What is Real estate photography and do you need it?
In today’s real estate market throughout the world, good imagery plays a critical role toward first impressions.
Selling a house in the 21st century without stand out images for the property will most likely land you in the percentage that are experiencing a hard time attracting potential buyers.
In this case, you need to consider professional real estate photography.
With the increasing number of people using the internet, real estate photography has further shifted to online marketing via website and social media.
According to statistics, more than 80% of people use the internet reliable source of information and research.
What is real estate photography?
Real estate photography is a field that involves taking and making photos stand out images for property listings.
These photos are used by real estate agents and homeowners looking to sell their properties. With many people using the internet today, the demand for real estate photography is increasing at a higher rate.
These days, people are spending a lot of time buying and selling their houses. However, to succeed in the real estate photography industry, you must master some skills required when taking photos.
Some people still question if the real estate industry is profitable. The truth is that provided you lay down appropriate strategies, you’ll end up getting a lot of clients and business in general.
Just like the other photography types, there are key variables that determine the amount of money you can make. The key variables are the size and location of your house.
Who uses real estate photography?
House images captured by professionals will usually be more appealing to potential buyers. A seasoned photographer will know how to find the best angles of your property.
Real estate agents use professional images to post on their realty website for potential buyers to find.
Sellers looking for potential clients to purchase their houses can share their photos on sites such as Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook.
Real estate photography is largely used by homeowners and real estate agents involved in the selling of properties.
Home sellers
For homeowners to sell their houses faster, they need the services of expert real estate photographers. These experts know how to take pictures and edit them accordingly to attract clients.
Buyers will always view images and almost immediately decide if they consider a house or leave or not.
With a few good images a seller can present their house in a way that will gain interest among their audience. Homeowners can also set higher prices for their homes if they have visually stunning photographs.
Real estate agents
Real estate agents are in a higher need for real estate photography due to their nature of work that revolves around buying and selling of property.
To gain a good reputation in the industry, these agents have to ensure that they present houses in a good and stunning way to attract potential buyers.
They use real estate photography in impressing both their current and new clients, by coming up with exceptional presentations of properties.
This way, these agents get a lot of referrals and end up creating a wide client base due to their professionalism.
Benefits of real estate photography
To quickly sell your property, you must ensure professional real estate photography is in place.
The reason behind this is that most online shoppers tend to only go for properties with high-quality photos. Below are some top benefits of real estate photography:
1. Improves views
Statistics show that property listings with DSLR shots get more than 61% of views from various online clients as compared to normal and simple photos.
Again, a recent study found out that online shoppers take the first few minutes checking the exterior photos of properties. This clearly suggests that the first impression of your property has a much higher effect on getting potential clients.
Therefore, with professional real estate photography, you can easily get quality DSLR photos that increase online views, asking price, and conversions in general.
2. Increased home value
With professional real estate photography, you’ll present your house in such a way that its value can’t be underestimated. Generally, your command price will be higher.
This means that you’re likely to make a lot of money that exceeds your expectations right from the beginning. Incorporating drone photography in the process of selling your house is also beneficial.
First, your house will get highly listed due to its prestigious look. Secondly, it’s easy to show all the surrounding amenities and thus adding value to your house which has a greater impact on buying decisions from potential clients.
3. Saves time
If you decide to take photos of your property on yourself and crop, adjust light levels, edit and upload them, you’ll generally spend a lot of time.
Again, you’re likely to make mistakes in the process resulting in the poor presentation of your property and thus attracting very few customers.
To get everything done correctly, you should hire a professional real estate photographer who has the experience and skills in completing the process quickly and more accurately depending on your needs and budget.
Even if you have your own DSLR camera, you might not know how to properly use it to come up with great photos.
These professionals understand how to properly and effectively use the equipment to edit the photos to ensure they’re well listed.
4. Stand out from competitors
With the increasing number of people buying and selling homes, it’s not easy to stand out and be unique, especially, if you’re a beginner.
With professional real estate photography, you’ll be able to come up with clear and quality photos of your property on sale and thus getting a competitive advantage over your close competitors.
This further translates to more online views, and sales conversions that lead to high revenues.
5. Great first impression
The home selling process isn’t as easy as people think. With technological developments today, it has become a necessity for home sellers and real estate agents to utilize the internet to present their properties.
However, how these properties are presented determines if new and potential customers will get attracted or not. To create a great first impression, you must consider professional real estate photography.
This is because potential buyers will have to look at how your property appears online before they can plan a physical visit to see the property.
These are some benefits of professional real estate photography. Impressing your current clients can further result in more shares and referrals to you.
How to choose a real estate photographer
The process of choosing a professional real estate photographer can sometimes be difficult, especially, for beginners.
For home sellers, real estate agents, and brokers to quickly promote their properties, choosing the best real estate photographers is key. Below are some top tips on how to choose a professional real estate photographer:
Professionalism
The first thing to consider when choosing a photographer is to check their track records.
You should ask for samples of their previous work so that you can estimate if they’re worth working with or not. When checking their professionalism, it’s also essential to check their prices to see if they’re really worth their work.
License
When choosing a real estate photographer, it’s essential to ensure that they’re properly licensed and insured. This is to ensure that there’s coverage for any injury brought by equipment or damage to property.
If you want your real estate photography done using a drone, you must ensure that the drone pilot is licensed for a smooth photo shoot.
Price
If you’re looking for a professional real estate photographer, you need to check on the price.
However, it’s not advisable to always select a photographer who offers cheap packages. This is because real estate photographers offering very cheap photography services tend to provide low-quality services.
However, you should also pay attention to whether the provider has some additional charges since some won’t include printing fees, listing fees, and backup fees in their packages.
Experience
This is an essential aspect to consider when choosing a real estate photographer. Always hire a photographer who has been in the industry for quite some time.
The photographer should also be a specialist in real estate photography and not general photography. Sometimes, you might get a photography company saying they offer all kinds of photography services.
In this case, you shouldn’t rush to work with them. Choose appropriately a service provider who’s specialized in real estate photography alone since he’ll know how to best capture property photos that can catch the attention of potential buyers.
Duration of completion
Timing is an essential factor in the real estate industry. It’s, therefore, important to hire a professional real estate photographer who can quickly deliver quality work.
It’s recommended to work with a photographer who can take between 48 hours and a week depending on the difficulty of the photo shoot to give you quality photos and videos.
Conclusion
In conclusion, these are some of the top tips for choosing the best real estate photographer. Others include a good understanding of the industry, passion, and commitment.
It’s advisable to research intensively about a real estate photographer before you decide to work with him. DIY real estate photography is discouraged due to the professional aspect that’s required in shooting and editing the photos and videos to suit the market and the ever-changing trends in the industry.