Real Estate Photography (agents, Realtors, foreclosures, closing)

[danameless]

Hello All...

I have a question for the real estate agents out there.

I am a experienced photographer and thought about starting a side bsuiness as a real estate photographer. Essentially, what I would do is go to your properties, take about 15-20 photos of the property (based on the shots you would like or I can decide myself), touch them up a little for color and clarity, and provide you with a copy of all on a CD. This would eliminate the time and effort for you to take the pics and also provides you will beautiful pictures of the home to market it.

My question to you is - is this a service you would considering paying for? My thought would be to charge around $40 per property, since it would take about an hour for the shoot and another hour of work for touchup. Would this be a fair price for you to have nice pictures and not deal with the hassle of it?

I'm just curious on a real estate agent's thinking before I decide if this is something to pursue?

Thanks--

[MikeJaquish]

Originally Posted by danameless

Hello All...

I have a question for the real estate agents out there.

I am a experienced photographer and thought about starting a side bsuiness as a real estate photographer. Essentially, what I would do is go to your properties, take about 15-20 photos of the property (based on the shots you would like or I can decide myself), touch them up a little for color and clarity, and provide you with a copy of all on a CD. This would eliminate the time and effort for you to take the pics and also provides you will beautiful pictures of the home to market it.

My question to you is - is this a service you would considering paying for? My thought would be to charge around $40 per property, since it would take about an hour for the shoot and another hour of work for touchup. Would this be a fair price for you to have nice pictures and not deal with the hassle of it?

I'm just curious on a real estate agent's thinking before I decide if this is something to pursue?

Thanks--

It is too good a price.
I would expect to lose you as a vendor when you discovered that it just wasn't worth it.
You would go nuts with a lot of homeowners, with opening and closing blinds, clearing stuff out of the shot, etc.

I would expect to pay about $80 minimum, and to accompany you on the shoot, unless it was a vacant home. I would expect to pay more for a challenging job, or an estate home.
I do not know how you can turn the key in the car and get your gear out for a penny less.

You might offer to FSBO's to work for cheap to build a portfolio of homes on the market you have shot, to propose services to agents.

[Silverfall]

I agree with Mike. Out here the real estate photographers charge $75 for 9-10 shots. Unlimited is $250. That's for a basic, fairly ready to go house.

Please understand you will be spending time moving many items out of the shots. I take my own photos because I am a photo geek and I spend about 1.5 hours shooting a house. I have to move many things around to get the shot I want.

There is no way you can survive as a business charging that little.

[TampaKaren]

You didn't say where you live, but this is very competitive in my area. I'm sad to tell you a friend of the family is taking exterior (only) photos of pre-foreclosures and short sales for $10 per house. Ouch!

And like Silverfall, I, too, take my own shots. Equipment and editing software is just too easy and affordable, plus I can control re-takes and there's no hassle about copyrights.

I would suggest you also consider partnering with a virtual tour company.

[danameless]

Originally Posted by MikeJaquish

It is too good a price.
I would expect to lose you as a vendor when you discovered that it just wasn't worth it.
You would go nuts with a lot of homeowners, with opening and closing blinds, clearing stuff out of the shot, etc.

I would expect to pay about $80 minimum, and to accompany you on the shoot, unless it was a vacant home. I would expect to pay more for a challenging job, or an estate home.
I do not know how you can turn the key in the car and get your gear out for a penny less.

You might offer to FSBO's to work for cheap to build a portfolio of homes on the market you have shot, to propose services to agents.

Mike,

I agree with you completely. However, from what I've realized is that most realtors are not willing to pay for this type of service. They are more than happy to drive by with their P&S, take a couple of quick snaps and call it a day. No offense (I used to be a realtor as well), but 90% of pictures on the MLS and advertised listings are horrible, and people fail to realize the power of a nice picture in their marketing.

For the price I am suggesting, it would be a simple service - going to the property with my DSLR and wide-angle lens, flash, and take the shots needed and then touch them up. Obviously, I would make sure the shots are clean and would need the owners to do that, and touch up with be simple - but I would not set up lighting lamps and flashes for this service.

So I guess from what your saying, you would pay $40-$50 for this service?

[danameless]

Originally Posted by TampaKaren

You didn't say where you live, but this is very competitive in my area. I'm sad to tell you a friend of the family is taking exterior (only) photos of pre-foreclosures and short sales for $10 per house. Ouch!

I would suggest you also consider partnering with a virtual tour company.

I am in NYC

[danameless]

Originally Posted by Silverfall

I agree with Mike. Out here the real estate photographers charge $75 for 9-10 shots. Unlimited is $250. That's for a basic, fairly ready to go house.

Please understand you will be spending time moving many items out of the shots. I take my own photos because I am a photo geek and I spend about 1.5 hours shooting a house. I have to move many things around to get the shot I want.

There is no way you can survive as a business charging that little.

I already have a full-time job, so this would just be a side thing. I am more of a hobbyist than a pro, but really enjoy photography so thought it would nice to do something to support this hobby.

Even though I am in a big city with expensive real estate, I seriously doubt an agent would pay $250 for a simple 4-bedroom house. That might work for a multi-million down home, but not a run of the mill house, unfortunately.

[snoopy2009]

For a great collection of horrible real estate photos (snarky commentary included), I love this blog: www.lovelylisting.com.

[MikeJaquish]

Originally Posted by danameless

Mike,

I agree with you completely. However, from what I've realized is that most realtors are not willing to pay for this type of service. They are more than happy to drive by with their P&S, take a couple of quick snaps and call it a day. No offense (I used to be a realtor as well), but 90% of pictures on the MLS and advertised listings are horrible, and people fail to realize the power of a nice picture in their marketing.

For the price I am suggesting, it would be a simple service - going to the property with my DSLR and wide-angle lens, flash, and take the shots needed and then touch them up. Obviously, I would make sure the shots are clean and would need the owners to do that, and touch up with be simple - but I would not set up lighting lamps and flashes for this service.

So I guess from what your saying, you would pay $40-$50 for this service?

Maybe I would try it. I might like to upgrade my photos, and would take a look.
I would need 12 for MLS and 25 for Realtor.com.

But, I shoot average anywhere from 125-200 shots in a home, have a 24mm wide angle lense, and meet the needs of the MLS and 25 to Realtor.com with that.
And I shoot the neighborhood and amenities for further promotion.

[danameless]

Originally Posted by MikeJaquish

Maybe I would try it. I might like to upgrade my photos, and would take a look.
I would need 12 for MLS and 25 for Realtor.com.

But, I shoot average anywhere from 125-200 shots in a home, have a 24mm wide angle lense, and meet the needs of the MLS and 25 to Realtor.com with that.
And I shoot the neighborhood and amenities for further promotion.

Is the 24mm wide enough for interior shots? I generally use a 17-55mm to make the rooms look larger. I've also used a 10-20mm, but at 10mm, the rooms tend to get a little distorted.