Finnegan Photography

Things to know before hiring a Real-Estate Photographer

When my husband and I were looking for a house we would search the MLS for listings. The first thing we would do was to put in the search parameters/requirements, then we would scroll through the pictures of the homes we were thinking about looking at.

We really paid attention to see if the images were professionally presented and if so, we knew that the agent was detail oriented, really cared about the listing, and was someone we wanted to work with. 

Sometimes agents don’t really want to spend money hiring someone else to take images of they're listing when they own a perfectly good point and shoot or a digital SLR camera, “These are pretty good and they will look just fine”.  I have found by working with real-estate agents and house hunting myself that professional images really make a huge difference in the number of showings a house gets.  

There are many real estate photographers out there to choose from but, in order to choose the right one here are some things you might want to consider asking before you hire.  

How many different photographers does the company use?

Some companies have multiple photographers, some are freelance, some just starting out, and then you have seasoned photographers, in this case you never know who you are going to get unless you have someone that you have used before and can request them.  You may then come across the difficulty that that particular person may be unavailable when you need them, so it is always good to have a backup photographer.

If it rains on the day of the shoot, can I reschedule?

It sucks when you have to show up on a rainy day to meet your photographer because they can’t reschedule.  The exterior photos are dreary, and the sky is grey, and cloudy.  The first image you see when you go to check out a house online is the exterior of the front of the house, that is the money shot!  Make sure your photographer will work with you.

Does it matter what time of day you photograph the house?  

Please ask this question!  If your photographer says it doesn’t matter, well thats not a good sign.  If you'r listing faces south/east it is better to have your photographer to take pictures in the morning, and north/west evening shots are better, this way the sun is shining on the front of the house.

How many pictures will I get?

Sometimes you have to pick a package and you are not able to tweak it at all.  You are presented with a “This is what you get and this is what you pay” kind of deal.  It is nice to have a photographer that does not limit the number of photos you will receive.  Having a couple to few images with different angles of a sizable room is nice, so you can choose the image of that particular room you like best, or decide to put in more then one. 

What is the turn around time?

You want to ask this question before you hire!  I have heard of agents that did not ask this question before hand and didn’t get the pictures until 5 or 6 business days later, had to take some of their own pictures to upload onto the site and then go back and upload the other images that they payed for later on.  Don’t put yourself through the extra work, make sure the turn around time is going to work for you.

6) Does your company have marketing pieces I can purchase to put in my presentation?

This is just a nice thing to have to help you to stand out against the competition.  When home owners shop for an agent they want to know they are getting someone who is going work hard for that commission.  And when you make your presentation, letting them know you will use a professional photographer it will help your chances dramatically when they go to make a decision on who to hire.

Your job as a real estate agent is not an easy one, you have to try to sell the house for the best price possible and in the shortest amount of time possible in most cases.  You also have to sometimes deal with unrealistic expectations of others, and go above and beyond to please your clients.  Hiring a professional photographer to take care of making sure you're listing looks awesome online is an excellent investment, and will help give you piece of mind.