Homes for sale pics sure are deceptive
Been house hunting for a year... Pics sure do distort ..
Really, how big is this refrigerator? 
. In the second pic it seems quite a bit smaller than the door
= new reply since forum marked as read
My number one priority is go get viewers to WANT to go see the listing in person. Good images do that.
Secondly, the only way to show a full view of a room is to shoot with a wide angle lens. Mine is 15MM. Wide angle lenses distort things on the periphery. It's unavoidable if you want to show the entire room. What I usually do to avoid what you are objecting to in this particular photo is to only show a portion of that fridge. 
You do video too? I need to dig one up and send it to you that I saw a couple months ago. It was a real estate agent who had the video cam and walked all over the house and narrated. They even went outside and walked around the neighborhood and then walked to the beach just so you could see how far it was. It was the best I have ever seen as a replacement for not actually going into the house.
Next would probably be FaceTime with an agent. We did that with two houses last week. And especially if it's your age and you can ask questions like what's behind that door
As for pictures trying to make a room or house look as good as possible, I get where you're coming from. The job is to make people want to buy the house. What I see is a problem is that people are realizing this and having to factor it in. Because once you get into the house and realize the kitchen's a lot smaller than it looked in the pictures, the whole purpose is defeated? But I guess you're right agents don't care as long as someone gets into the house. We are trying to buy in a different state completely.
I do want to ask you a question. My husband and I were talking about this last night. Since we will be selling a house when we buy another one, and I have seen literally thousands of houses over the last year, it looks like there are fewer and fewer houses that show as people are actually living there. How does this work do people move out and then stage the house and show it? Do you see that happening more and more? I remember there was a show on HGTV that's no longer on the air but it was this guy that went in and showed people why their house wasn't selling. He made them pack up rooms and take those boxes to storage. When they were done what was left was a completely pared down house. But the beauty of it was that they had most of their packing already done. I thought this was really smart.
Sorry to go on and on so much. We want to move when my husband retires next May so pressures on.
My job is to get them INTO the home. It is the RE agents job to make them want to buy it. Which answers your next few issues.
I never misrepresent the home by changing anything with photoshop. That would be considered illegal by MLS, so it is a line I do not cross.
Here is the OTHER reason why shooting great photography is important. I have had many, many home owners tell me that the ONLY reason they chose a particular RE agent was because their images looked so good in MLS. It behooves the agent to post the best possible images.
In answer to your question, staging happened a lot more often before this buying boom we are in atm. It was done to make an empty house look like a home. And it works. A staged home is much more inviting to a potential buyer than an empty one. It just fits their eyes better. What we are finding now is that houses are selling so quickly that owners and agents don't feel the need to spend $1000-$1500 to stage it. I was actually anticipating that it would cut into my work also, but agents still want great pictures of the homes they list. It makes the agent look good.
As far as the guy on HGTV, he had it right. Clutter is a killer. It will turn off potential buyers more quickly than an empty house. That is why I send all of my agents a "things to do list" before I go shoot a house. If an owner even does 1/2 of what is on the list, it makes it look better for my lens.
Good luck in your search.
edited to add that I do NOT do video. Too time consuming and agents do not want to pay what it is actually worth.
I came across something brand new to me last week. Houses are empty and instead of staging they photoshop in photos of furniture & decor. This could be a really good thing to get into in my humble opinion I know real staging costs a lot. Of course when the people actually go into the house to look at it there's nothing in there
Oh and drones!
Damn, it's a very difficult test. So much so that most people just fly illegally. Not much enforcement.
Yeah, virtual staging is a thing. Again, most agents just don't want to pay for it. 
Anytime you want to know something about RE photography, just ask.
