Ethical Photography - "Pro" vs "Amateur" agent who has a Camera

Professional Photography has now become a part of many real estate agents marketing arsenal when listing a property for sale. For many agents however, professional photography is simply a "TERM" that they use to describe amateur images taken from a high dollar camera that they purchased to hopefully save them money on advertising their listings. As a professional photographer, I can certainly understand that the bottom line is important however many who claim to use professional photography and do it themselves are, in my opinion, unethical. And... are doing a huge disservice to those who do utilize professional photography services or actually are a photographer "By Trade".

Of course professional photography does involve a decent camera and equipment to make the photographers job a bit easier, but the real advantage that the "PRO" photographer has is the vast amount of experience in shooting, composing, and editing that make them a valuable asset to real estate marketing. 

Below are a couple of examples that I've put together that show what the camera does by itself, and what the Professional photographer does with the camera. Although this does not accurately represent the angles that an amateur would typically use, I hope that you can see the difference. All of the following images were taken with the exact same camera...

Professional photographers have honed their skills in not only taking a snapshot, but also in the art of editing. A professional will create imaging that is magazine worthy and creates emotion. The professional will always ask themself... "Does this photo portray an emotion, a feeling, does it make a statement, and even more important... will it make them stop and look?"

I hope that this post helps at least one person to understand the difference that can be made by using a professional photographer.