Question 1

What is Real Estate Photography?

Accepted Answer

As a professional real estate photographer, I often get asked what exactly my job entails. It’s easy to assume that real estate photography is just like any other type of photography – after all, it’s all about capturing images, right? However, the truth is that real estate photography is a specialized field that requires a unique set of skills and expertise. Unlike other types of photography, real estate photography is all about showcasing a property in the most attractive and appealing way possible, with the goal of getting potential buyers or renters interested in making a transaction. It’s not a job for everyone, and it takes time, energy, and dedication to master the craft.

Benefits of Real Estate Photography

There are two perspectives to consider – that of the seller or landlord, and that of the photographer. From a seller’s standpoint, professional real estate photography can help move their property quickly by increasing the foot traffic and exposure it receives. On the other hand, as a photographer, specializing in real estate photography can provide a steady stream of repeat business. Real estate photographers can establish long-term relationships with high-producing agents who sell multiple homes each month, ultimately resulting in an increase in business volume. However, not just anyone with a camera can succeed in real estate photography; it takes a dedication to producing professional-quality work to stand out in this competitive field.

What You Need

I believe that having the right equipment is crucial to producing high-quality images. While some people may think I go overboard with my gear, I can tell you that having a camera, tripod, possibly a flash, and a good quality lens is crucial for any real estate photographer.

Camera and Lenses

In my opinion, it’s the lens that really makes a difference. Currently, in 2024, I use a Sony a7iii for my real estate photography and have been using it since the camera first came out. However, what you really need is a DSLR camera that can shoot in a three-shot bracket or five-shot bracket. You can easily find this information with a quick Google search.
To avoid camera shake and get sharper images, it’s ideal to have a timer or remote for the three or five shot bracket, so you’re not constantly pressing the shutter release button. Additionally, it’s important to be able to change out the lenses, and if you’re using a crop sensor camera, make sure to multiply the crop sensor specifications by the lens you plan to use.

For example, a 1.5 crop sensor with a 16mm lens will give you an effective focal length of about 24mm. Ideally, you want a field of view between 15-17mm, so for a crop-sensor camera, you’ll want to shoot at around 10-12mm. With a full-frame sensor, you have more options like a 16mm or 35mm lens. You don’t need anything lower than an aperture of f4, so an f2.8 is not necessary. Unless you’re doing portraits or product photography, it’s best to go for the cheapest option or rent gear if needed.

Tripod

It’s important to have a sturdy tripod that won’t move easily. Manfrotto tripods are reliable, but they can be pricey at around $200 just for the tripod base. It’s also important to have a tripod head mount that can move in all directions. We prefer the Manfrotto ball head mount, which costs around $250, but some photographers suggest other options. Our tripod setup costs around $500, but it’s worth investing in high-quality equipment that will last.

Drone

If you’re considering taking your real estate photography to the next level in the shortest amount of time, investing in a drone could be a great option. However, before you can fly a drone commercially, you need to obtain a Part 107 license. My team and I used remotepilot101.com to complete our licensing education and take the test, which cost us around $500 in total. When it comes to choosing a drone to start out, you don’t necessarily need anything too fancy – just something that can take pictures. We use the Mavic 2 Pro and Mavic Air 2s with twilight photography in mind due to their great sensor, but we primarily shoot in daytime. So, if you’re interested in adding drone photography to your services, it’s worth considering the initial investment in time and money for licensing and equipment.

Virtual Tours

I highly recommend the Ricoh Theta Z1 camera for virtual tours. It’s a fantastic camera and a must-have in your arsenal. If you’re looking to become a certified Zillow photographer, all you need to do is shoot five tours using the camera and submit them to Zillow. However, the certification requirements may have changed, so it’s always best to check with them. The camera itself can be quite expensive, costing around a thousand dollars, but it’s definitely worth the investment. With the Ricoh Theta Z1, you can provide your clients with stunning virtual tours that will set you apart from the competition.

If you’re planning to purchase a drone, a 360 camera, and a camera lens setup, you could end up spending around $7,000. To avoid breaking the bank, I recommend starting small and working your way up. You can rent equipment or start with a low-budget setup and upgrade as your business grows. By starting small, any additional investment you make in your business will be a valuable and worthwhile addition.

Real Estate Photography Tips

Lighting

At my business, we follow a systematic approach to shoot properties. For lighting, we use a five-shot bracket. It’s crucial to neutralize lighting and expose the true colors of the property, and an editor specializing in real estate photography can help with that. It’s important to do some quality assurance to ensure that the photos meet your standards and push back if necessary. I recommend specifying what needs to look better so that you can deliver high-quality photos to your client.

Angles

Our general rule of thumb for angles is shooting at light switch height and capturing a third wall in each shot. This is important to give the viewer a better understanding of the space and what it feels like. Because if you only get two walls, it may look like an infinite room. Whereas if you get three walls in your photo, psychologically that’s fulfilled. We compose our shots to tell the story on the sides, with slivers of doors, walls, cabinets, or beds connecting to subsequent images. And so the middle is where the space is sold. The size is where the story is told.

With Third Wall vs Two Walls
Look closely on the images and notice how a sliver of the wall on the edges can be seen and makes you think that the room is fulfilled.

Conclusion

In conclusion, real estate photography is a specialized field that requires a unique set of skills and expertise. It’s all about showcasing a property in the most attractive and appealing way possible, with the goal of getting potential buyers or renters interested in making a transaction. For a successful career in real estate photography, having the right equipment is crucial. Starting small and working your way up to more expensive equipment is recommended to avoid breaking the bank. Becoming a successful real estate photographer takes time, energy, and dedication to producing professional-quality work, but the rewards of establishing long-term relationships with high-producing agents and increasing business volume can be worth it.

Question 2

Why Does Professional Real Estate Photography Matter?

Accepted Answer

As a professional real estate photographer, I have seen firsthand how important having high-quality photographs of a property can be. Not only do they make the property more attractive to potential buyers, but they also help to showcase the true value and potential of a home.

3 Reasons Why Professional Real Estate Photography is Important
Professional real estate photography can have a significant impact on the success of your listings. First and foremost, it provides your sellers with the best possible service by showcasing their property in the most visually appealing and accurate way. This is why I strive to provide sellers with the best possible service through my photography.
By utilizing the latest equipment and techniques, I am able to capture the true essence of a property and highlight its best features. This not only helps to attract potential buyers, but it also helps to increase the perceived value of the property. In addition, by providing accurate and detailed images, I am able to ensure that buyers have a clear understanding of the property before they even step foot inside. This can save both buyers and sellers valuable time and energy in the long run.

Secondly, it helps you look like a rockstar agent by differentiating yourself from the competition and showcasing your attention to detail. By providing your clients with high-quality, visually appealing photos of their property, you are demonstrating that you are willing to go the extra mile to sell their home. This can make you look like a rockstar agent, who is dedicated to providing the best possible service to their clients. This, in turn, can help you build a reputation as an agent who is professional, reliable, and always willing to put in the extra effort to get the job done right. With professional real estate photography, you will be able to showcase your listings in the best possible light, which can help you attract more buyers and sell homes faster. 
Finally, professional real estate photography allows you to build a consistent brand for your business, making it easier for potential clients to recognize and remember you in the future. By using the same style and quality of photography across all your listings, you are presenting yourself as a top-notch agent who values and prioritizes the visual presentation of your properties. This helps to build a recognizable and memorable brand for your business, making it easier for potential clients to identify and remember you in the future. Additionally, it also helps you stand out from other agents who may not invest in professional photography. It is a small investment that can have a big impact on building a strong brand and reputation in the industry.

As a new agent, you may not have the upfront capital to invest in professional real estate photography. However, there are options available to help you get started. For example, at our company, we offer heavily discounted add-ons for first-time customers such as virtual tours, floor plans, and videos. This is a great way to build your portfolio and showcase your listings to potential buyers. If you’re interested in taking advantage of these discounts, reach out to us and let us know that you’re a first-time customer, and we’ll provide you with a link to where you can take advantage of these deals.

Question 3

How to Stand Out As A Real Estate Agent?

Accepted Answer

It seems like the real estate profession is growing daily, especially in our home-shortage economy.
With so many real estate agents entering the field by getting licensed, how are they—or even you—supposed to stand out from the rest of the licensed real estate agents?
As a real estate photography business owner, I’ve seen quite a few agents separate themselves from the crowd and provide a solid income for themselves and their family, even by selling a home or two a month.
Here are the most common ways I’ve seen, but it does include hard work in terms of money, time, and energy.
Ways to stand out as a real estate agent
1. Forget Your Time in the Industry
Forget how long you’ve been in business, but how you can help your sellers or buyers get what they want. I’ve seen so many first-year agents crush it because they took the time to create relationships with other agents, understand the market, and learn good negotiation strategies.
Sellers want their home sold quickly and for the most amount of money—how can you do this for them?
Buyers want a good deal on a home that they can afford and where they can feel financially, physically, and geographically comfortable—how will you help them achieve this goal?
Yes, your years in the industry helps, but you can be a 10-year part-time agent that’s only doing real estate as a side gig—years alone doesn’t mean anything.
Explain what the market is doing. Share good, not great, advice because you don’t want them to think it’s easy—because it’s not. Share what you would do in certain scenarios to position yourself as the expert. Once you have your seller’s agreement or buyer’s agreement signed, let open the flood gates of the best advice and gold nuggets you can offer.
2. Create beautiful marketing collateral to leave with your buyers and sellers
Presentation is everything because it’s the thing that will stick around long after you leave the meeting. Without great marketing collateral, it’s easy for your prospects to forget about you and your service and you’ll immediately blend in with the majority of other agents.
Marketing content can be provided through your brokerage, past listing photos that have been added to your portfolio, or other third-party services.
Pro Tip: Ask your lenders or title officers how they might be able to collaborate with you because as a real estate agent, you market directly to consumers, in other words B2C. Lenders and title officers market to agents, aka B2B, and they market to consumers, B2C. If you can find a good overlap, then collaboration will help you afford great marketing material for your presentations.
3a. For sellers: share a high-level marketing plan that only an agent can offer
Again, you don’t want to get down into the weeds of explaining every single thing you’ll do, explain just enough to make a decision that will lead them to signing a seller’s agreement.
Explain your high-level marketing strategy of how many marketing channels you’ll publish to, work samples of your photographer, case studies of past sales with the number of offers received and how they were generated.
Share a challenge or two that you had with past sellers and how you overcame them.
If you don’t have any past sales, share stories from other agents—with their permission, of course—on what other sellers have done with a similar marketing strategy and what the outcome was. You don’t have to claim it was your sale, just that “this seller’s experience with [YOUR BROKERAGE NAME] was…”—that’s one of the benefits of belonging to a good brokerage or team.
3b. For buyers: be a little more of a hands-on agent
Offer to pack and help move; offer to bring dinner on moving day; create a move-out and move-in checklist so nothing gets missed during the process; share a list of your contacts for movers, lenders, inspectors, storage facilities, cleaners, etc. Keep up to date on the needs of your buyers and constantly set expectations of the market because their needs can change if the market continually does not meet their expectations—their expectations constantly has to be in check.
4. Be the liaison between your vendors and your clients
Your primary focus is to help your buyer or seller to purchase a home at the right price and under the best terms. This only works when you’re in constant communication between your clients & vendors and keeping current with market conditions. Don’t expect this to be a walk in the park—keeping track with everything is tough and may require you to invest into a CRM system, a customer relationship management system. Some brokerages include them, some real estate websites have them already integrated. Even a Google spreadsheet can help manage everything you need to track. If you’re part of a team, more than likely you have access to a CRM.
A word of caution: Nothing beats having your own CRM because if you were to change brokerages or a team, oftentimes they’ll have one you can use, but once you leave, all of your contacts stay with them and then passed on to their agents to touch, or contact, them throughout the years. If you have your own CRM, that client base you build stays with you throughout your career.
5. Be the friend that happens to know how to do real estate
People do business with those they know, like, and trust. With cold prospecting, it doesn’t mean that you need to know about their family history and what keeps them up at night, but you do need to know their motive and desires when it comes to buying or selling a home. Once you get their “why”, then everything you do will cater to that pain point. 
Need a bigger house? Why?—Often, the first reason isn’t the underlying issue. This is where you can get to know the household to understand the underlying issue of moving to a bigger place.
Need to downsize? Why?—What physical demands need to be met and what have they not considered? What financial demands are the clients hoping to accomplish by downsizing?
Need to upgrade? Why?—What are the benefits of upgrading that your clients haven’t considered? What are pitfalls that should be avoided when upgrading?
Need to build a house? Why?—Building a house is more luxurious than a necessity, but still ask why they need to build a house—find that underlying issue.
Conclusion
When you find the underlying issue with your clients and make a good impression, it’s a lot easier to close the sale because then you’ll know how to address it by being yourself.
That brings me back to the first point, it’s not how long you’ve been in the business that people are needing addressed, it’s what you’ll do for them in the current market conditions and how you’ll help them buy or sell their next home. The years help, but ultimately it’s what you’re able to do to help them meet their goals.

Question 4

How long does it take to get my images?

Accepted Answer

At Elevation Luxury Image, we understand the importance of getting your marketing materials promptly. Our standard turnaround time for photo sessions is typically the next business day. However, please note that our delivery time may vary based on our current workload.

While we can't guarantee next-day delivery, our dedicated team strives to exceed expectations. Photo sessions conducted from Monday to Friday, completed by 3:00 pm, are often returned the following day. For properties completed after 3:00 pm on Saturdays, your photos will be delivered on Monday.

Our commitment is to provide you with high-quality images within a timeframe of 24 to 72 business hours. We appreciate your understanding and trust in Elevation Luxury Image for your photography needs.

Question 5

Will the photographer assist with staging and moving things around or out of the way?

Accepted Answer

At Elevation Luxury Image, we aim to provide top-tier photography services that showcase your property's true elegance. To ensure a seamless and efficient photo session, we kindly request that your property be fully prepared upon our arrival, encompassing both interior and exterior areas.

Our photographers do not engage in moving, adjusting, or opening curtains, furniture, or any other items during the shoot. This deliberate approach is taken to minimize our liability and reduce the risk of potential breakage or damage. For your convenience, we recommend reviewing our pre-shoot checklist to guarantee your property is ready for the session.

Question 6

How long does it take for a property to be photographed?

Accepted Answer

we strive for efficiency without compromising quality in our real estate photography services. For properties under 4,000 sqft, our photographers typically complete the session within 1 to 2 hours. Please note that the actual time may vary based on the property's size and layout.

It's essential to recognize that additional services beyond photography may extend the overall duration significantly. Understanding the unique requirements of each property, we ensure our services are tailored to meet your specific needs.

Question 7

What editing do you do to the photos?

Accepted Answer

At Elevation Luxury Image, we take pride in our commitment to delivering unparalleled visual quality. Our signature approach involves meticulous hand-blended photo editing, ensuring that each image reflects the smoothest, brightest, and clearest representation of your property. Our skilled editing team employs a hands-on process to enhance every detail, providing a level of precision that goes beyond automated methods.

Detail Note:

Our standard editing does not cover the removal of unwanted items from photos. To ensure the best results, we require the property to be fully photo-ready upon our arrival.

However, we understand that certain preferences may require additional editing, such as addressing power lines, satellite dishes, imperfections on walls, surfaces, or items on tabletops. We offer customized editing services at an additional cost to meet these specific needs.

For detailed pricing and inquiries about additional editing, please feel free to contact us directly. We are committed to providing tailored solutions that enhance your property's visual appeal.

Question 8

What is your cancellation and rescheduling policy?

Accepted Answer

At Elevation Luxury Image, we value your time and commitment to our services. To facilitate a smooth scheduling process, we offer a cancellation and rescheduling policy that allows flexibility with no fees if notified at least 24 hours prior to the scheduled session during business hours.

Please be aware that cancellations or rescheduling within this 24-hour window will incur a $99 cancellation fee. This fee will be added to your invoice upon completion of the shoot, along with the final delivery payment.

Question 9

How I pay? / When is payment due?

Accepted Answer

At Elevation Luxury Image, we offer convenient payment options to ensure a seamless and secure transaction process. Payments can be made through Venmo by sending funds to @ElevationLuxuryImage. If you choose this method, kindly inform us before content delivery.

Alternatively, payments can be processed via our secure payment gateway during content delivery. It's important to note that payments made through credit or debit cards via the payment gateway will incur an additional 5% processing fee.

Payment is due 14 days after initial content delivery. New clients will be unable to download and use content until payment is made.

Question 10

Where do I find pricing for commercial projects?

Accepted Answer

When it comes to pricing for commercial projects, our rates are set at 20% higher than our standard residential prices. This price difference reflects the additional time, expertise, and resources required to capture the unique characteristics of commercial properties. Here’s why this investment is essential for effectively showcasing your commercial property.

Why the Price Difference?

Commercial properties typically demand a more detailed and customized approach compared to residential listings. These spaces are often larger, with diverse features and unique architectural elements that require careful attention. As a result, our team spends more time on-site to capture the perfect angles, utilizes more sophisticated equipment to handle the scope of the project, and dedicates extra time to post-production to ensure that every image meets the highest standards.

In addition to the technical challenges, commercial content is about creating compelling marketing materials that resonate with potential clients. High-quality content is crucial for making a strong first impression, whether they are used in brochures, websites, or large-scale advertising campaigns. This level of quality necessitates not only technical skill but also a deep understanding of how to present commercial spaces in a way that appeals to your target audience.

The Importance of High-Quality Marketing Materials

Investing in professional commercial photography can have a significant impact on your property’s marketability. According to the National Association of Realtors, 89% of buyers consider photos to be one of the most useful features when making decisions across all property types. For commercial properties, this statistic is even more critical. Studies have shown that high-quality images can increase engagement by up to 118% on listing sites and reduce the time a property spends on the market by up to 32%.

Furthermore, in today’s digital age, the majority of commercial property searches begin online. A report by Commercial Property Executive found that 62% of commercial real estate searches start on digital platforms, making the visual presentation of your property more important than ever. In such a competitive market, professionally captured and edited content can make the difference between a listing that goes unnoticed and one that quickly attracts serious inquiries.

What This Means for You

We recognize that each commercial project is unique, and we’re committed to tailoring our services to meet your specific needs. For a detailed quote that reflects the full scope of your project, please contact us directly. We’ll work with you to create a customized package that aligns with your marketing goals and ensures your property stands out in the marketplace.

Frequently asked questions

What is Real Estate Photography?

Why Does Professional Real Estate Photography Matter?

How to Stand Out As A Real Estate Agent?

How long does it take to get my images?

Will the photographer assist with staging and moving things around or out of the way?

How long does it take for a property to be photographed?

What editing do you do to the photos?

What is your cancellation and rescheduling policy?

How I pay? / When is payment due?

Where do I find pricing for commercial projects?

INTERESTED IN OUR
SERVICES?

Frequently asked questions

What is Real Estate Photography?

Why Does Professional Real Estate Photography Matter?

How to Stand Out As A Real Estate Agent?

How long does it take to get my images?

Will the photographer assist with staging and moving things around or out of the way?

How long does it take for a property to be photographed?

What editing do you do to the photos?

What is your cancellation and rescheduling policy?

How I pay? / When is payment due?

Where do I find pricing for commercial projects?

INTERESTED IN OUR SERVICES?

INTERESTED IN OUR
SERVICES?