Real estate is a tough industry to compete in. Everyone is competitive and racing against time to sell more properties. If you’re in that business, you need to invest in marketing to ensure that your properties sell faster and you book more clients. This is one of your best bets in order to stand out from the competition.
One of the best marketing strategies that you can implement for your business is to partner with a professional real estate photography company. This could mean a little investment on your part, but this will be worth it in the long run.
Here are the benefits of hiring a professional company:
1. Faster turnaround time. In real estate, time is money. Getting the listings out quicker is always important. This could mean selling the property right away when you can. When you’re hiring a real estate photography company to take the pictures, you can get the final output in as early as 24 hours or earlier. They have a whole team who will work on your photos so you can get them faster. This ensures that you can post the photos for listings right away. For some photographers, turnaround time might be more than two days, especially when they are working on their own.
2. Staged photography. The great thing about working with a real estate photography company is that they have professional photographers who will go on location with you. These photographers are experienced in the industry and know how to create the best atmosphere and setup when it comes to achieving the best real estate photos. Having a photographer who knows how to stage the interior and even do minor arrangement works wonders. Doing so ensures that the resulting photos will be of quality and that the property is seen in the best light.
3. Proper post-production. Aside from just staging the interiors, doing post-production is important to real estate photography. Often the best photos come from doing the right edits. When executed properly, this can make or break the photos. With a good photographer, the edits are fewer. However, there will be little post-production necessary like straightening the lines and ensuring that the colors are accurate. Professional retouchers will know this, especially those who have been working in real estate.
4. Get the best quality photos. With the proper staging and post-production, you can get the best quality photos for your listings. Hiring a real estate photography company means that you will be provided with the highest quality of photos for listings and other marketing collaterals. These companies are professionals with years of experience in the real estate industry. They know the requirements needed by those in the business in order to sell, which is amazing photos.
5. Generate more leads. When you’re real estate photography company provides you with amazing photos, you are able to generate more leads. Most of the potential home buyers look at the photos first before calling the agent for a meeting. This is what potential buyers will look at especially when checking out different properties online. When you have the best photos, most often than not, you’ll get the most calls and inquiries.
Author: Claire Wright, a savvy tech nerd and self-taught photographer who lives in Seattle and working at one of the best real estate photography companies called HD Estates.
Real estate photography can be a lucrative business especially if you get booked by a lot of real estate brokers. Because of this, there can be a ton of photographers who are also offering the same services in one area. The challenge for many homeowners and real estate brokers is finding a professional photographer who can deliver quality images.
To set apart amateur photographers from real ones, here are some of the quick giveaways that you need to keep an eye on.
Once you spot one or two of these errors in the final output, then you’ve hired an amateur photographer.
1. Weak perspectives.
Composition is key in photography, no matter what the industry is. An amateur photographer will have weak perspectives and composing strategies. When shooting real estate, this often results in incorrect horizontals or converging verticals. Inexperienced photographers will not see this issue in the final photo. The goal of real estate photography is to have pleasing photos of the property in order to sell it fast. When horizontals are misaligned, the space looks crooked. In addition to that, a photo should have one or two strong points where the lines converge on a disappearing point.
2. Over-processed HDR.
HDR photography is a mainstay in real estate photography. Often, this is used as a creative take in a space. But when done inappropriately, this can look over-the-top and overprocessed. An HDR photo with a bad tone map can be caused by invalid settings during post-production. This can happen when the photographer only took ambient photos of the space without taking photos with flash or photos that are well-lit. Before combining photos for HDR, each of the photos must also be edited properly for color balance.
3. Flash hotspots.
This can be an issue when using flashes for interior photos. Flash spots can occur when the flash is directed to one area and is not diffused properly. This can also happen when you’re using on-camera flash. This is not aesthetically pleasing especially when posted on listings. Amateur real estate photographers sometimes point their flashes straightforward without diffusion. This can create harsh hotspots on surfaces. Just using an umbrella or bouncing light off the ceiling can create a more diffused light that’s great for photos.
4. Harsh shadows.
In real estate, a photographer must work well with light. This is important in order to achieve the most amazing and well-lit photos. When shooting the interior, shadows can be a problem. If you see final photos with harsh shadows, then you’ve found an amateur photographer. You can find these shadows on walls and at the back of fixtures or furniture pieces. This is a no-no when it comes to real estate, especially when home buyers prefer homes that are well-lit. Harsh shadows can often make the property look dirty or stained.
5. Incorrect white balance.
No matter what you’re shooting, the right white balance can make or break your image. White balancing ensures that there is no cast of unrealistic color on the image so white objects does appear white. This is something that needs to be done especially when shooting interiors since there will be different light sources with different temperatures. This could mess up the output if not corrected during post-process. Amateur photographers often present photos that do not show the accurate colors of the space. Final output should have the right colors as this is an accurate representation of the property.
6. Lens distortion.
Wide-angle lenses are often the most used gear in real estate photography. This makes it easy to capture the entire home, especially when shooting large rooms. However, you can get lens distortion when using ultra-wide lenses. This is because they have a wide field of view that lines tend to bow outward or away from the center. A professional and experienced photographer will easily spot the distortion and have it corrected during post-processing.
Author: Claire Wright, a savvy tech nerd and self-taught photographer who lives in Seattle and working at one of the best real estate photography companies called HD Estates.
When it comes to real estate photography, having the right gears make a huge difference in the quality of output that you deliver. The right camera and the right lenses, along with other accessories, are necessary tools to help you get started in the industry. Altogether, they create the perfect image with the quality that your clients would want.
Of course, post-processing is a different story. But, having the right tools will allow you to venture into this industry.
Cover the bases
Make sure that you got the bases covered. You can start off with real estate photography even at the lowest possible cost. Get an affordable DSLR or mirrorless camera that allows you to change lenses and manually control settings. Don’t ever toy around with the idea of using a point-and-shoot camera. This is your primary gear and you need to invest a little bit on a good performing camera body.
Aside from the camera, you would need at least one flash. Lighting is of utmost importance in real estate photography. Dark interiors are usually the main concerns for real estate photo shoots. You cannot afford not having a flash when doing interior shots. Eventually, you might need more flashes and even continuous light sources especially when you’re dealing with bigger spaces.
A sturdy tripod will be your best friend during your photo shoots. Make sure that it is able to carry the weight of your camera body, lens, and flash. Those with bubble levels will even be more useful to you as you try to level and adjust every shot that you take.
Best lenses for real estate photography
Another gear that you need to invest in is your lens. The best optics often deliver the best images. This is what you need in order to get satisfied clients. Although you can work with just one camera lens, it would be best to have different lenses depending on the location of your shoot.
Here are some of the lenses that you will need when starting out in real estate photography:
• Kit lens. Most DSLRs come with a kit lens when purchased. Although this is not wide enough for interiors, you can use this in shooting exteriors. This can be a handy extra lens whenever you need to shoot some details on a property or in an interior.
photo via google
• Wide-angle lens. The wide-angle lens that you’ll need will depend on the kind of camera body that you have. Make sure that you know your camera well enough. If you have a cropped camera body, then Nikon’s 12-24mm or Canon’s 10-22mm will do the trick. Tamron’s 10-24mm and Tokina’s 12-28mm are also great options if you are on a budget. For those with full-frame bodies, the Nikon 16-35mm and the Canon 16-35mm lenses are great options. Other alternatives are the Tokina 17-35mm and Tamron’s 15-30mm lenses.If you have a mirrorless camera, the Fujifilm XF 10-24mm lens and the Olympus 7-14mm work. An inexpensive option is the Rokinon 12mm lens. It’s best to keep in mind though that you don’t have to go super wide. This can also affect the image and you might end up with distorted photos. Your foreground will unrealistically dominate your image and your background might disappear in a distance. It still boils down to taste and how realistic the image looks like.
• Tilt-shift lens.This special lens can be an exciting gear to play around with. It creates a different miniature look to your subjects. The tilt-shift lens can be used in different types of photography. You can use it for portraits, wedding, and cityscapes. For real estate photography, you can use a tilt-shift lens for creating creative compositions. This also keeps verticals straight, which is very important in real estate photography. This can be done in properties with tall ceilings or when you’re photographing the exterior of a home. Canon and Nikon have their respective tilt-shift lenses. Canon has the 17mm and the 24mm tilt-shift lenses while Nikon has the 19mm and 24mm lenses. An inexpensive alternative is Rokinon’s 24mm tilt-shift lens.
photo via petapixel.com
Once you have all the necessary tools in starting real estate photography, the next challenge would be mastering all of your equipment. It will definitely take a lot of practice and experiment in order to get used to this industry. But, it’s going to be worth it once you achieve the results that you want.
Getting started with real estate photography can be challenging for a newbie photographer. The industry can be competitive and there’s a huge pressure in selling properties real fast through amazing photos. However, there are a lot of opportunities with being a real estate photographer. It always pays to be knowledgeable in this industry in order to book clients who are willing and able to pay for your services.
What is real estate photography?
Before you get started, you have to know first what this type of photography is and how it works.
Real estate photography is a kind of photography that deals with architecture, be it residential or commercial. This also covers both interior and exterior shots of the properties. Most often, these photos are used for listings or for marketing purposes.
You also need to understand the difference between different types of architectural photography so that you are able to identify the needed styles and methods to use in order to achieve a certain look.
Components of good real estate photography
There are various parts that all contribute to making an amazing property photo. All these aspects are necessary in order to orchestrate and be able to produce images that the clients actually want. These photos will help in selling properties:
1. The right gear.Having the needed equipment will help you get started with the industry. You need to have at least the basic gears covered. These are a DSLR or a manual digital camera of your choice, a wide angle lens, a remote shutter, and a tripod with a leveler. Other accessories that you might need during a shoot are extra batteries and memory cards.
2. Lighting. Having the best light during a photo shoot will make a difference in how your photos will turn out. Soft and natural light is always best. However, you don’t always get that kind of set up every time. You need to learn how to adjust with the setting and use flash or continuous lighting in order to illuminate the dark areas in your image.
3. Aperture and shutter speed. Just like lighting, you need to have your aperture and shutter speed adjusted depending on the kind of setting that you have. Larger apertures are perfect for focusing on interesting features
4. Proper staging.Real estate photography also needs to be orchestrated in order to achieve the perfect image. Instead of directing, you stage the interiors and make the space look more appealing. You can plump the cushion or arrange the pieces of furniture inside. You can also encourage the clients to stage the property before you come in.
5. Creative angle. When shooting objects or architecture, taking the photo straight on won’t work. Oftentimes, you need to take a different look at the space, especially when the shape or layout is unusual. A 45-degree angle is typically one of the secrets to taking flattering images.
6. Editing. Lastly, post-production of your images allows you to remove unwanted objects and adjust the lighting and color. This ensures that the images are at its best and that you are able the deliver images that sell the property right away.
Basics of photography
Aside from setting up the elements that make up a good real estate image, it still boils down to understanding the best practices and the basics of photography.
Setting the camera correctly. Choose the correct settings every time you have a shoot. To do so, you need to consider the location and the lighting. Set the file numbering and the photo quality accordingly. You may want to set your camera in stills only live view. Set it in manual mode so you are able to control its shutter speed and aperture.
Understand the basics of real estate photography. When doing a shoot, it is essential to prep the property. You might need to turn on all the lights or clean out the spaces from personal belongings. Staging is important in order to set a look that you want.
Know what your clients’ want. It is important to understand the goals of your clients before every shoot. Although you want to follow the set rules of, you need to follow the taste and preferences of your clients. You have to deliver the kind of images that they want. However, you might also want to explain to them what makes a better photo. Another thing is that you also need to ask for their inputs about which parts of the property they want to highlight.
Real estate is a lucrative industry that every photographer would want to dabble their hands into. This industry is competitive and there is money. Photography plays an integral part in selling real estate properties. Businesses are willing to spend money in order to capture images that will sell properties like pancakes.
If you want to test out the waters, you need to be familiar with the industry first and understand the requirements of real estate photography.
What is real estate photography?
Real estate photography is focused on creating images for property listings or advertorials that will be used by homeowners or real estate brokers in selling.
Creativity and delivering images that reflect the property in the best light some of the things that real estate photographers need to have. The main goal of the photos is to sell the property fast. They need to entice prospective buyers to visit the property and purchase it right away.
There is something to understand with the industry, however. Real estate is a very fast-paced industry. Often, photos only have a few days to last while the listing is still on. Once the property is sold, the photos will be taken down and replaced with new ones for another listing. However, this shouldn’t mean that you won’t deliver the most amazing photos to your clients.
Define your target market
Just like other photography businesses, you need to know your target market. Are you going to cater to customers only in your area or are you willing to take out-of-town projects? Are you set to doing local real estate photography or are you ready to take on big national projects?
It is important to study the industry in your area first and find a segment that you can fully service. Do you think there are no photographers that are servicing directly to homeowners? Is there an opportunity in shooting for big real estate brokers? Do you want to have business with the small brokers in your area?
Understand what the market needs and where your specialty lies. This will allow you to position your brand properly while also making sure that you keep the business running.
Outsourcing your real estate photography business
If you’re a photographer who wants to cover a lot of ground, then you might want to consider about outsourcing your work. This allows you to service different industries and expand your business. This also takes work off your hands so you are able to focus your efforts on the more important things, such as growing your business and booking more clients. This can come in handy once you get booked a lot and you don’t want to say no to these opportunities. This also lets you grow your business even if you’re not doing everything on your own.
You need to have a set of considerations to keep in mind when outsourcing your work. You cannot just hire anyone to do the work for you. It is important to find one with valuable experience and expertise in photographing and editing real estate. There is a lot of work needed in real estate photography. You have to be assured that you’re giving the work to someone who has been in the industry long enough to know the work that’s needed. Another thing is that they need to replicate your style. This is a must in order to have a consistent look in every property that you’re assigned to shoot. Since they are shooting under your name, they need to provide you with photos that are quite similar to your own. You may want to provide them with guidelines and pointers in shooting and editing photos in order to get the output that you want. Lastly, you need to work with a budget. Since you’re outsourcing, make sure that you are not losing money by hiring other people. Find those that can give you quality while also allowing you to earn a little through the project.
Hiring an agency like HD Estates or a freelance photographer for outsourcing
When it comes to outsourcing the real estate side of your photography business, there are different options available for you. For one, you can hire an agency or a freelance photographer to do the job. What’s the difference?
An agency, like HD Estates, usually provides a complete line of services to customers. They have an entire team of photographers and editors who will process the images from the photo shoot down to post-processing. Agencies have skilled and highly-experienced team members and use the best equipment and software in providing their services. They are able to copy your style of photographing and editing so you have a consistent look no matter who took the photos. However, most agencies have fixed rates in shooting projects. They already have a set amount for every type of service that you would need. But, the payment is worth it once you get the kind of photos that your clients love.
With freelance photographers, you might need to take a good look in your area in order to find a good one. You need to find the ones who can help you produce the kind of images that you want. Experience and portfolio are two things that you need to consider with freelance photographers. You might also want to find one that’s able to copy your photography preferences and can produce the kind of edits that you would need. This is the case especially when you’re dealing with clients whom you’ve worked with in the past. You want to make sure that you create consistency even if you’re outsourcing. This might need some trials to find a photographer who can get your taste. This can be the challenging part of hiring freelancers. However, freelancers often have a flexible price point which can work for you if you have a budget in mind.
What makes HD Estates a reliable partner in your business?
HD Estates is the number one real estate photography company in the country. They provide a wide range of services from photography to aerial images or videos, high-definition videos, 3D scan, and even websites.
They have trained and skilled architectural photographers with experienced editors that ensure you get amazing images for your clients. These are like magazine-cover photos that you can use for listings to ensure that the property will sell fast.
The company offers flexible packages to suit your needs. You can choose the kind of photography that you want, be it standard, high-definition, or luxurious high-definition photography. You can also choose the specific photo count that you need and add other services, such as cinema, aerial photography, and 3D walkthrough among many others.
The flexibility and the quality that you get with working with HD Estates is what you need for your business. This is the kind of agency that you want to work with in order to deliver the quality that you need for your customers. They are reliable when it comes to producing high-quality images and you’re assured that your customers will keep coming back to book you for future projects.
The best real estate photography companies in the US
Partnering with the best real estate photography companies is a must if you’re interested in growing the business. This also ensures that you are able to provide the best service and high-quality images to your clients and never lose their business in the future.
photo by chanelo.co
If you’re looking to outsource the real estate photography of your business, here are the best real estate photography companies in the country:
1. HD Estates.
HD Estates is based in Seattle and is the top real estate photography company in the country. They provide HD photography, HD cinema video, and marketing software to help you sell properties faster. They are a full-service agency with a skilled and experienced team that will help you meet your goals.
2. J Fuerst.
This agency provides excellent photography services at affordable rates. They provide a unique business process where you can book instantly and get the photos the next day after the photo shoot schedule. J Fuerst is a premier real estate photography company that ensures you work within your budget.
3. VHT Studios.
This real estate photography company has a nationwide network of editing specialists and photographers that ensures that you get the service that you need wherever you are. They have been around since 1998 and is continuously providing convenient photography services. They are a full-service agency for those in the real estate industry.
4. Home Snappers.
They are a family-oriented company that values the relationship they build with clients. Home Snappers offer different photography packages depending on your needs. They also have different services, such as aerial photos and videos, walkthrough videos, virtual reality tours, and cinematic videos among others.
5. Full Frame Creative Agency.
The company has offices in Seattle, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Portland, and San Diego. They don’t just service real estate but also shoots different structures. They are a full-service agency that offers photography services, videos, marketing consultations, and 3D tours among others.
For a real estate agent to become good in selling his properties, he needs to present compelling images to his clients. It also includes the excellent communication skills he uses in enticing clients. The present generation of sales agents, real estate brokers, and realtors find the Internet a good place to market real estate properties. But with the over saturated number of people using the Internet as a marketing vehicle, it is far better to negotiate face-to-face to prospective buyers.
It would be advantageous to have real estate photographs that can either be presented personally to targeted clients or to be uploaded to personal websites or social media. As of the moment, social media is considered the most powerful tool in digital marketing. Although real estate is considered a big gamble to sales agents, it can be a big boom when the business is marketed properly.
The idea of real estate photography is to present the images of the property. This is for the reason that the agent try to impress the clients to show the details and various angles of the said property. These photographs are needed to be processed to its best quality. Enhancement of photos requires the services of the different photo-editing applications, tools, and techniques because this job is very critical.
Real estate properties can be photographed both from the outside and at its interior. In as far as photo outlook is concerned, there are many techniques that will make photos look great. There are modification skills that needed to be developed to get familiarized about proper blending of interior colors.
Photo editing jobs are very common today. For properties to be sold fast there are countless photo adjustment to be made just for one particular image. A photo editor should look at some parts of the photo to ensure that there are characters of the picture that needed to be changed. He can also change the blend of the contrast at the same time.
For a wide-angle view, consider the topographical area of the property. A panoramic photo can represent a bigger view of the property. But panoramic photography entails continuous overlapping images. In doing so, photo editors needed special imaging software to stitch several sections together.
In the practice of real estate and architectural photography, real estate agents photograph houses, buildings, and commercial real estate companies to be subject for different kinds of marketing purposes. Some owners wish to advertise their properties – hotels, gyms, restaurants, studios, etc. – for promotional purposes only. A real estate photographer sometimes needed to work with interior designers to make the properties more attractive as possible.
Some photographers will shoot and edit images using different software applications and programs. With the tasks of photographing architectural and real estate structures, the work is quite unique but this is very important to hastily sell the properties. Being sensitive to landscape photography and aimed at selling homes quickly, photographers needed to be sensitive to spatial aesthetics. A real estate agent must realize that he also has to reach to potential clients as part of executing the business tasks more importantly in reaching out to old and new clients. He must have a network with fellow photographers, must attend real estate meetings, and other relevant events that will allow shooting schedule perfect.
Importance of Photography to Sell Home Fast
It is a truth that whenever homes are listed using professional images, it tends to sell faster. There are proofs that real estate photography helps selling homes 50% faster as compared to homes without images. Because the images involved in the listing of your homes have great positive impact to selling the property, most real estate agents and brokers turn to photography for this specific yet valuable reason.
More professional look.
A real estate agent wanted his real estate images look more professional. High-quality images can give more avenues to a more selling possibility. Because of the stiff competition in this industry, all the images a real estate puts in the listing must stand out. To look professional means you gain more confidence in presenting and selling the property. Using photographs will not only get your listing the attention you need, it also makes your property more appealing.
Time-saver.
Shooting of images, editing, resizing, and uploading of photographs will consume more time than you imagined. With the help of a professional photographer, it gives you little stress. Real estate photographers can shoot, edit, upload, re-size and do the correct formatting of the image, thus will help in selling properties fast.
Gives competitive edge.
People who are selling their homes who use professional photography in listing have the marketing advantage. This is because showcasing their homes using better images has a faster chance of selling potential. The technology we have today made it easier for clients to search on the Internet to look for new homes. Online listing is one of the most practical ways to promote the real estate properties being sold and at the same time, it can attract potential buyers.
Claire Wright, a savvy tech nerd and self-taught photographer who lives in Seattle and working at one of the best real estate photography companies called HD Estates.
