"PHOTO READINESS" CRUCIAL AS AB 723 GOES INTO EFFECT January 1, 2026

Beginning January 1, 2026 a new California Law, Assembly Bill 723, will go into effect requiring disclosure and labeling when digital adjustments have been made to Real Estate Photography that affect the representation of the real property. In an attempt to combat the use of AI in deceptive marketing practices, this language has ben added to expand California's existing Business and Professions Code for Real Estate in Article 4. But in the real world, this translates to the need for a property to be truly photo ready more than ever before. Here's a look at the bill's text from Section B where they define digital alteration, and what counts:

(b) (1) For purposes of this section, “digitally altered image” means an image, created by or at the direction of the real estate broker or salesperson, or person acting on their behalf, that has been altered through the use of photo editing software or artificial intelligence to add, remove, or change elements in the image, including, but not limited to, fixtures, furniture, appliances, flooring, walls, paint color, hardscape, landscape, facade, floor plans, and elements outside of, or visible from, the property, including, but not limited to, streetlights, utility poles, views through windows, and neighboring properties.

(2) “Digitally altered image” does not include an image where only lighting, sharpening, white balance, color correction, angle, straightening, cropping, exposure, or other common photo editing adjustments are made that do not change the representation of the real property.

Full text of the bill's language can be found here. Full text of the Business and Professions Code can be found here. ​

Having worked in Real Estate Media for a decade, I can tell you that contrary to what you might think. Most photoshopping or editing in "post" is not done because the photographer wants to make more work for themselves, it happens because a property is not photo ready. There are many reasons this happens, but typically there is time pressure from sellers, or there is a construction delay, or a Realtor forces the shoot to happen before it's really ready because they want to get into the queue for marketing support at the brokerage especially during the busy season. This means that all too often, any number of items that will affect the "representation of the real property" will require digital adjustments. And although as editors, we may artistically think that touching up some grass or replacing the sky will enhance a photograph's appearance, making it more eye-catching, the real reason is that these are requested by the client because of delays and a sense of urgency or sometimes, even downright panic. 

Countless times over the years we have heard clients say, "You can fix it in post, right?". And usually the answer is "yes", or "it depends". Sometimes saying yes as real estate media professionals is how we have made ourselves indispensable as part of the marketing team. We can help smooth out some of the issues that arise around the chaos of a house coming to market. And yes, it's true, some things we can - and should - fix in post, like removing a camera's reflection in the bathroom mirror, or removing that ugly pool snake, but those are things that are not part of the property itself. But, the list of things that we have been asked to fix goes on and on and sometimes ends up in a gray area...typically they are things that are on the "punch list", but just haven't happened yet. These include: paint touch-ups, light bulbs being burned out on balconies, outlet plates being installed after painting, power washing the driveway, paint on the front porch stairs, leaves on the roof, garbage cans out the windows, Realtor sign (or literally the Realtor) in the front yard, or landscaping not being ready. In most cases, these things are going to be done before the property hits the market, but the Realtor wants to get in the "queue" at the brokerage for marketing. There's a catch-22, because it takes a few days for most Realtors with busy marketing coordinators to prep the listing media on their end, so they need to get media shot sooner rather than later. This means shooting before a property is ready, or shooting on a day with cloudy skies, and knowing that post-production can do its smoothing by replacing the dull sky with a pleasant one, or filling-in that missing cubic foot of bark dust. 

And while AI has a whole host of ethical dilemmas, it has also been immensely helpful to have powerful and realistic toolset integrated into creative software. For example, Generative AI or "Generative Fill" became available in the Photoshop Beta in May 2023 and we started experimenting right away. Those pool snakes? Poof! It's an order of magnitude better than manually editing tedious eye-sores in photoshop. Furthermore, probably 90% of the time we are using the tools to digitally remove something like a realtor sign or camera. And I've seen it work and I've seen it really not work, it's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. Generative Fill is good at approximating what was behind the sign, it's not an exact science, and so I understand why we need legislation and legal codes to keep guardrails on and continue to keep the public trust high when it comes to "seeing is believing".  But, if you asked any realtor if they wanted the room to look cozier if we digitally turned on the fireplace, they would almost all say yes - it looks wayyy better - and no one needs to burn themselves or risk dealing with the actual fireplace when they are there for photos.

I can think of countless instances where adding fire to the room in post or enhancing the sky was the right call. But, is it a trick? Does it need disclosure and a watermark? I don't know, I don't really think of it that way, I think of it more as imbuing emotional storytelling into the property, the same way that staging adds color, mood, and ambiance. And, I have always felt that the best photos are the ones with the most adjustments are done in camera, and not in post, but that is not the preferred aesthetic for the majority of our clients, nor is it the standard editing protocol. One thing the bill doesn't define and should is "original", because as it's written it doesn't really account for the fact that the actual production workflow that defines the vast majority of final real estate photos do not stem from a single "original" image. The very nature of this product is creating a layered (bracketed), composited image with nuanced exposure, micro-adjustments, and paying attention to presentation elements such as distracting leaves on a deck, or a dirty sink. 
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But the law that is not about staging or nuance, and it's not even just about virtual staging either (for which we have always provided originals and enhanced images), it's about standard real estate photography. In the new year, sky replacements, grass patching, fire in the fireplace, and paint retouching, under the new law will potentially need to be disclosed and it will be up to the brokerage, the Realtor, and the photographer to determine what is permitted without labeling.

My take is that the best prevention for having to deal with any of this is to be really photo ready, and to have that in mind when you are booking your next listing media. Details matter more than ever, and the realtors who are already top producers are the ones that are the best at project management, and who always build-in margins for error - and they will continue to have an advantage unless others adapt their behavior and get serious about home prep. They were already the ones whose media rarely required any post-processing, but I predict in this new era of real estate media, now is when that experience and know-how will pay off the most. Realtors who are organized and whose projects stay on schedule will be the ones whose media will look the best, and will not require any "red-flag" watermarking. 

I know that the purpose of AB 723 is to combat deceptive marketing practices, but maybe a side benefit that no one saw coming, was that it would create a forcing function for project management and photo readiness to really be taken seriously, because now more than ever the consequences for not doing so will be on full display. ​