The quick answers
- A listing cannot go active without at least one front exterior photo (or rendering), aerial photo, or water view from the property.
- No branding, words, graphics, or people in listing photos — including your yard sign in the front exterior.
- Virtual staging is allowed but must be disclosed — “Virtually staged” in the photo description plus the virtually-staged field.
- Photos must be a true and accurate picture of the property — no erased power lines, added landscaping, or covered flaws.
- Photos must be owned or licensedby the broker — reusing another shoot’s files is a copyright problem, not a shortcut.
The photo that activates a listing
Stellar requires at least one qualifying hero image before a listing goes active: a front exterior photo of the property, a rendering (for new construction), an aerial photo, or a water view from the property. Two details trip agents up. First, placement: the front exterior belongs in the first photo slot — unless slot one is an aerial or a water view, in which case the front exterior must sit in slot two. Second, definitions: a pool is not a water view. A screened lanai looking at a heated pool is a great photo; it does not satisfy the water-view option.
In practice this rule is a gift: the front exterior or aerial is also what performs best as a cover photo on the portals. We deliver every set with the compliant hero first and the rest in walk-through order, so upload order matches both the rule and how buyers actually read a listing.
No branding, words, or people
The photo set that goes to the MLS must be clean: no logos, no agent headshots, no phone numbers, no text overlays, no graphics — and no people, including costumed or “lifestyle” figures in photos or virtual tours. The rule extends further than most agents expect: the broker’s yard signage may not be visiblein the front exterior photo, so a sign that’s already planted gets framed out or the shot gets retaken.
None of this means branding is dead — it means branding lives off-MLS. The standard professional delivery is two versions: an unbranded MLS set, and branded exports (reels, social crops, property sites) where your name and logo belong. That’s how our marketing kits are structured by default.
Virtual staging: allowed, with disclosure
Stellar permits virtually staged photos — with a hard disclosure requirement. The photo description field must carry the words “Virtually staged”, and the virtually-staged checkbox must be set on that photo. Stellar’s own guidance also draws the line on what a virtual edit may change:
- Allowed:adding furniture and decor that isn’t permanent, brightening underexposed photos, altering furnishings that won’t remain with the home, removing items that are easily removable in real life.
- Not allowed: removing utility lines, adding landscape plantings, covering up material flaws, swapping or removing permanent fixtures, changing paint colors.
The same logic governs AI-staged images, which Stellar treats as virtual staging: disclose it, and never let the tool redraw the property itself.
The accuracy rule behind everything
The umbrella rule is short: photos must represent a true and accurate picture of all property features and surroundings. It is why the prohibited-edit list above exists, and it is the standard a professional editor works to even on aggressive HDR blends and twilight conversions — brighten, balance, and stage honestly; never repaint reality. If a buyer arriving at the property would feel misled by a photo, the photo is over the line.
Photo ownership and copyright — the expensive trap
Under US copyright law, photographers own their images from the moment of capture; what a listing agent buys is a license. Stellar’s rules require that photos submitted to the MLS be taken by you, properly licensed, or otherwise authorized — scraping images off the internet or lifting a previous agent’s shoot fails that test. The classic scenario: a home relists with a new agent, the old photos look great, and they get re-uploaded. If the license was issued to the previous agent for the previous listing, the new use infringes — and photographers do send DMCA takedowns and invoices for exactly this.
The fix is to know what your license covers before you file. Ours is published in plain language: listing media is licensed to you and your brokerage for marketing that listing, and short-term-rental packages carry lifetime usage rights so hosts never re-buy their own photos. When in doubt on inherited media, commission a fresh shoot — it is cheaper than a copyright claim.
Practical notes: order, sizing, and tours
- Photo order sells.Compliant hero first, then the walk-through: exterior → main living → kitchen → primary suite → secondary rooms → outdoor living → aerials. Buyers scroll in order; don’t make the fourth photo a hallway.
- Upload the largest clean files you have. The MLS compresses on ingest, and portals re-compress after that — starting from crisp, full-resolution files is the only defense. Our MLS set arrives pre-sized and named in filing order.
- Floor plans are welcome. Stellar permits floor-plan images in the photo set, and they are among the most-viewed frames in any listing. Every one of our listing packages includes one.
- Virtual tours must be unbranded too. The tour link fields follow the same no-branding logic as photos — a branded tour belongs on your own marketing, with the unbranded version filed to the MLS.
- Use the photo description fields.Beyond the required virtual-staging disclosure, short factual captions (“Primary suite — west-facing bay windows”) help buyers and cost nothing.