1. Capture the actual MLS photo rule
Start in the support center, rules library, or listing-input help for the MLS that will receive the property. Search inside that official source for photo, image, media, upload, or primary photo. A photographer's preset, another agent's habit, and a portal blog can be useful clues, but they do not replace the current rule for the account and listing system.
Record the rule as a dated production input. Requirements can cover more than resolution: accepted formats, orientation, file size, photo count, first-image content, filenames, branding, signs, labels, virtual staging, material alteration, descriptions, rights, and upload deadlines may all affect whether a technically valid file is publishable.
MLS and listing-input system: [name / system / account]
Official source: [support or rules URL / document section]
Checked: [date / person]
Minimum dimensions: [width × height in pixels / none stated]
Maximum dimensions: [width × height in pixels / none stated]
Preferred aspect ratio: [ratio / none stated]
Maximum file size: [MB or KB / none stated]
Accepted formats: [JPG / PNG / other]
Orientation: [landscape / portrait conditions / none stated]
Filename rules: [characters / length / none stated]
Gallery limit: [maximum images / upload batch]
Primary-photo rule: [required subject / timing / alteration limits]
Content rules: [branding / signs / people / overlays / staging / alteration]
Rights and retention: [permission / originals / history / removal]
Open questions: [support ticket / broker review / owner / due date]
Why one internet answer cannot be the rule
Current official guidance illustrates the variation. These are examples, not a substitute for checking your own MLS:
| Official source | Published image guidance | Operational consequence |
|---|---|---|
| MLS Now photo rules | JPG; at least 1024 × 768; no larger than 6 MB; landscape; up to 50 photos | The file type, byte limit, orientation, count, and first-photo content all need review |
| PrimeMLS upload guidance | Minimum 640 × 480; 3072 × 2304 described as optimal; up to 60 photos; JPEG, GIF, and PNG recommended | Its page also describes automatic compression above a threshold and filename restrictions |
| San Diego MLS upload help | Landscape; 640 × 480 minimum; 3072 × 2304 maximum; under 15 MB; JPG, PNG, or GIF | A file that fits another MLS preset may still need a new export or filename here |
The examples share some shapes and numbers, but they are not identical. They also include content and workflow rules that a dimensions-only table misses. Save the exact current source with the listing instead of turning any one example into a nationwide promise.
2. Separate dimensions, aspect ratio, file size, and format
“Size” can mean several different things. Before requesting a correction, name the field that failed. Reducing megabytes does not necessarily change the shape, and changing a DPI field does not create missing pixels.
| Field | What it describes | Example failure | Responsible correction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pixel dimensions | The image width and height | Upload is rejected as too small or too large | Return to the approved larger source and export within the current range |
| Aspect ratio | The relationship between width and height | Borders appear or a portal crops the room unexpectedly | Create a deliberate crop; never stretch the property to force a ratio |
| File size | The encoded file's storage weight | The image has enough pixels but exceeds the upload limit | Export once from the approved master with controlled compression |
| File format | The image container and encoding | The system does not accept the delivered extension | Export an accepted format from the master; do not merely rename the extension |
| DPI or PPI metadata | A density instruction used mainly in print workflows | A file is called “300 DPI” but still has too few pixels for the MLS | Check the MLS pixel requirement separately from any print-density instruction |
| Orientation | Whether the image is horizontal, vertical, or square | A portrait image displays small or receives an awkward crop | Follow the local guidance and preserve a separate authorized vertical source |
Upscaling a small file can satisfy a dimension field without restoring property detail. Repeatedly saving the same JPEG can also reduce quality while leaving the dimensions unchanged. Work from the earliest approved high-quality source available.
3. Build a controlled image set
Do not ask one folder to serve capture, editing, MLS upload, print, social, property pages, and video. Separate sources from derivatives so a team member can identify the correct file without opening several near-duplicates.
| Set | Purpose | Control |
|---|---|---|
| Original delivery | Preserve the files exactly as received from the creator | Read-only archive; creator, date, property, and agreement recorded |
| Approved master | Highest useful, reviewed version for authorized derivatives | No destination crop; approval and alteration status attached |
| MLS export | Match the dated local upload specification | Named with MLS, export date, order, and version |
| Marketing derivatives | Support property pages, email, social, print, or approved advertising | Each destination crop is separate and permitted by the photo license |
| Video source set | Provide clean, approved high-resolution inputs for motion and sequence | No MLS download, watermark, interface screenshot, or already compressed social copy |
The listing-photo usage-rights checklisthelps record whether crops, print files, social ads, photo-to-video derivatives, team access, and future reuse are actually permitted. File delivery and usage permission are related, but they are not the same decision.
4. Give the photographer an exact delivery brief
Replace “send MLS-ready photos” with a reproducible specification. Include the source link, not only a copied number, because format, naming, content, and first-image rules may sit beside the technical dimensions.
Property and campaign: [address or controlled ID / launch date]
Capture brief: [approved shot list / exclusions / privacy decisions]
Local MLS: [name / input system]
Current official rule: [URL / checked date]
MLS export: [dimensions / aspect ratio / max file size / format / orientation]
Filenames: [sequence convention / permitted characters]
Primary-image candidate: [required subject / current and alteration review]
Full-resolution master: [format / delivery method / authorized uses]
Marketing versions: [only the named crops or formats]
Video source: [clean approved master set / minimum useful dimensions]
Editing boundaries: [ordinary corrections / prohibited changes / disclosure path]
Delivery: [folder map / contact sheet or manifest / due date / retention]
Correction path: [missing frame / failed upload / crop / color / deadline]
Use the real estate photography shot listfor coverage and the photo-editing checklistfor source comparison, technical corrections, material changes, labels, and approvals. Export specifications cannot rescue a missing room or a misleading edit.
5. Crop without stretching or losing the property
Changing aspect ratio requires a crop, added canvas, or a new composition. It should never distort doors, rooms, views, or lot relationships. Start with a duplicate of the approved master, apply the target ratio, and decide what must remain visible before moving the crop.
- Name the image's job. A lead exterior, wide room, feature detail, floor plan, and social cover need different compositions.
- Protect the property evidence. Keep the room connection, material feature, view, or exterior context that justifies the frame.
- Check edges. Look for clipped rooflines, doors, fixtures, windows, furniture, labels, and visible edit seams.
- Keep verticals believable. Do not stretch a frame or use perspective correction that changes the apparent property relationship.
- Save a derivative. Leave the approved master unchanged so another destination can receive a different crop.
If the required ratio removes the information that made the image useful, choose another frame or return to a wider source. The listing-photo order guidecan help replace a weak lead image without breaking the property route.
6. Export and inspect the MLS files
Export once from the approved master. Avoid using a photo downloaded from a listing portal, messaging preview, social post, or document as the new source. Those copies may already have been resized, cropped, color-converted, or recompressed.
☐ Export from the approved master, not a prior derivative.
☐ Match the required pixel range and intended aspect ratio.
☐ Stay below the current file-size limit without making the image visibly soft.
☐ Use an accepted file format and the correct extension.
☐ Use permitted filename characters and a stable gallery sequence.
☐ Confirm the file opens normally outside the editing application.
☐ Inspect a wide exterior, a bright window scene, a detailed kitchen, and a darker room at useful display sizes.
☐ Check color, vertical lines, crop, halos, noise, banding, and compression artifacts.
☐ Confirm the lead-image candidate and every altered or staged version passed the local content review.
☐ Keep the master, MLS export, and other destination files in clearly separate folders.
A file under the upload limit can still be poor. Compare the final export with the approved master at the same display size. Fine roof lines, foliage, railings, window edges, text labels, and smooth walls often reveal overcompression before a buyer-facing gallery does.
7. Upload, order, and verify the live gallery
Passing the uploader is not the final check. The MLS may create a processed copy, and a public portal may receive another rendition through a feed. Verify the source listing first, then the important public destinations after the expected processing or syndication window.
- Save the exact upload set. Record the folder, file count, filenames, order, uploader, and time.
- Confirm the first image. Check both the technical display and the current primary-photo rule.
- Scan the complete gallery. Look for failed files, duplicates, rotations, borders, missing labels, and sequence changes.
- Open representative photos. Inspect exterior detail, bright windows, darker rooms, vertical lines, and any staged or altered image.
- Test desktop and mobile. Note material differences in crop, order, captions, and sharpness.
- Check syndication separately. A correct MLS record and an incorrect portal display are different failures with different owners.
- Save evidence. Record the public URL, screenshot, checked time, issue, owner, and correction result.
Keep MLS-safe files separate from branded campaign graphics. Zillow's current listing quality policy, for example, prohibits agent names, company names, logos, phone numbers, and email addresses on listing photos and video walkthroughs. The responsible MLS, brokerage, portal, campaign, and property may impose other requirements.
8. Troubleshoot the first failed stage
Do not keep resizing at random. Compare the same frame through the workflow and correct the first copy that fails.
| Symptom | First checks | Next action |
|---|---|---|
| Upload rejected | Dimensions, file size, format, filename, count, account, current rule | Correct the named requirement from the master or contact MLS support with the exact error |
| Photo is stretched | Master shape, export ratio, editor resize mode, MLS display | Restore proportions and make a deliberate crop; never force width and height independently |
| Borders or empty space appear | Image ratio versus the MLS display ratio | Use an allowed crop that preserves the property, or accept the system treatment if required |
| MLS image looks soft | Source, crop scale, master, export, automatic compression, display size | Return to the earliest sharp approved copy and export once within the current rules |
| Portal image differs from MLS | MLS record, feed timing, portal rendition, cached display, device | Preserve evidence and escalate to the owner of the first incorrect stage |
| Wrong rotation or order | File orientation, filename sequence, upload order, saved MLS order | Correct the metadata or file and recheck the live saved gallery |
| Content or label problem | Original, approved edit, local rule, caption, primary-photo limits | Pause the affected image and use the responsible broker or MLS review path |
Property and image: [listing ID / filename / gallery position]
Expected requirement: [official source / checked date / relevant line]
Observed result: [error / crop / softness / order / content]
First failed copy: [source / master / export / MLS / public portal]
Evidence: [file properties / screenshot / URL / date and device]
Owner: [photographer / editor / agent / broker / MLS / portal]
Correction: [new export / replacement / support case / removal]
Verified: [person / date / source listing / public destination]
9. Preserve the photo-to-video handoff
An MLS export is optimized for a listing-input path, not automatically for movement, zoom, reframing, a 16:9 property video, or a 9:16 Reel. A small or repeatedly compressed listing download can become visibly soft when an editor moves into the frame or crops it vertically.
Hand the video workflow the approved master set, the gallery order, the property fact record, the editing and disclosure status, the permitted derivative uses, and any frames that must not be cropped. Use the photo-to-video guideto select a complete property story instead of animating every delivered image.
Approved master folder: [stable location / owner]
Image manifest: [filename / room or feature / order / status]
Rights: [editing / motion / advertising / destinations / term]
Alteration status: [original / corrected / staged / generated / disclosure]
Do-not-crop evidence: [feature / room relationship / label / edge]
Property facts: [approved source record / as-of date]
Video outputs: [horizontal / vertical / branded / clean / captions]
Final reviewer: [accuracy / rights / property / destination]
Copy the MLS photo preflight
☐ Open the current official MLS image guidance.
☐ Record dimensions, ratio, file limit, format, orientation, filename, count, and content rules.
☐ Confirm the primary-photo requirement and approved lead candidate.
☐ Preserve the original delivery and approved master separately.
☐ Export the MLS set once from the approved master.
☐ Inspect dimensions, file size, format, crop, color, detail, and filenames.
☐ Upload the saved set and verify every gallery position.
☐ Check the source listing and important public destinations on desktop and mobile.
☐ Record any issue at the first failed stage and verify the correction.
☐ Send approved masters—not MLS downloads—to authorized video and campaign workflows.
Turn the approved master gallery into a property video
Westby turns existing listing photos into a cinematic property video. Start with the clean, approved master set so the edit can sequence the home and compose each frame without inheriting unnecessary MLS compression or portal branding.
Photo-to-video workflow
Use the best approved listing files
Paste the listing address to preview the property story Westby can build from its photos.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best photo size for an MLS listing?
There is no single photo size that is correct for every MLS. Record the current minimum and maximum pixel dimensions, preferred aspect ratio, file-size limit, accepted formats, orientation guidance, and any primary-photo rules from the MLS that will receive the listing. Ask the photographer for a named MLS export that matches that record, while preserving a separate full-resolution master for authorized marketing uses.
Are pixels, megabytes, and DPI the same thing?
No. Pixel dimensions describe the image width and height, aspect ratio describes its shape, and file size describes how much storage the encoded file uses. DPI or PPI metadata is mainly a print-density instruction and does not replace the pixel requirements shown by an MLS. Check each field separately instead of treating one number as proof that the file is ready.
Should real estate listing photos be landscape or portrait?
Use the current MLS guidance for the listing set. Many listing interfaces favor landscape images, but that does not mean every portrait source should be stretched or discarded. Preserve useful vertical originals in the master library, create deliberate destination versions where permitted, and inspect the live listing on desktop and mobile for unexpected crops, borders, or ordering changes.
Why do listing photos look blurry after an MLS upload?
Compare the source, edited master, MLS export, uploaded file, MLS display, and syndicated portal in order. The first soft copy identifies the stage to fix. Common causes include a small source, an aggressive crop, repeated JPEG exports, the wrong delivered file, automatic MLS compression, an aspect-ratio mismatch, or a lower-quality feed or display rendition.
Should a photographer deliver both MLS-size and full-resolution photos?
A separate MLS set and higher-resolution authorized marketing set can prevent accidental upscaling and repeated recompression. Define the exact deliverables, filenames, permitted edits, destinations, retention, and usage rights before the shoot. Payment or possession of a file does not by itself establish the right to create every derivative or reuse it indefinitely.