Real Estate Photography

Sojourner60 · Jan 26, 2018

AerialZ said:
This industry is tough to get into. Master your skills as best as possible then build your portfolio. Your eventual 'golden ticket' will be referrals amongst RE professionals throughout your area. If you think for one minute that they do not network or communicate with one-another for information because they're in competition, you're sadly mistaken. The ironic thing is i just returned from a 3 day Real Estate conference this afternoon where I've collected 16 very hot new Broker/Agent leads, all packed with listings. That's one heck of a return on my time and money invested. I've already done an informational presentation for this organization (not a sales pitch) in the past year. Do your homework. Locate your regional or statewide realtors association and become a vendor for their conventions. Provide them support information on this industry. Become their 'expert.' Create a beautiful display showcasing your imagery on prints or better-yet, bring a TV or large monitor and have your imagery dazzling your potential clients. Offer a tiered pricing structure that generates volume - i.e. discounts for 3 or more properties scheduled together (photo or video.) VOLUME is what is going to make this industry viable for you, not high prices per job. RE clients do not mind investing money in services that are proven with experienced contractors as long as they're properly being taken care of.

Here's my personal advice from my experiences...

Be ready to provide the best quality deliverable(s) you can. Don't cut corners. You have one chance when you're with a new client to impress them. If you do, you very well may have a referral source that no amount of marketing money can buy.

Excel at customer service! Treat your clients like VIP's. Get the job done when you say you're going to. I've knocked my competition out of the area on this fact alone. How do I know that? My Brokers and Agents have all told me. I just listened to more complaints after complaints over three days.

Use something like Dronebase (or whatever similar service type) to get yourself experience on the sticks. Have I ever used Dronebase-like services? No, but new operators need to focus on this before they focus on trying to run a photography/video business, especially if they have no background. Once you are producing professional quality deliverables, ditch those companies and go direct to brokers and agents. Services like Dronebase have their place and there is money to be made, but not in RE jobs (think insurance jobs after storms, etc.) And the bigger aspect is that your work has no exposure to the local Brokers and Agents who you want more than anything to lock-up! If you never reach the point of getting referrals in the RE industry, the industry will be dead to you.

Thanks Aerial Z that's a lot if great information. I'll have to print that out and add to my business plan.

AerialZ · Jan 26, 2018

Meta4 said:
The biggest problem in RE is that every man and his dog has a drone now with more drones being sold each year .
With drone saturation, potential customers have no shortage of possible providers if they don't try the do-it-yourself solution.
With that many offering drone services, prices are only going to get lower.
Unless you can develop a very strong relationship with clients, it's not a great business for ongoing profit.
It's difficult but much better to find a specialised niche that you can service without the competition racing you to the bottom.

There is real truth to this, especially in overly saturated markets. But I promise you that the RE industry is catching-on to what true quality is and how they must start using experienced, 107 operators in this work. I've witnessed a turn-around in my market through opportunities of spreading factual information. Don't jam the information down their throats, but professionally remind them of the threat of an $11,000 fine per instance on their end should something go wrong with their 'nephew or guy with a drone.' It just isn't worth it anymore. The keynote speaker at the RE convention I just attended said straight-out to the audience, "hire professionals to do this work. You don't have the time or experience to be doing it yourself." I believe he is from Texas.

Meta4 · Jan 30, 2018

AerialZ said:
professionally remind them of the threat of an $11,000 fine per instance on their end should something go wrong with their 'nephew or guy with a drone.'

Can you give a little more detail on this?
I've seen a few mentions on forums but nothing official to confirm it's true.

AerialZ · Jan 30, 2018

Sure can. I've attached a copy of a known email string of communication with the FAA. This is a poor quality jpeg but it is the same copy I have. This was just already out on the interwebs making linking easier -

ArrUnTuS · Jan 30, 2018

In the USA you are exaggerated for these things (I say it with affection) but in the drone regulations, in terms of fines, this thing is very weak.

I have been talking a lot lately about the rules imposed on us by AESA, but this issue needs to be spoken. A person who flies for hobby, an amateur, if he fails to comply with the regulations can be fined a maximum of 225,000 €. A professional, an operator or pilot can be fined with a maximum of 4,500,000 € (yes, you have read it well).

The latest news was that in the 3 years it has been running, have opened over 120 files with a total fine of more than 500,000 €. It may not seem like much, but if you get a fine of between 15 and 20,000 €, you laugh for a long time. You've made the year

Thinking about the fines that can be imposed on you, you quickly lose the desire to break any rules

AH-1G · Jan 31, 2018

AerialZ said:
Sure can. I've attached a copy of a known email string of communication with the FAA. This is a poor quality jpeg but it is the same copy I have. This was just already out on the interwebs making linking easier -

Can you send me this copy? click on my profile go to my website, email address there

ArrUnTuS · Feb 2, 2018

It is wise to rectify, and I will do so. When I wrote this post I did it with the information you had shared.

ArrUnTuS said:
In the USA you are exaggerated for these things (I say it with affection) but in the drone regulations, in terms of fines, this thing is very weak.

I have been talking a lot lately about the rules imposed on us by AESA, but this issue needs to be spoken. A person who flies for hobby, an amateur, if he fails to comply with the regulations can be fined a maximum of 225,000 €. A professional, an operator or pilot can be fined with a maximum of 4,500,000 € (yes, you have read it well).

The latest news was that in the 3 years it has been running, have opened over 120 files with a total fine of more than 500,000 €. It may not seem like much, but if you get a fine of between 15 and 20,000 €, you laugh for a long time. You've made the year

Thinking about the fines that can be imposed on you, you quickly lose the desire to break any rules

Now when I have seen the following video, which despite being old and talking about a specific case, is very clarifying. Now things fit me more. It's interesting to see and it puts us all feet on the ground.

We have to be aware of what we do, it is not a game and we can put the lives of others at risk. I have searched for information due to video that I have posted in the news section.

For filming a video, endanger the lives of others?

Chiapa33 · Mar 3, 2018

Hi guys! I am new on this forum. Me and two of my college friends decided to buy one drone a do real estate business. We are from Croatia and many people rent their homes during summer months to tourist for big money. Especially in last years, pool houses and elite apartments are in, so we think we could find our place in producing films in marketing purposes for their owners.

We are experienced drone pilots. I own Mavic, my friends Kimon Quadcopter and Walkera Runner.

Which drone do you reccomend for us? Budget is $3000 dollars and I read some articles on the web like these:
www.uavcoach.com/drone-with-camera/
www.fitdrones.com/drones-longest-flight-time/

Thank you for help!!

Meta4 · Mar 4, 2018

Chiapa33 said:
Which drone do you recommend for us? Budget is $3000 dollars

There's no question, the best all-round drone for this and many other uses is the Phantom 4 pro.
It gives to the combination of a great camera so your photography can give good results, a well tested and versatile drone that can do almost anything you might want and it's an affordable and easily portable unit.
You won't find anything else out there with the same capabilities for the price.

PatM · Mar 4, 2018

Well he did mention "producing films" so when you say - no question, there might actually be one or two. I have a Phantom and the one issue a film maker could easily have is seeing the props under some conditions and of course; you are locked onto a single direction of camera pan. More complex shots using 360 degree camera pans are not possible with any Phantoms currently. I think the P4P's strong suit IS the camera - no doubt there for sure. But in the price range mentioned, there are alternatives, and while none currently sport a 20 MP 1 inch sensor, that is going to change later this year.

FWIW, Yuneec is adopting their 20MP, one inch sensor camera from their Commercial 520 to the Typhoon H 480 as the Typhoon H Plus. This will be in the same price range as the P4P but; it will also deliver a retractable landing gear, 360 degree pan camera platform to the mix. As a videography tool, this new platform may well fit many operators better.

tabir · Jul 17, 2023

PatM said:
So I thought I would make a post here since this is where much of my aerial work thus far is coming from. While I have been into videography and photography for over 20 years or so, my main drive is the video side. My wife is a professional photographer and does mostly events, portraits and; starting a few years ago - real estate. I was already flying multi rotors and taking photos and video as a hobby but when see got asked for aerial work I started to study to get certified as a 107 operator to supplement her business.

So now we have this ability and we are getting work but; here in Florida, the housing market is on fire and for the most part, realtors could show a child's crayon impression of a house and it will sell - thus the sellers are electing to not to pay the extra for the aerial.

I'm looking at putting together a video package for real estate and Property Valuations that is more comprehensive than simple photos and just wondered what others out there are doing or where you think this market is going.

Tell me what gear you have, what you use most, what you thought you would need but don't, what you would like but don't have, primes vs zooms, aperture requirements, lighting, etc. Also, how did you get into this realm (i.e. get your foot in the door), what general advice do you have, what to avoid, etc.? Any and all info is appreciated if you don't mind sharing some trade secrets. If you'd rather not, I understand!

GadgetGuy · Jul 17, 2023

tabir said:
Tell me what gear you have, what you use most, what you thought you would need but don't, what you would like but don't have, primes vs zooms, aperture requirements, lighting, etc. Also, how did you get into this realm (i.e. get your foot in the door), what general advice do you have, what to avoid, etc.? Any and all info is appreciated if you don't mind sharing some trade secrets. If you'd rather not, I understand!

There's a reason this thread died over 5 years ago…
See post #79 above. It's only gotten worse over the last 5 years!