SDMLS & CRMLS Photo Quality
Most Realtors have experienced this; you get the photos of your property, upload them into your MLS' photo system, and... what is this?
The file is 'Too Large', the image looks awful, there are weird color blotches in the sky, grass, etc. People viewing these pictures will carry their judgements of the photos onto their judgement of the property, so you've GOT to nail this first impression.
Below is a quick reference guide (as of July 2020) to help you keep your images at the highest possible quality.
NOTE: The BEST practice is to upload images manually into the big real estate sites (Zillow, realtor.com, etc.) because they allow much higher quality images, and if the images are sourced through your MLS system, the quality will be seriously limited.
If you upload an image that is too large...
If you upload an image that is too large, the MLS system will compress your images. A good way to visualize this would be a Boa Constrictor wrapping around and utterly crushing a beautiful painting. If you upload images within the dimension and size restrictions, this monster will stay away from your valuable images.
DISCLAIMER: I am not privy to the details of how their compression algorithms work, but I have seen the end results too many times.
Orig. image @ 30% quality (so the page loads quickly)
3968 x 2976 pixels @ 1.16 MB
This is just a sample of a photo at a higher resolution.
Simulation of MLS image compression
1024 x 768 pixels @ 55 KB
This is what you'll have if you let the MLS system resize your image for you!
Image manually sized for SDMLS
1280 x 960 pixels @ 503 KB
This is what you will have if you follow the guide!
Hey wait a second...
Notice the compressed image is much smaller than the image limits? If you let the MLS system compress your pictures for you, it will crush your images as small as it can. The size value I chose for this picture are based on actual values. Compress your image yourself, and the MLS system will let it pass untouched!
Good luck!