Find Top Local Residential and Commercial Real Estate Photographers in Your Area

When choosing a real estate photographer, it is important to thoroughly go over each portfolio and check reviews of their services. This will help you gauge their level of experience and expertise in the industry. Check the types of properties they usually photograph, the kind of editing they provide, the time it takes for them to shoot the property, and how long it takes for them to deliver their output.

An experienced real estate photographer will have a unique way of viewing and capturing photos of properties. They will be easy to communicate with, have clear policies, and will offer appropriate prices that match their skill sets and budget of their clients.

To pick one of the best professional real estate photographers in your location, just scroll up, choose your state and city, and our directory will offer you a list of the best photographers in your area. They are vetted by us and rated by our proprietary algorithm.

Professional home photos are a powerful tool of marketing that helps sell a property faster and easier. A good photograph instantly appeals to the emotions of a potential buyer. Beautiful listing images make for a good first impression and make home buyers more interested in purchasing a home.

Professional photos make your property stand out in a highly competitive market. They generate more listing views and clicks that bring you more prospective buyers.

Online listings that feature high quality photos, and especially video tours, also help potential buyers better estimate the property prior to visiting it. This reduces the time a real estate agent spends on showings that don’t result in sales.

Prices for real estate photography services vary depending on a number of factors. These factors include the size of the property, client’s specific requirements in terms of the type and quality of shots, the equipment that will be used for the shoot, licensing costs, delivery time, and additional costs to cover all preparations for the shoot.

It’s important for you to get a detailed pricing list to understand the basis for the photographer’s rates. Professional photographers may charge anywhere between $100 to $350 for a set of stills and a typical daytime shoot of a medium-sized home.

For dusk photography, a basic package of 10 to 32 stills can cost between $175 and $225 plus taxes.

Interior and exterior photography for magazine-quality type images can cost about $120-$299 per image. The average costs of high-end commercial property photos range from $120 to $320 plus photo license costs.

Expect higher rates for prime services like videography, drone photography, and virtual tours. The average cost for videos is around $225 per 30 seconds. 360-degree video shots and 3D interactive video tours can start at around $299.

Rates for aerial photography vary depending on the set of services a company offers. Some may charge between $95 to $125 plus taxes per photo, while others offer unlimited aerial images for $250. The average cost for aerial photography is generally between $300 to $500 for a one to five-minute video plus 10 high-quality aerial still photos.

Look for all-inclusive photography packages to save on add-ons. Packages that include virtual tours and digital marketing add-ons can cost anywhere between $109 to $249 for up to 45 final images.

Residential real estate photography is a service provided mostly to real estate agents for house sale. They need pictures to better present their real estate listings. Commercial real estate photography generally means the same, but for commercial properties, such as hotels, warehouses, office buildings, etc.

However, there are differences between them. Because usually commercial properties are larger than residential homes, professional home photography service is generally cheaper than a commercial building photoshoot. You need a smaller number of pictures to showcase an average house compared to an average office building.

Also, commercial properties are different from homes in terms of architecture. They can feature larger halls, parking lots, long hallways, pillars, etc. These and other features require a commercial property photographer to have a specific skill set.

The significant differences between real estate and architectural photography revolve around five main themes: the clientele, the subject, the method, the lifespan, and usage.

Architects, interior designers, and building managers are typical clients of an architectural photographer. They use architectural photography services for their portfolios and other types of media such as magazines, advertisements, and annual reports.

With architectural photography, the goal is to emphasize the building’s functional and esthetic design by highlighting important features and presenting the building in great detail. Architectural photographers take a longer time to produce carefully composed images that are desired to be used long-term and have artistic value.

Real estate photography, on the other hand, is typically used by real estate agents and property owners to sell their properties. The images are used in marketing media such as MLS, the agent’s website, and product flyers. They are meant to make a quick, general overview of the property. For real estate photos it’s allowed to have distortions, such as featuring disproportions. Real estate photographs are only useful for the term of the listing and take far less time, budget, and effort to produce.

Aerial real estate photography means taking photos by using drones for capturing a property from a bird’s eye view. Drones manipulated from the ground by the operator take sweeping photo and video shots of the landscape. This type of photography helps realtors showcase the property from more angles and highlight its location.

Drone photography helps real estate agents boost their marketing strategies by showing off the local neighborhood and its unique elements like proximity to schools, beaches, parks, sports courts, golf courses, and public transportation spots. Drones can also be used to take videos and virtual tours of the property.

In a traditional real estate sale, normally, the real estate agent pays the photographer. Photography is part of realtor’s marketing expenses that are usually included in their commission. This provides the realtor with a small advantage. If the seller pays for the photos, they get the license to use them if they decide to change an agent.

While it is the photographer’s job to take stunning shots, it is up to the real estate agent or a professional home stager to prepare the home, both exterior and interior spaces, prior to the real estate photoshoot.

The procedure includes clearing the clutter out of all rooms, cleaning the front and back yards, and moving cars out of the driveway. Arrange the furniture in an appealing way, let in as much light as possible, and add decorations to make the home look more stylish and modern.

Investing enough time and effort in preparing the home and making all of its rooms and yards look beautiful will make it easier for you to get the best quality photos from the photographer.

For the best results, you can hire a professional home stager. They are experts in decorating properties with furniture and other items in a way that appeals to your target buyers. In addition to photographers, our directory has a list of professional home stagers who can take care of the furniture arrangement and decor for the real estate photo shoot.