What’s the first thing most people notice about a real estate listing? If you said pictures, you’d be right! High-quality real estate photography results in bigger turn-outs at open houses, more showings, and more buyer interest.
So what is real estate photography? It can mean many different things depending on your needs as an agent and how you’d like to show off your listing. We’ll explore the vast options that come with real estate photography and why having it done professionally may be the right route for you.
What is real estate photography?
Real estate photography is used for real estate listings, social media marketing, and other promotional purposes. The photos should give an accurate sense of the listing and what it offers. From homes to land lots, any property can benefit from having better photographs.
Prices for real estate photography will vary based on your needs and the photographer’s experience and certifications.
Why use real estate photography?
What’s the most eye-catching part of a listing? Sure, sometimes it’s the price (especially if it’s incredibly low or high). But the first thing most people notice are the pictures. You can tell a lot about the quality of a listing just by the photographs alone.
The best part about real estate photography is that any listing can benefit from great property photography. From small condos to luxury listings, you’ll see an increase in interested buyers and have marketing material to further your business.
Capture more attention
Real estate is a competitive industry. Apart from the fluctuating market and consistent turnover, there are about three million active agents in the U.S. If you aren’t standing out from the competition, you likely won’t be successful. That’s where photography can truly set you apart from other real estate agents.
The better the real estate property photography, the more buyer attention your listing will attract. In a competitive market, high-quality listing photography can raise the value of your listing, resulting in higher offers. You may also notice your listings will go under contract faster.
Marketing
Many agents use real estate photography as part of their marketing budget. This is a win-win because your clients get higher offers, and you can use the photographs as examples of what you can do for future clients’ listings.
Professional real estate photography will attract more attention to your listings, and using photos on your website or social media can help you generate more leads.
Where to hire a real estate photographer
In the market for better listing photos? You typically have two options to choose from, either a professional company or a freelance photographer. Depending on your choice, your photographer may offer special packages or services that enhance your photography or marketing tools to help your listings thrive.
Professional company
Real estate photography is important enough that entire companies are dedicated to giving you the best photographs possible for your listings. The benefits of using a professional real estate photography company often include ease of scheduling, a dedicated customer service team, certified real estate photographers, and a large area of coverage.
For example, some companies have entire teams of photographers available for dispatch to any of your properties, including multiple listings at once nationwide.
Contract photographer
Freelance or contract photographers often work by themselves, for themselves. To get a sense of what to expect, many of them have public, online portfolios you can view, like on a website or social media account. While it depends on the photographer, you’ll likely see a wide range of subjects in their portfolio versus only real estate photos.
If you don’t use the same freelance photographer for every listing, you may find differences in your listing photos, as every photographer has their own style. However, if you find a freelance photographer you like, it’s easy to build a partnership to help both businesses succeed.
Types of real estate property photography
Real estate professionals use several different types of real estate photography in their listings. Some of the most popular include:
Professional real estate photography with Virtuance
Virtuance knows the gold standards of real estate photography. Our photographers are certified and highly skilled to ensure your listings shine. Choose from our customizable packages featuring HDReal® Enhancements, shown to increase listing clicks 2x more than the average real estate photo. Even better, every order comes with access to our Marketing Suite and a single listing website.
FAQ
While most smartphones have impressive photo capabilities, an expert photographer knows what draws the attention of potential clients. It also saves you time in getting up your listing.
Want your listings to go under contract within days? Or looking to increase your commission with higher offers? You’ll need appealing photos to make it happen.
For property hunters and home buyers to understand what a listing looks like, there must be pictures. Photography for real estate highlights the best features of your listing.
