Real Estate Photography Services: 4 Questions to Ask Before Choosing
You have a listing you want to show off with professional photography services but you’re unsure where to start.
When it comes to choosing a real estate photographer, there are a lot of factors to consider in order to find one that fits your needs. Each agent has their own budget, schedule, and preferences, so you’ll want to be thorough in your search for a photographer.
Before booking, there’s some information you’ll want to get from the real estate photographers in question. To get you started, here are 4 questions to ask a potential photographer…
1. What Are Your Rates?
Just like any other service, rates will vary with each real estate photographer.
Before you settle on a real estate photography service, do some research and compare prices in your area. Two providers may offer similar quality while one charges drastically more. One company may justify higher prices because they have more clients and they’ve been in business longer.
To narrow down your choices, call all of your local real estate photography companies and get a free quote. Once you’ve gathered free quotes from all of your options, take a look at your budget and choose the best combination of value and quality!
2. What is Included in the Service?
If you haven’t used photography services in real estate, you may not know what to expect in your service.
Since there are a lot of moving parts that go into real estate photography, you’ll want to figure out what each photographer includes in their packages. For example, WindowStill provides free photo editing, a sunset photo, dozens of images, and a marketing kit with each basic photo package. Standalone services include…
- Property descriptions
- Aerial photos
- 3D tours
- Virtual staging
- Floor plans
- Branded videos
Some photographers will expect you to pay an additional fee for services that another photographer offers complementary. So, before choosing a photographer, figure out what you’d like from your photos and shop around.
3. What is Your Turn-Around Time?
Some photographers offer 24 hours while others have a turn-around time of a week.
Each photographer has a turn-around time that’s dependent on their client volume and team size. If you are okay with waiting a week, you may be able to find cheaper rates with an independent photographer. However, if you need to get your property listed ASAP, you may want to spend a little more money for a quicker turn-around time.
You’ll want to learn a photographer’s turn-around time before investing in the service. Nothing’s worse than paying for a service, only to find that it won’t be completed until after your deadline!
4. What Certifications Do You Possess?
This is an important question, especially if you plan on investing in drone photography.
One certification you’ll want to make sure your photographer has is FAA certification. This ensures that your photographer is legally able to offer commercial drone services and that they understand how to safely fly their drone.
Once you’ve learned about a photographer’s certification, you may want to ask about the equipment that they use. You’ll want to make sure a photographer has high-quality equipment before investing in their services. If they’re using the cheapest equipment on the market and their equipment has negative reviews, run for the hills!
Are You Ready to Invest in Real Estate Photography Services?
If you’re ready to start searching for real estate photography services, you’ve made a great choice!
Professional real estate photography is going to boost your listing while offering a higher return. To learn more about our photography services, reach out to us today!