Professional Grade Camera or Professional Photographer

By
Real Estate Agent with Long and Foster Real Estate VA License # 0225089470

Professional Grade Camera or Professional Photographer

In my local market of Bristow/Gainesville, Viriginia, I see more and more agents taking pride in their listings and hiring professional photographers.  I held out until 2017 to go with a pro, but once I did, I never looked back.  Truth is, I am best at marketing homes and networking with agents.  While I love to play around with photography and have some really good equipment, I never get the results the professionals do.  For that reason, I will never attempt to photograph my own listings again.

I still make sure my listings are "saying cheese" when the photographer arrives though.  Again, having eye for details is where I shine and therefore, help my sellers shine.  I'll leave the photography, though, to the pros.  I may the equipment to do it myself, but it's foolish to think I'm anywhere near as good as someone who does this for a living.  Let's face it, you wouldn't hand me a scalpel and suddenly allow me to do surgery on you, right?  There's a lot more to it than just having the equipment.

Comments (6)

Ron and Alexandra Seigel
Napa Consultants - Carpinteria, CA
Luxury Real Estate Branding, Marketing & Strategy

Chris,

The professional photographer is important in marketing.  We worked with a brokerage in Florida that was willing to pay for professional photo for their agents.  And they doubled in size!  A

Nov 17, 2020 11:00 AM
Chris Ann Cleland

I can imagine why.  

Nov 17, 2020 11:09 AM
Peter den Boer
Atlanta Communities - Woodstock, GA
MBA,GRI, Associate Broker, Realtor

Amen, sister! I agree with you 1000% on this. Excellent post.

Nov 17, 2020 11:00 AM
Chris Ann Cleland

I will never understand how agents justify NOT getting a professional photographer.

Nov 17, 2020 12:51 PM
marti garaughty
garaughty.com - Montreal, QC
a highly caffeinated creative type...

 

 

Nov 17, 2020 11:55 AM
Michael Jacobs
Pasadena, CA
Los Angeles Pasadena 818.516.4393

Hello Chris Ann - I like how you to still prompt your listings to "say cheese" for the photographer.   This ain't a dress rehearsal after all, it's show time.  

Nov 17, 2020 01:14 PM
Chris Ann Cleland

That's right.  Time to lick that hair sticking out of place and get the schmutz off the face.

Nov 17, 2020 01:55 PM
Kathy Streib
Cypress, TX
Home Stager/Redesign

I agree Chris Ann. Unless you have Sheri Sperry - MCNE® 's husband Rick, then you need to hire a professional photographer!!!  And at this point, Rick really is a professional photographer. 

Nov 17, 2020 06:21 PM
Chris Ann Cleland

Agreed.

Nov 17, 2020 06:54 PM
Anna "Banana" Kruchten
HomeSmart Real Estate - Phoenix, AZ
602-380-4886

Hi Chris Ann, I've been using a professional photograper for so long......probably somewhere in the late 80's.  And nobody was doing that back then. The first house I did was a huge estate....no way could I have even considered doing it any justice.  After that I was hooked. 

 

And I agree Rick of Sheri Sperry - MCNE® is a fabulous photographer!

Nov 20, 2020 02:07 PM
Chris Ann Cleland

I wish I had gotten into professional photograhy earlier.

Nov 20, 2020 04:12 PM