When it comes to your photography career, choosing an area of specialty can be tricky. Choosing a popular and profitable field such as real estate photography is sensible, but figuring out how to stand out can be challenging.
The good news is that gaining an edge over competitors is possible, even when you’re first starting out. There are a variety of techniques and strategies you can use to distinguish yourself and increase both the amount and quality of clients you attract.
In this post, we’ll discuss the benefits of offering real estate photography as a service. Then we’ll provide you with three tips for standing apart from the competition and generating new real estate photography clients. Let’s get started!
The Benefits of Working in Real Estate Photography
The photographs used in real estate property listings play a pivotal role in the selling process. They can influence not only how many people are interested in viewing the property, but how quickly it sells too.
Most real estate and listing agents recognize the importance of properly marketing homes and commercial properties. What’s more, they understand that high-quality images can translate to more buyers and higher selling prices. This is why many hire professional photographers.
As a photographer, there’s so much opportunity in real estate photography. From starter homes to commercial properties, there are a wide variety of real estate types you can work with and use to build out and diversify your portfolio.
Another benefit of working in real estate photography is that it can often lead to a steady income and ongoing work. This is especially true once you begin establishing connections and building relationships in the field.
Realtors often need a quick turnaround on these photographs. However, considering new properties are always being put on the market, if you excel at one gig, it opens the door for future work and to work alongside real estate professionals.
How to Stand Out as a Real Estate Photographer (3 Tips)
It’s not the decision to work in real estate photography you likely struggling with, though. It’s figuring out how to stand out in such a competitive field. Let’s take a look at three tips for distinguishing yourself as a professional real estate photographer and generating new clients.
1. Build a Stellar Website and Portfolio to Showcase Your Work
A unique online presence can make all the difference in your ability to attract new customers. To engage and impress visitors, while simultaneously demonstrating your experience, it’s important to build a stunning website and portfolio:
If you don’t already have a website set up, we recommend using self-hosted WordPress. WordPress itself is free, although you’ll need to purchase a domain and hosting. Once you do so (or if you have an existing website you’re looking to revamp), the next step is to choose a premium photography theme.
At TeslaThemes, we offer a wide variety of quality themes to help highlight your real estate photography skills. For example, Montblanc is a responsive, multipurpose theme that boasts a clean, modern design:t
It comes in a variety of styles and makes it easy to showcase your work through elegant portfolio options. You can also use it to set up a photography blog on your website, which can help boost your search engine rankings.
2. Consider Adding Videos and Aerial Photography to Your Services
When it comes to real estate photography, one of the most effective ways to stand out among your competitors is to offer innovative and advanced solutions, such as videography or aerial photography:
Videos can be an appealing offering as more companies include virtual tours in property listings.
Another option, and one that is slightly more complex, is to use drones for aerial photography.
Drone photography can go a long way in capturing eye-catching visuals and sweeping landscape shots. Of course, the equipment investment isn’t exactly cheap. However, the ROI can certainly make it worth it. Just be sure to check with the laws and regulations in your area regarding drone use.
3. Offer a Free Or Discounted Rate for the First Session
Sometimes agents or sellers need a bit of convincing that professional photography services are worth it and make a difference in the selling or marketing process. On the other hand, as we mentioned, many already recognize the value in it and are simply deciding who to hire.
While it’s definitely a controversial subject, offering a free photoshoot or strategy session for first-time clients could be enough to incentivize someone to work with you versus a competitor. Similarly, a discounted rate can help differentiate you and serve as a tipping point in persuading prospects.
Of course, you don’t want to be offering your time and talent for free all the time. However, particularly when you’re new, it can be an effective way to demonstrate your abilities, generate samples to fill your portfolio, and generate leads.
Conclusion
Real estate photography is a profitable and beneficial niche to work in. While figuring out how to find clients and gain an edge over your competitors can be difficult, it’s not impossible.
In this article, we discussed three tips you can use to stand out and attract new real estate photography clients:
- Build a stellar website and portfolio to showcase your work.
- Consider adding video and aerial photography to your services.
- Offer a free or discounted rate for the first session.
Do you have any questions about how to attract new clients as a real estate photographer? Let us know in the comments section below!
Will Morris is a staff writer at WordCandy. When he’s not writing about WordPress, he likes to gig his stand-up comedy routine on the local circuit.
