do know. Not sure about the photos. In today’s over regulated society I would guess you need permission from realtor and home

THE CYBORG · Nov 21, 2020

mikea59 said:
You do need part 107 certification, that much I do know. Not sure about the photos. In today’s over regulated society I would guess you need permission from realtor and home

My home is on Google maps and I didn't give them permission ?

maintenanceguy · Nov 21, 2020

Who owns the rights to the photos? What does the agreement with the realtor say?

dsmith76 · Nov 21, 2020

THE CYBORG said:
My home is on Google maps and I didn't give them permission ?

Good point!

mikea59 · Nov 21, 2020

THE CYBORG said:
My home is on Google maps and I didn't give them permission ?

Texas has a regulation that allows for images taken for the purpose of mapping. Otherwise you need approval from property owner. I live Texas so that’s what I follow

dsmith76 · Nov 21, 2020

mikea59 said:
Texas has a regulation that allows for images taken for the purpose of mapping. Otherwise you need approval from property owner. I live Texas so that’s what I follow

thanks, I'll see if Illinois has any such laws

dsmith76 · Nov 21, 2020

maintenanceguy said:
Who owns the rights to the photos? What does the agreement with the realtor say?

Good question. I have never signed over the rights to the photos to anyone. I know an attorney whose wife is a realtor. Guess I'll start there.

Meta4 · Nov 21, 2020

dsmith76 said:
Do I need to get permission from the realtor or homeowners to post such photos?

If the photos are yours, of course you can post them to your Instagram.
But Instagram is a very poor way to show your images.
Get a website.

dsmith76 · Nov 21, 2020

Meta4 said:
If the photos are yours, of course you can post them to your Instagram.
But Instagram is a very poor way to show your images.
Get a website.

Thanks for your reply. I post them to Instagram to help the realtors market the properties, and, yes, I do have a website. I just don't want to get sued by a homeowner for posting photos of his/her home on Instagram, and am trying to get a good understanding of the legal and ethical issues involved.

Gkinghrn · Nov 22, 2020

Why wouldnt you just check with the homeowners even out of courtesy ? But yes the ownership , and what you can do with them, of the photos will very much depend on what contract you have with the realtor.

itsneedtokno · Nov 22, 2020

You own the photos.

Period.

A rental car company allows you to drive their car, but they still own it.

cuchovivas · Nov 22, 2020

dsmith76 said:
I am fortunate to get hired four or five times monthly by realtors to take photos of luxury homes along the north shore of Chicago. Realtors frequently post these photos to MLS and their Instagram accounts and credit my Instagram username for the photos. To increase my Instagram following in an effort to attract more business, I want to post photos on my Instagram account to show other realtors the quality of my photos. Law is about intent. My intention is simply to show my skills and attract realtors to hire me? I Assume I do not disclose property address and there are no people in the photos. Do I need to get permission from the realtor or homeowners to post such photos?

https://www.rcfp.org/wp-content/uploads/imported/PHOTOG.pdf

Thanohano44 · Nov 22, 2020

As far as i know, those photos are yours. If the realtor uploads them to MLS, maybe watermark them. A few years ago there was a lawsuit from a property inspector who got back pay from MLS for using his photos. I’ll
Go ask the guy and post it here.

itsneedtokno · Nov 22, 2020

Thanohano44 said:
As far as i know, those photos are yours. If the realtor uploads them to MLS, maybe watermark them. A few years ago there was a lawsuit from a property inspector who got back pay from MLS for using his photos. I’ll
Go ask the guy and post it here.

MLS does not allow watermarking. ?

MaruSkipper · Nov 22, 2020

dsmith76 said:
I am fortunate to get hired four or five times monthly by realtors to take photos of luxury homes along the north shore of Chicago. Realtors frequently post these photos to MLS and their Instagram accounts and credit my Instagram username for the photos. To increase my Instagram following in an effort to attract more business, I want to post photos on my Instagram account to show other realtors the quality of my photos. Law is about intent. My intention is simply to show my skills and attract realtors to hire me? I Assume I do not disclose property address and there are no people in the photos. Do I need to get permission from the realtor or homeowners to post such photos?

The outside of a building is visible to all. There can be no reasonable expectation of privacy, therefore keep that shutter running.

dsmith76 · Nov 22, 2020

Thanohano44 said:
As far as i know, those photos are yours. If the realtor uploads them to MLS, maybe watermark them. A few years ago there was a lawsuit from a property inspector who got back pay from MLS for using his photos. I’ll
Go ask the guy and post it here.

Thanks

dsmith76 · Nov 22, 2020

Gkinghrn said:
Why wouldnt you just check with the homeowners even out of courtesy ? But yes the ownership , and what you can do with them, of the photos will very much depend on what contract you have with the realtor.

I normally have little or no contact with the homeowner. Often, they have already moved out because these luxury homeowners often rent somewhere else until their house sells; stay in their vacation home nearby; or they are wealthy enough they can buy their next house before needing to sell their current home. Also, the homes are usually on the market for just a few months and then there is a new homeowner I would need to ask permission. So, it is kind of a hassle to get permission, and if there is no need, and I don't morally feel like I am invading someone's privacy by taking a photo of a home that is on google maps anyway, I don't want to bother with it. However, I also don't want to get sued, so I am thankful to get the thoughts and ideas from this forum.

itsneedtokno · Nov 22, 2020

dsmith76 said:
I normally have little or no contact with the homeowner. Often, they have already moved out because these luxury homeowners often rent somewhere else until their house sells; stay in their vacation home nearby; or they are wealthy enough they can buy their next house before needing to sell their current home. Also, the homes are usually on the market for just a few months and then there is a new homeowner I would need to ask permission. So, it is kind of a hassle to get permission, and if there is no need, and I don't morally feel like I am invading someone's privacy by taking a photo of a home that is on google maps anyway, I don't want to bother with it. However, I also don't want to get sued, so I am thankful to get the thoughts and ideas from this forum.

I said it once, I'll say it once more. ?

You own the photos. You are the "creator". Unless you explicitly gave them exclusive rights, you can do with them what you please.

offtheback · Nov 22, 2020

dsmith76 said:
I normally have little or no contact with the homeowner. Often, they have already moved out because these luxury homeowners often rent somewhere else until their house sells; stay in their vacation home nearby; or they are wealthy enough they can buy their next house before needing to sell their current home. Also, the homes are usually on the market for just a few months and then there is a new homeowner I would need to ask permission. So, it is kind of a hassle to get permission, and if there is no need, and I don't morally feel like I am invading someone's privacy by taking a photo of a home that is on google maps anyway, I don't want to bother with it. However, I also don't want to get sued, so I am thankful to get the thoughts and ideas from this forum.

In the USA,the right to privacy is the law.You can't put your drone outside their window and photograph them but photographing the house from the outside at some distance as you would is a not a violation.If they were in their front yard and you walked by on the street you can take their picture.Expectation of privacy is the key phrase.