2. Local real estate brokers and their agents, who list pre-existing homes and condominiums for sale, are typically the largest group of businesses that need images. They’ll use one or more exterior photo for the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and listings of properties on their or other Web sites. They may also want fully produced video tours of interiors of upscale homes and estates.
3. This can be a very competitive segment of the real estate photography market. Since MLS listing photos don’t require elaborate set-ups and highly creative images, many real estate agents are quickly able to capture a basic exterior view of the property from the street with a compact camera or even a cell phone, and at no cost. To motivate a broker or agent to pay you for photos they can take, you must provide benefits they can’t match, such as being available whenever they need a photo and being able to shoot more properties in a given period of time then they could. Uploading photos to the appropriate Web sites as soon as they are taken could be another way to convince brokers and agents that your services are valuable.
4. A professional-grade camera and lens are not usually required to take basic property photos and videos. For interiors, a camera with a hot shoe that accepts a separate flash unit is a better option than a built-in flash. Using an independent flash unit will allow you to remove it for off-camera lighting techniques, which will enhance your interior images. Video at 1080p Full HD with stereo sound is also preferable, since some potential buyers may view property videos on their HD TVs in the comfort of their homes.
5. Your best strategy to penetrate this photography market is to offer real estate brokers or agents a “test” session, so you can show them what you can do, and how quickly and accurately. If you know a broker or agent, then he or she may allow you to shoot exterior photos of their current listings “officially”, at no charge, to determine if paying you will be beneficial. Brokers and agents are very busy people, often working 60 to 80 hours a week; so the primary benefit you should try to sell them is that you will save them time for more high-value tasks, while you photograph their properties.
6. Developers of new residential communities and builders of new homes, especially custom homes, are the real estate professionals who generally need high quality photos and video. They must create a number of promotional tools—ads, signs, printed literature, Web sites, sales/information center presentations, etc.—to attract buyers to their developments and home sites, and continue to market them once they are on site. These images should be similar in style and quality to architectural photos of a famous building, church or other structure.
7. A mid-priced to high-end DSLR camera with an equivalent lens or lenses will be needed to shoot these higher quality images. The most successful of these real estate photographers will also have multiple-lighting capabilities for exteriors, and especially interiors.
8. This type of real estate photography assignment requires more planning than a quick MLS-type photo. It’s best to scout the development or model home prior to the shoot. It’s extremely important to know the direction the property faces, so you can pre-plan angles and views in relation to the sun. As with many of the best photos, and architectural images, the best times of day to shoot are dawn, dusk and twilight. These are the magic hours when the light is soft and subtle, which will help to make any property more attractive. A model home with all the interior lights illuminated often portrays the property better than full daylight on the exterior. If possible, wet the pavement of the street, driveway and sidewalks to add a slight reflective quality to your real estate images.
9. A similar market for real estate photography is apartment, or multi-family, properties. Management companies will regularly plan and execute a major refurbishing of the grounds, exteriors of buildings and interiors of units. They need new photos of the properties to market, or “re-position,” the revitalized community. One of the reasons the management companies refurbish their properties is to attract a resident base with more income, so they can afford higher rents. They must show current and new residents how the units have been upgraded and what onsite amenities have been added to justify those higher rents.
10.Other real estate companies will manage commercial properties for sale or rent. They also often need photos and video for marketing purposes.
11.Another real estate photography specialty is aerial photography of undeveloped land, so photos can be overlaid with streets and building site outlines. This requires some aerial photography experience and knowing how to find the right clients who understand the value of paying for a pilot’s time and aircraft.
Recommended Reading:
- Architectural Photography: Composition, Capture, and Digital Image Processing
- Photographing Architecture: Lighting, Composition, Postproduction and Marketing Techniques
- A Constructed View: The Architectural Photography of Julius Shulman
- How To Take Photos That Move Houses
- Architectural Photography: Composition, Capture, and Digital Image Processing
- Balthazar Korab: Architect of Photography
- Extraordinary Everyday Photography: Awaken Your Vision to Create Stunning Images Wherever You Are
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Photo by PhotographyTalk Member Maria Isabel