Real estate photography: has anyone done it? Any tips?

ChuckWC

I've heard that one way to earn some extra cash if you have some free time is to do real estate photography. I had no idea what was involved so I did a Google search and found this very helpful page:

http://larrylohrman.wordpress.com/

I especially liked the article titled "Promoting Yourself as a Photographer" in the "Marketing Yourself" section:

http://larrylohrman.wordpress.com/tag/marketing-yourself/

So, I was wondering: has anyone here done this sort of thing? Any tips on how to get started? What sort of prices/services do you offer?

Any info you care to share would be appreciated! :thumb

ChuckWC

No one?

Bueller????

mmroden

maybe this is why it's such an easy way to get extra cash-- no one else is doing it

I would guess, but I have no idea since I haven't done it myself, that you'd need a lens that is both wide enough to hold all of the relevant architectural information (ie, the bookshelf, walls, fountain, etc) while still being completely rectilinear, with no distortion.

I only know this from conversing with another photog who's done this before, so this is based on memory. He said that the last thing you want to do is get creative; ie, if the customer wants something, you give them that and only that. He might have been refering to architecture shots only, and not real estate per se.

sirsloop

tilt shift lens, and a nice tripod, and flash setup are required im guessing... never done it

JimM

It seems to me most agents think they have a digital camera and are photographers. With so many houses for sale nationwide and the market being very soft, agents are probably reluctant to spend extra $$$ on a photographer. Though a really good argument to make is with all of the housing competition, professional shots of the house will make it stand out from the crowd and help it sell faster.

Let us know how it works for you.

dragon300zx

JimM wrote:

It seems to me most agents think they have a digital camera and are photographers.

This is in fact the case most times. I was doing websites for a few realestate agents and spoke to them about this and doing shots for them. There exact response was

"Well we already have digital camera's."

Unless you know really high end agents who only deal in really high end houses it's not gonna happen. And even then it's gonna be hard. The only chance at making money at this is if you have the setup for doing virtual tours but the requirements for that is kinda nuts (or it was when I looked at it). It wasn't worth it for me to look into it any further.

StevenV

I've got a friend who's a real estate agent, and she wanted me to do work for her. She checked into it a bit and found that "the listing people" have contracts with photography agencies already and they've got it locked up tight in the Atlanta area anyway. So here, at least with the agencies she works with, it's not the RE Agents with cameras.

wmas1960

I have thought a few times about this. Every time I have looked it up though I have encountered info that would indicate that there wasn't much in it. I guess it would depend on what you are talking of though. Are you talking about taking pictures like those in the Real Estate Ads? I had visions of getting lists of addresses from local realtors and going out and shooting a half a dozen houses in an afternoon or something but found that, it seems, most of that is done by the agents or other staffers in the agency. Looking at the ones I see in my local paper they seem like they are just popped off with a point and shoot and aren't anything special. Like was mentioned, there are so many houses, in my area anyway, that are on the market at any given time that to have professional photos of all of them would be way too costly. Thus why they would just shoot off a few digitals with a PS camera.

There may be something in some of the more upscale properties though where the price of the house warrants something special and can support such costs to have a set of photos done. Here, there are often houses that go for upward of $3,000,000 or even more that will have elaborate interior pictures and garden pictures in a half page ad just dedicated to one property. For those houses, rather than a simple info sheet printed off of the office printers and photocopied, they often put together elaborate brocures. The photos often look similar to those in Architectural Digest or other design mags. For some of that you would probably need some special equipment perhaps. Wide angle lenses and lighting equipment etc. and might very well, as was suggested, go out to established studios in the area and could be "Locked Up". But, if you know someone and have the setup and skill, nothing says you can't try to pick that lock and get your foot in the door. Make sure you have plenty of insurance in case you damage or break something. However, again, for your talking of the run of the mill photos, they would, I think, be real simple and not much in it for a photographer.

There is also the thought of taking pictures for the home owner themselves. Perhaps for insurance reasons. I just spoke to my insurance agent about Renters insurance and asked about need for such photos or videos. He said they weren't necessary but can be helpful. However, again, they don't seem to require as much as one might think. He suggested to stand in the middle of the room and just pan around with a video camera. This is helpful in valuation as they, as he said, can get a idea or feel of the quality of living. If you have a lot of nice furnishings and it is set up nicely, they can expect to cover, Up to your limit, of course, expensive items. Especially after a fire or something where it might not be easy to essess the overall quality, after the fact. However, if things are kind of shabby and such and you claim something that seems unusually valuable, they will be able to spot something fishy.

Then, he said to photograph, or video close up, certain things but you don't need everything. Valuable Art or collectables, I would assume, include signatures of the artist or hallmarks on the bottoms of ceramics etc. would be good to include. Also, labels that might be on the back or inside. Collections, especially of unusual items that might be hard for them to value. I collect Casino Chips and Memorabilia. Not a huge topic of collectables so having a photograph and inventory of items would be helpful to get a value. Also, expensive or special jewelry. He said there, that it only needs to be a photo of the item being worn by someone. Like a portrait where a gold and diamond necklace or other jewelry is being worn. I guess, laying out all the jewelry and just scanning over it would be sufficient.

Again, I think I read before that to do such work, it would be advisable to be Bonded and Insured. Not that you couldn't do some small stuff on the side and be safe without it, but if you get into situations with really expensive houses or property, you would, I think, want to be protected if something gets damaged or turns up missing.

LarryLohrman

ChuckWC wrote:

I've heard that one way to earn some extra cash if you have some free time is to do real estate photography. I had no idea what was involved so I did a Google search and found this very helpful page:

http://larrylohrman.wordpress.com/

...

I noticed that you all were reading my blog and talking about real estate photography and thought I put in my 2 cents. Real estate photographers in the Seattle area charge between $145 and $200 to shoot 15 photos for a realtor listing. To shoot a listing it typically takes 1 to 2 hours excluding travel time. One RE photographer I know of charges $200 and includes a flyer design. Another charges $145 and includes a buildatour.com flash virtual tour in addition to the 15 JPEGs.

You are right most realtors think they can photograph a home but do a terrible job yet good photography can make a huge difference in how long a listing takes to sell.

Real estate photography is not particularly technically challenging for experienced photographers like yourselves. You do need a wide angle lens (at least 24mm - tilt & shift is nice but not essential you can so almost as well with photoshop) and an external flash can save a bunch of photoshop time. Extensive lighting equipment is not essential. As several have mentioned it's more a marketing challenge to sell your services to the realtors that specialize in listing homes. Realtors tend to refer among them selves. That is, do a good job for one and they'll tell their friends. Also as you mentioned the upper end listing agents are more likely to spend money on good photography than the inexpensive homes.

Hope this helps.

ChuckWC

Thanks for your comments, everyone! They've been most helpful. Don't know if I'll persue this, but as they say, knowledge is power.

And thanks for the additional tips, Larry! Much appreciated.