Table of Contents
- What Is a Real Estate Photographer?
- What Does a Real Estate Photographer Do?
- Top 10 Tips on How to Get Into Real Estate Photography
- How Much Does a Real Estate Photographer Make a Year?
- Where Can You Learn Real Estate Photography?
- Make PhotoUp Your Real Estate Photo Editing Partner!
Are you wondering how to get into real estate photography in 2024? It’s an exciting field that offers amazing opportunities to be creative, meet new people, and travel to different locations.
Whether you’re starting from scratch or taking your photography skills to the next level, there’s never been a better time to get into real estate photography.
In this post, we’ll be sharing some powerful tips and tricks to help you get into real estate photography in 2024 and beyond. We’ll also cover everything from what a real estate photographer does to what salary to expect.
Let’s get started!
What Is a Real Estate Photographer?
As a real estate photographer, you play a crucial role in capturing captivating and visually appealing photos of commercial and residential properties.
Your work supports Realtors and agents in effectively showcasing properties online and attracting potential buyers.
In addition to working with Realtors, you may collaborate with model home builders, designers, home decorators, and architects to capture stunning images that showcase their craftsmanship.
To ensure smooth operations and free up time to shoot more properties, some photographers work with virtual assistants who take care of post-processing, marketing, administrative tasks, and so on. They may also have assistants working with them on set with equipment setup.
Excitingly, as a real estate photographer, you have the opportunity to bring properties to life through the power of photography.
What Does a Real Estate Photographer Do?
A real estate photographer plays a crucial role in capturing captivating property images. Their job goes beyond simply taking photos; they handle both the pre-production and post-production processes.
From staging houses and planning shot lists to photographing interior and exterior spaces, they aim to produce flattering property photos.
They also build an impressive portfolio and engage in networking with Realtors and potential clients.
For instance, real estate photographers take care of important tasks such as:
- Planning a shot list
- Positioning lighting
- Maintaining camera and lighting equipment
- Staging properties before the actual shoot
- Editing photographs
- And more
For a detailed preparation checklist, check out our blog post on preparing for a real estate photo shoot.
In summary, real estate photographers are skilled professionals who combine their expertise in photography, interior design, and editing to create visually appealing images that showcase properties in the best possible light.
Top 10 Tips on How to Get Into Real Estate Photography
For you who are thinking about starting a career as a photographer or changing niche, here are 10 powerful tips on how to get into real estate photography.
1. Study Real Estate Photography
As a real estate photographer, your expertise lies in camera equipment knowledge, composition techniques, and lighting mastery.
These skills can be honed through various means such as attending college, university, or art school and pursuing a bachelor’s degree in fine arts with a specialization in photography.
Learning from seasoned professionals can provide valuable insights and guide you toward becoming an expert in the field.
While earning a degree can boost your chances of success and instill confidence in your abilities, it is important to note that a degree is not a prerequisite for real estate photography.
If you possess technical skills and natural talent, you can pursue this career path and enhance your skills through practice and self-learning.
2. Invest in the Right Equipment
To have a successful real estate photography career, you need large-scale equipment like a digital camera (DSLR or Mirrorless), tripod, flash equipment, and a wide-angle lens to efficiently capture different aspects of real estate properties.
However, as a beginner, you don’t need to invest much in expensive equipment. Start with a less expensive camera and upgrade over time as your budget expands.
Moreover, research the best equipment for real estate photography to ensure you are acquainted with all the different options and their functions. Or simply check out our recommendation for the top 12 cameras for real estate photography.
3. Build a Portfolio
As a beginner, you need to practice, practice, and practice some more!
Set up an online portfolio of your work and start building your reputation and gaining experience.
Reach out to local real estate agents and architects to offer your services and make sure to showcase the best images of your previous works.
When you deliver quality work and work with professionalism, you will leave them with a good impression and there’s a strong chance you’ll get tips, client recommendations, and referrals.
4. Develop Your Brand
To get into real estate photography successfully, you need to establish your brand.
Apart from a real estate photographer website, consider getting business cards, and make sure to keep your social profiles up-to-date.
Also, determine what kind of additional services you have to offer. For example, if you partner up with PhotoUp, you can offer additional product offerings such as:
- Virtual staging
- Virtual house tours
- Single property websites
- Custom websites
- Property flyers
- Custom house portraits
- Floor plans
- Video editing
- And more!
With PhotoUp, you can easily expand your product offerings and grow your photography business in no time. We offer a quick turnaround time of 24 to 48 hours for most of our services, so you can meet short client deadlines.
High-Quality & Consistent
Real Estate Photo Editing
Hire a dedicated editor with performance metrics from $7/hour.
5. Network With Other Industry Professionals
Networking is an essential part of getting into real estate photography. Although you may feel intimidated at first, attending events is an excellent way to meet industry professionals.
Join professional groups on Facebook and LinkedIn, attend photography conferences, and participate in workshops.
This way, you will get to experience and learn everything firsthand, from the professionals. You might meet potential clients, and they could also offer you some valuable advice.
6. Set Reasonable Rates and Focus on Quality
When starting out in the real estate photography business, it can be tempting to undercut other photographers’ prices to gain business.
However, this can quickly lead to burnout and a lower quality of work. Instead, focus on providing high-quality images that command a fair rate.
Be sure to factor in your time, equipment, and expenses when setting your rates. As your skills and reputation grow, so can your rates.
To get an idea of what rates to set for your business, you can check out our blog post on real estate photography pricing in 2024.
7. Stay Up-to-Date on Industry Trends
The real estate industry is constantly evolving, and so must your skills and approach.
Keep up to date on the latest photography trends and techniques by attending workshops, reading books, and following photography blogs and social media accounts.
Keeping your finger on the pulse of the industry and learning new skills will give you an edge over the competition.
8. Learn How to Edit Your Images
Lastly, it’s important to know how to make adjustments and enhancements to your photographs.
Editing software provides various tools such as cropping, adjusting light and exposure, and sharpening images. By mastering the art of photo editing, you can give your work a professional look, ultimately pleasing your clients.
Additionally, your editing proficiency will directly impact the time it takes for post-processing. In the realm of real estate photography, clients often have high expectations for a quick turnaround time, so honing your editing skills becomes even more crucial.
An even better option is to outsource your post-processing to a professional real estate photo editing service like PhotoUp. This will ensure top-notch images, and at the same time, it’ll help you save time and money.
9. Acquire New Clients
You can effectively start expanding your client base with a few simple strategies. Here are some tips to get started:
1. Marketing your portfolio: Reach out to companies that may require your services and showcase your work. Highlight your skills and experience to make a strong impression.
2. Client references: After completing a job, ask your client for a reference. This will provide a strong verification of your skills that you can include in your portfolio.
3. Offer a free or discounted initial service: To build trust with new clients, consider offering an initial photographing service for free or at a discounted rate. This not only helps you gain experience but also adds professional work to your portfolio.
4. Pricing considerations: When determining your pricing, take into account the value of the property being photographed and your level of experience. Adjust your rates accordingly to ensure fairness and profitability.
By following these strategies, you can start building your client base and establish yourself as a reputable real estate photographer.
Now that you know how to get clients, let’s move on to how to capture the scene.
10. Capturing the Scene
To start your photoshoot, survey the interior and identify the rooms that need to be photographed. Once you have a clear idea, set up your tripod and carefully compose each scene to showcase the beauty of the home.
When composing the scene, pay attention to the architectural features and design elements that make the space unique. Include prominent elements such as fireplaces, windows, ceiling fans, and televisions, to give viewers a comprehensive view of the room.
To ensure optimal results, consider shooting a series of bracketed images. Bracketing involves taking multiple shots of the same scene at different exposures, which allows for merging them later.
This technique expands the dynamic range captured in the photos, resulting in a more balanced exposure. Popular software like Photoshop can seamlessly merge these images, combining highlights and shadows for a visually stunning result.
After capturing the bracketed images, post-processing software like Lightroom can come in handy. These tools offer extensive editing capabilities such as adjusting contrast, brightness, sharpness, and colors.
Additionally, they provide options for replacing dull skies, adding fire to fireplaces, and even removing unwanted objects from photos.
With these tips out of the way, let’s take a look at the juiciest part – how much you can expect to make as a real estate photographer.
How Much Does a Real Estate Photographer Make a Year?
As a full-time real estate photographer, you have the potential to earn an annual income ranging from $50,000 to $150,000 as an individual photographer.
However, if you gradually build a team over time, your earnings could significantly increase. This profession offers a rewarding opportunity to capture stunning images and generate substantial income.
For those who commit to sales and marketing and commit to their business full-time, the average real estate photographer can reasonably expect to earn the following:
| Year 1 | $60,000 |
| Year 2 | $90,000 |
| Year 3 | $120,000 |
While there are many more factors to consider, such as the amount of investment required for gear and marketing, being a real estate photographer can be a very profitable business.
If you feel you want to polish up your skills a bit more before taking the plunge, let’s look at where you can learn real estate photography.
Where Can You Learn Real Estate Photography?
Being a real estate photographer is a skill that takes time to master. It combines artistic talent with technical expertise, requiring dedicated learning, practice, and patience.
However, with the proper guidance and training, you can accelerate your learning journey and begin capturing breathtaking real estate photos in a flash.
There are many great online real estate photography courses you can take from the comfort of your home to perfect and develop your skills. For some good suggestions, visit our blog post on the best & most valuable real estate photography courses in 2024.
As we’ve mentioned earlier, it’s crucial to edit your real estate photography to deliver high-quality images to your clients, so let’s take a look at a quick and affordable solution for that next.
Have You Ever Thought To
Outsource Photo Editing?
Try it today with 10 free edits from three professional photo editors.
Make PhotoUp Your Real Estate Photo Editing Partner!
As you can see, there’s a lot more to being a real estate photographer in 2024 than simply photographing properties. You need to ensure your images capture the attention of potential buyers.
That’s where PhotoUp comes to the rescue!
With over a decade in the business and several hundred skilled real estate photo editors around the world, it’s hard to beat PhotoUp’s quality, service, and pricing.
Starting at the low cost of $1.10 per image (depending on your subscription), we can help with the following issues:
- Improper exposure levels
- Harsh shadows, lack of light, etc.
- Blurred images that were taken without a tripod
- Images that need cropping or other effects
- Image correction and enhancement
- Color and tone adjustments
- Lawn greening and sky replacements
- Clutter and object removal
- Line and angle corrections
When you work with PhotoUp, our team will provide you with a user-friendly system for sharing your photos and editing instructions.
This streamlined approach means that the outsourcing process is fast, efficient, and hassle-free.
Plus, you have the option of working with a dedicated editor or team of editors, ensuring that they understand your unique style and preferences.
With PhotoUp, you can trust that your real estate photos will stand out for all the right reasons, giving you a competitive edge in the industry.
How to Get Started
Getting started with PhotoUp is easy breezy!
All you need to do is sign up for a free PhotoUp account, upload your photos, provide instructions, choose export settings, and download your beautifully edited images.
PhotoUp Real Estate Photo Editing Uploader Demo
To see how easy it is to get started with PhotoUp, have a look at our real estate photo editing uploader demo:
As simple as that!
So, what are you waiting for?
Sign up for a free PhotoUp account today and see the difference professional editing can make for your photography business. For a limited time, we even offer you 10 free edits when you sign up for an account!
We hope this blog post gave you some powerful tips on how to get into real estate photography in 2024. If you enjoyed this post, you may also want to check out the following resources:
