Is This Okay With You?

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I don’t know, I guess I have a bit of a critical eye when it comes to ethics.

We received an advertisement in the mail the other day from a local realtor.  She was advertising before and after pictures of a house.  Now we all know that when you go to sell your house, you want it to look the best it can.  It is not uncommon to make improvements so it has “curb appeal.”  I’ve even heard of someone who spray painted a sink so it didn’t show the rust (which I think is a bit sneaky).

There are some things that are acceptable, of course, like the curb appeal approach, but, this advertisement went to far, I think.  It crossed a line into deception.

The picture of the house on the left has a brown front yard.  The same house on the right has a full, beautiful, green front lawn. 

Here’s my problem . . . the green lawn was photo-shopped into the picture.

The advertisement boasts of their in-house photographer who can make “brown grass green and grey skies blue.”  They brag about homes selling faster with quality photos and various other advantages to having “professional photos.”

But when do photographers cross the line into deception?

If I show up to look at this house and see a front yard that is all brown, rather than green like in the photo, that’s just not right.  I’m going to feel like I’ve been duped.  That’s not quality photography, that’s dishonesty.

I can live with the background change which switched from a cloudy, grey sky to a cloudy blue one, but changing the yard from brown to green? 

Uh, I don’t think so.

Why don’t people recognize the problem with this?  Are we so far removed from ethics that we don’t care what we do as long as it accomplishes our goal?

Think people.  Please.

While homes may sell for thousands more with doctored photos, that still doesn’t make it right.

Could you be convinced to slide on your principles in a situation like this?  Is money more important than your integrity?

Janet Cassidy
janetcassidy.blogspot.com

 

 

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