So, you’ve decided to hire a professional real estate photographer for your next luxury listing, but how do you choose the right photographer? There are hundreds of people out there claiming to be real estate photographers.However you don’t need just a real estate photographer, you need the right photographer that is going to make your luxury listing really shine.
The last thing you want to do is choose the wrong photographer and launch your listing with bad, poorly lit, poorly composed images or have to push your listing launch and spend hundreds hiring the photographer you should have hired in the first place.
Real estate photography is one of the most important aspects of a new listing, especially a luxury listing. High quality photos can sell your listing faster and for top dollar. We’ve put together the top five tips to help you find the perfect real estate photographer. Let’s dive in!
#1. Ask fellow agents for recommendations
Experience matters, especially in the luxury real estate market! When you ask your fellow real estate agents for recommendations, you can rest assured that the photographers you are interviewing have worked in real estate before. After all, positive peer reviews equal less risk!
Your luxury listing clients are high net-worth, high reputation people. You want to hire a real estate photography that is considered an industry leader, and who has the reputation and professionalism to match. Reviews are the best place to start in finding a real estate photographer for your luxury listing.
#2. Focus on quality as well as professionalism and reputation
Don’t waste your time or the photographer’s time by interviewing real estate photographers that aren’t able to produce the high quality images the clientele your listing is catered to are looking for. Further, you don’t want to hire a real estate photographer that lacks professionalism.
After all, this photographer will need access to the intimate and private areas of your client’s home, and working with a real estate photographer that has a high level of professionalism and well known reputation will go a long way in easing your high net worth client’s fears of a stranger in their home.
#3. Review the real estate photographer’s portfolio
Review your potential real estate photographer’s portfolio! You should always feel comfortable requesting a photographer’s portfolio or examples of their work before hiring them.
Other places you can look to review a photographer’s work is their social media page and website. You can also look for past listings they’ve shot on your local MLS.
When looking through a real estate photographer’s portfolio, consider the photographer’s shots and attention to detail. What you see in their portfolio is what you are likely to get if you hire them!
#4. Interview the photographer
Before you hire a real estate photographer, schedule some time to sit down and talk over video call, face to face, or on zoom. There are a few important questions we recommend asking any potential real estate photographer:
What type of professional equipment do you use?
Do you need extreme, wide-angle shots? Close-up shots? Indoor, outdoor shots? You’ll want to make sure your potential real estate photographer has the right equipment to get the job done!
What type of real estate photography do you specialize in?
You’ll want to know whether your real estate photographer only does real estate photography, or if they can do architectural photography, arial shots, and more. You want to choose a photographer that specializes in the type of shots you want to showcase your listing.
What is your turn around time?
Most importantly, you need to find out how quickly your potential real estate photographer can get photos back to you. You don’t want to be left waiting months for photos of a home you needed to get on the market a few weeks after the pictures were taken!
#5. Trust your gut
Finally, trust your gut! Choose a real estate photographer you get along with! Nothing is better than liking the person you work with! You and your real estate photographer are on the same team, and you shouldn’t hire someone you don’t work well with!
