Most real estate photographers have made a mistake or two in their career. There are several real estate photography mistakes to avoid in order to grow your business. Read these 4 mistakes below and find out what you should avoid to create a successful real estate photography business.
Capturing Flash Shadows in Your Photos
Using flash during your real estate photography shoots is a huge mistake. First of all, it is another expense to buy this equipment and it also takes a lot of time to set up each individual shot when using flash.
Flash will also leave shadows in your images and bring down the quality of each image. It’s way better to use natural light to create higher quality images and will reduce shadows in your pictures. Having natural light, creating bracketed exposures, and then merging them together will create stunning photos for your real estate photography clients. Merging bracketed exposures will help make the image more clear, bright, and detailed. If you don’t bracket and merge, your images will be darker and the image won’t be as clear.
Giving Away Extra Work for Free and Not Having Business Expertise
Taking remarkable real estate photos is one thing, but you also have to be able to run the business side of your real estate photography business. It’s important to have business expertise and become educated with the business aspect of things so your photography business will flourish and grow. One of these important business tips to remember is to not give your work away for free!
A lot of photographers will give away work for free. There is a fine line between giving away an add-on and then giving away all your work for free. Some photography tips suggest that working for free can grow your client list which could be true, but if you do this you are essentially working for free and not profiting any money. This could give off an impression to clients that your work will be cheap.
It’s important to be educated on business to grow your real estate photography clientele while not working for free. Gain some experience and gradually start raising your rates. Even if your rates are low at first, you would still be making something and not giving away your work for free which would undervalue your photography business. Your pricing is a huge factor in creating a successful real estate photography business. Learn some photography tips and information on pricing your real estate photography here.
Not Having a Property Release With Your Client
It’s very critical to have a contract with each client before working with them. The release is needed if you ever wanted to use the images that you took one day for your website or social media. Having this property release for any private location you were on is very important so you could have the option to use those images at any point down the line. Who knows, one day you might want to use those images so it is always best to have a property release just in case.
Not Educating Your Client on How to Prepare for a Photoshoot
What if you showed up to a property and it was a complete mess? Your photos would also be a mess and you and your client would be upset with how they turned out. Make sure to always inform your clients on any prep work they can do to improve the images before you come to the photoshoot. You can suggest recommendations to them like decluttering any rooms. A good idea is to email your clients in advance of any preparation suggestions for the home so they will have plenty of time to prepare their home for the photoshoot.
A lot of real estate photographers like to include suggestions like cleaning floors, cleaning off tables and counters, making any beds, taking off all refrigerator magnets, opening curtains and blinds for natural light, and decorating the home in a refreshing way to attract more people to the home.
Creating a real estate photography business is tough work. These 4 mistakes to avoid are crucial in the success of your photography business. Take these mistakes you learned here and develop a successful real estate photography business!
