5 Best Photo Tips for Real Estate Agents
Since the launch of the first iPhone over 15 years ago, real estate agents have been carrying a powerful camera in their pockets and purses. Fast-forward to 2022, and the new iPhone 14 Pro Max has one of the most powerful cameras and imaging software available in a mobile device, featuring built-in multiple lenses. Its specifications read like something you would find in a professional, standalone camera, with three fixed lenses that create an additional 2x telephoto, expanding zoom options to 0.5x, 1x, 2x, and 3x. And the latest Google Pixel phone features 50-megapixel primary camera sensors backed by 12-megapixel ultrawide lenses. While mobile phone technology empowers agents to create outstanding photos, the first question agents face about listing photography is whether they should take the photos themselves. Industry experts, by and large, say no. Instead, they recommend hiring a professional real estate photographer for almost every listing. Why? A preponderance of research documents the benefits of professionally shot listings, selling 32% faster. With 3D tours, properties sell more quickly and at a higher price. And MLS research shows properties with aerial photography sell about 68% faster than homes using standard photographs. However, many agents believe their photography stacks up against their competition and remain committed to taking their own listing photos. If you are determined to take the do-it-yourself route for listing photos, here are five tips the experts recommended you need to know: 1. Less is more Clutter is the enemy of a great listing photo. It makes even huge rooms look smaller. It also is distracting: a wayward child or pet toy draws attention to the wrong things. Giving furniture spacing is essential. Thinning out a room can make your photos, excuse the pun, cut through the clutter. 2. Let there be light Turn off the ceiling fans and turn on all the lights. Make sure you replace any burnt-out bulbs. Open all shutters and shades to let in as much sunlight as possible. Getting as much light into any room will help make colors pop and achieve crystal-clear high-resolution photos. Even if the camera on your phone does well in low-light conditions, it will do even better when everything is in bright light. You also can use natural light to your advantage, as long as you time your shots during the golden hours: just before sunset and right after sunrise. 3. Stay horizontal Unless you are shooting specifically for social media use or solely for mobile display, it's best for listing photos to be shot in a landscape format, avoiding portrait (vertical) shots. When buyers search online and go through the couple of dozen listing photos that you post to a gallery, if a vertical image is mixed in, it breaks the flow. Horizontal photos also help you collect more detail. In addition, it's how buyers will see the property in person. Finally, ensure your images are straight by using a tripod that keeps your phone steady for each shot. Keep an eye out for the line of sight through windows to make certain features in the distance are at framed level too. 4. Keep it simple Make sure your settings are clean and straightforward and not over-staged. Also, the massive new capabilities of the new smartphone cameras may tempt you to experiment and take photos that may look cool on your phone but not on a large display screen. For example, some new low-light photos can look impressive at first until you enlarge them, as they appear fuzzy or blurred. Or you may be attempting to shoot a small extra bathroom with a wide angle setting to squeeze everything into a single photo. But that can cause distortion or unrealistic proportions, disappointing visiting buyers. Instead, eye each room as if you are a buyer. What is the best feature in the room to put as the core focus of the photo? Look at professional real estate photography, mimic how they frame listing pictures for each room and keep every setting simple. That's what you want to replicate. 5. Image correction It's likely some of your photos will need correction. But remember that all your photos should accurately convey what the consumer will see when they visit in person. While photos should showcase a property's best features, they should never mislead or deceive. Making sure the green grass shows the right shade of green and the blue skies are blue are acceptable adjustments you can make with almost any photo editing software. If you have questions about the camera on your smartphone, contact a Tech Helpline analyst with your questions, as they are just a call or click away! On the go? Take us with you! Download the mobile app today. Like this article? Check out these others: Cool tools and hot hacks for photos every agent will love! Using OneDrive: 5 Tips for storing and sharing photos, videos and docs online. Photos too large for upload? Take these simple steps to resize them. To view the original article, visit the Tech Helpline blog.

Augmented Reality and Generative AI Could Transform Future of Real Estate Marketing
Augmented reality and image generation through generative artificial intelligence are two emerging technologies that could play a key role in the future of real estate, according to experts at 2022 NAR NXT, The Realtor® Experience, in Orlando, Florida. Sessions at NAR's annual conference covered the role these technologies may soon play and the possible legal and ethical ramifications Realtors® should keep in mind when using them. On Friday, Dan Weisman, NAR's director of emerging technology, discussed how augmented reality could become a mainstream tool for creating a new experience for home buyers and sellers. He noted that although virtual tours are used in the real estate industry, augmented reality may change how consumers preview a potential house. "Through the use of a phone, augmented reality will allow us to scan rooms, get dimensions, detect objects, remove them and even replace them with a décor that may be more fitting to your client. This technology will create a totally different virtual experience for a potential buyer of a home," Weisman said. On Saturday, Weisman took the stage at the Emerging Business and Technology Forum to discuss how the evolution of artificial intelligence has allowed consumers to easily create and manipulate photos. He showcased examples of tools like Dall-E 2 and Google Imagen, which can take a text prompt and use artificial intelligence to produce and alter images with an extraordinary degree of photorealism. "There is power in this technology that ties into the real estate space," Weisman said. "It could have an impact on renovation previews, listing photo modifications, and stock photo generation." Weisman showed an example photo of a backyard with a sandbox. With a simple text prompt, the sandbox was removed. With an additional prompt, it was replaced by a fire pit. "This technology will give you the power to change photos to better portray what your client may envision for the space," he said. Matt Troiani, NAR senior counsel, director legal affairs, shared copyright best practices and discussed some of the legal and ethical ramifications this new technology may create, noting these new tools currently pose more questions than answers as the law tries to keep up with technology. "The biggest takeaway is to be very mindful about how you use these tools," Troiani said. "Ensure that you have copyright protection for the works that you are creating. Make sure you have a directive element over the generative AI and be careful not to infringe on someone else's copyrighted work."

5 Simple Ways to Increase the Screen Value of Your Online Real Estate Listings
Are your listings getting enough screen time? To grab attention and keep it, you need to encourage homebuyers to stay a little longer, checking out more than the primary photo. Are you currently using 3D tours and floor plans as part of your real estate marketing plan? If not, here are a few good ways to drive engagement and increase your screen value. Use a professional real estate photographer Market your real estate listing with professional real estate photos. A good first photo is a perfect way to entice potential buyers to want more. Think of your real estate photos like a storefront window. If the display is good, you want to go inside. It's no different with real estate. Attractive photographs increase the amount of time the consumer spends clicking through the images. You want to encourage a connection during the buyer's journey. They stay a little longer and get to the consideration stage faster when they like what they see. Speak with a local real estate photographer who offers services from leading-edge companies like iGUIDE. Unconventional camera systems capture outstanding photos and accurate measurements simultaneously, so turnaround time is quick. Video tours and drone shots Consumers love drone footage. This eye in the sky captures amazing aerial shots to offer a different point of view. Extensive landscaping, outdoor entertaining areas, and sprawling properties benefit well from the use of drone shots. Not every property is a good fit for drone photos, however. You may list a stunning condo or a multi-unit residential property, but a drone shot just won't do it justice. However, video tours highlight the essence of unique spaces, and are an excellent tool for your real estate listing marketing. Video is popular because it allows for narration and lets you point out multiple features within a property. Virtual staging to spark joy Increase the consumers' screen time for your listing by using virtual staging. Virtual staging can help your real estate marketing by presenting a space that makes it look and feel more like home. Whether it's a vacant property or a home that just doesn't have the best furniture placement, virtual staging can spruce it up. Using proptech tools like Floorplanner encourages homebuyers to try before they buy. With multiple furniture choices, accents, the ability to change door and window placements, virtual staging makes decision making easier. 3D tours are a must By now you are using 3D tours, right? If you want to keep the attention of potential buyers, the implementation of 3D tours is the ideal way to market your real estate listing. The goal is to drive engagement, and what better way to do that than using the consumer's favorite way to interact? According to 3Kit, there are 87% more views on listings that incorporate virtual tours. That means you increase the consumers' screen time from just a quick look at the main photo to connecting and interacting with a 3D tour. You know how it works. It's the same reason that reels and video stories are so popular on social media. These attention grabbers drive engagement, leading to the awareness stage on the buyer's journey. Use interactive floor plans to make a connection Understanding a space requires not only beautifully captured photos, but the ability to virtually walk through and make a personal connection. Buyers want to know all their stuff will fit into each space within the home. Accurately measured floor plans give them the ability to compare their existing living quarters to new ones. As Inman notes, buyers have come to expect floor plans as part of the way you market your real estate listing. Measurements give meaning and value to a space and help increase the amount of time the consumer spends looking at a property. As a bonus, floor plans include important dimensions for future renovations. With the help of advanced measurements from an iGUIDE, the buyer can remotely plan and design each space. Increasing screen value and screen time for online real estate listings provides benefits for the seller and the buyer. When you use tech tools like virtual tours and floor plans, your sellers experience fewer interruptions in their daily life. The property gets shown to more qualified buyers, thus saving time for both the seller and you. Buyers will start to form an emotional connection as they are drawn in by captivating professional real estate photos and multiple ways to interact online. Help your real estate listings make their best impression online by using all the services available to you from a professional real estate photographer. For more information regarding iGUIDE, click here. To view the original article, visit the iGuide blog.

Is That Your Headshot?
Web3 is interesting from many perspectives. This week, Propy, the Web3 real estate pioneer, is selling avatars to agents called MetaAgents X Shredders. In a world where real estate agent branding is wrapped around their headshot (often an old photo from years ago), I am not sure if the avatar is an improvement or if it is absurdly bleeding edge. I think that this effort is intended to reward the agents who are culture carriers for Propy. Agents who are raving fans of Web3 and Propy will likely snap these up to collect a piece of history. Propy is requiring that purchases use their currency – called Pro-Propy tokens. So if you want to collect one of these avatars, you will need to grab at least 500Pro first. Propy's price today is $0.6062. The drop is random – so you do not know what avatar you will get when you buy. But the good news is that you will get a ticket to the upcoming convention. This is the real value – the utility of the NFT. The NFT unlocks opportunities in the Propy community. Full press release follows: Shredding Convention: Propy Unveils "MetaAgent X Shredders" NFTs Exclusive NFT Avatars for Real Estate and Metaverse Fans Miami, FL (September, 2022) -- Propy, the Web3 real estate pioneer, is launching the first NFT (Non-fungible token) Avatars designed specifically for Real Estate and Metaverse fans. The limited-edition "MetaAgents X Shredders" NFTs were created by noted artist Dan Weinstein. The project's advisors include real estate influencers and industry forward-thinkers Tom Ferry, Tony Giordano, Alvaro Nunes, Tony Edward, ThinkingCrypto, Zach Aaron, MetaProp, among others. "It's an endless open sea of creative NFT ideas out there and as usual, this is where Propy continues to stand out. If you love crypto and real estate then these NFT Avatars are right for you. With Real Estate becoming more crypto-friendly, adding one of these "MetaAgents X Shredders" to your collection or used as your social media profile, will signal to the world and your tech-savvy peers that you are a visionary in a new digital world of real estate," said Natalia Karayaneva, CEO of Propy. Over 6,000 joined the waiting list in anticipation of the "MetaAgents X Shredders" drop on September 27, 2022 at 10:00am pacific time on seen.haus and can only be minted with PRO - Propy tokens. First come first serve and sold by lottery auction. Starting price 500PRO. "These characters are THE RESISTANCE – shredding through the Metaverse, re-inventing the new future. The meta world created by the agents of change – fair, honest and empowering," said artist and designer, Dan Weinstein. The Propy NFT Avatars come with unique utilities like access to the Meta Agent educational course, owners become members of DAO (decentralized autonomous organization) and receive a ticket to the Web3 & Real Estate Summit coming up on October 27th in Miami. The Meta Agent certification and the Summit will help real estate fans navigate metaverses and Web3 proptech and apply the learnings to their daily business. "Many agents and real estate investors are interested in crypto and NFTs. As more home buyers utilize crypto earnings to purchase property, displaying an avatar immediately identifies these agents as someone who understands how cryptocurrency and NFTs work," said Tom Ferry, #1 US Real Estate coach. More about the NFT Avatars can be found here: https://propy.com/browse/meta-agent-nft-avatars/ About Propy Propy, founded in Silicon Valley, is on a mission to revolutionize real estate. The company's smart contract innovation removes inefficiencies, streamlines everything from offer to closing to recording title, records everything securely on blockchain, and enables buyers and sellers to use traditional financing, dollar or cryptocurrency payments, or NFT-ed property sales. The company has processed $4bn in transactions and recorded them on blockchain. Learn more at Propy.com.

Listing Photos Your Smartphone Can't Take
Mobile phones today have fantastic built-in cameras. The advancement of camera technology in mobile phones overall has been astounding. They can automatically adjust for contrast, saturation, skin tone, and even background blur to add extra dimension. Moreover, when it comes to dynamic range, the advancement of digital camera technology now can see things we can't see with human eyes. Smartphone cameras and auto-editing software are so impressive that it can seem like their photos look as good, if not sometimes better, than those taken with a DSLR (digital single-lens reflect) camera. Because smartphone cameras are so powerful and deliver such beautiful pictures, some agents are forgoing hiring a professional photographer to shoot their listing photos. However, there are many listing photos your smartphone can't take. Still, despite all the significant advancements – including the use of Artificial Intelligence to enhance smartphone photography – mobile phones can't capture everything that cameras used by professional photographers can. As a result, DSLR – digital single-lens reflex – remains the image champion for real estate listing photos. Here are a few examples where professional cameras exceed the capabilities of even the most intelligent smartphone with the most advanced camera: Full-Frame sensors Smartphones have tiny sensors. With this technology, size matters. The leading standard for DSLR cameras is full frame (or 35mm). Additionally, the sensor is one of the most expensive technologies in a camera. The larger the sensor, the greater its cost. For example, one of the most popular DSLR cameras for real estate, the Canon 5D Mark IV, has a sensor measuring approximately 36mm x 24mm. The sensor on a smartphone is around 9mm x 6mm. The result: smaller sensors have a narrower field of view than larger sensors when using lenses of the same focal length. The disparity of crop sensors physically limits the ability to get the right listing photo shot both inside and outside. Auto HDR vs. Bracketing One of the techniques a professional photographer uses is called bracketing. Bracketing means shooting the same image with different camera settings. The result is multiple variations of the same photo to choose from – or even combine – get that perfect shot. One of the most common type of bracketing is exposure bracketing, taking the same shot with at least three different exposure settings. A DSLR camera offers manual bracketing, giving far more control over what the final results of what the image will look like. Cell phones are limited to auto HDR in camera, often exporting a JPG image. With bracketing, the photographer can set each exposure exactly for each specific situation, often crucial for real estate listing photos. Clarity Smartphones, because of their smaller sensors, can't achieve the exact definition and clarity that a DSLR camera can achieve. A great comparison is old school. Think of the difference between an 8 x 10 photo created from a smaller negative versus a larger one. The image would be blurry when enlarged from the smaller negative yet crystal clear when made with the larger negative. For the sharpest images, smartphones can't compete. That is the last thing you want when someone is surfing the web looking for homes on their high-resolution screens and seeing anything but crystal-clear images. Photos on a cloudy day You can't control the weather. So, when it comes to shooting photos on a cloudy day, smartphones struggle. However, because you can manually adjust DSLR cameras to the correct settings, the photographer can dial in the correct levels for sensitivity, exposure, and aperture. When you take that same shot with your smartphone, you trust its computer to do the work in terms of setting the shutter speed, white balance, and the right parts of the image to expose. That's why cloudy day photos, for example, that you take with your smartphone, are no match for those taken by a professional photographer with their DSLR camera. Distance Have you been on a walk, seen a deer in the distance or a fascinating bird, and whipped out your smartphone to take a shot? It looks crystal clear on your screen, right? So you take the picture, but it is significantly blurred when you look at it closely after the shot. Think of shooting a house in the same way, from the same distance. Again, when it comes to professionally shot photos, clarity is vital. While a picture may look good on your smartphone, how does it fair on a 32" 4K computer monitor that a prospective home buyer is using to view it? Even the best phones with long-range cameras use digital zoom versus "real" optical zoom. That's why DSLR cameras excel when it comes to distance shots. Lens selection Another massive advantage that DSLR cameras have over a smartphone is lens selection. Smartphones have a lens equivalent to 28mm on a DSLR camera. Some can even mimic a 50mm field of vision used for portrait photography. And some lenses can be attached to your smartphone to enhance its shooting capabilities. But lens selection for mobile phones is limited and pales compared to the hundreds of lenses available for DSLR cameras. Moreover, lenses give DSLR cameras advantages for almost every kind of photo: long distance shots, wide angle, perspective shots, and more are possible simply by switching out a lens. Post-production Smartphone editing software is super slick these days, built in for easy use and making pretty good photos look even better. But what a photographer can do with RAW files from a DSLR camera plus advanced photo editing software like Lightroom and Photoshop makes their excellent work exceptional. When it comes to post-production advantages, the images that a DSLR camera takes begin with an edge over those taken by a smartphone. Then, add the skills that a professional photographer brings to the post-production process. Once again, DSLR photos are far superior to listing photos taken with a mobile phone. The eye of a photographer Beyond the image capabilities and comparisons between what a DSLR camera and a camera on a smartphone can take, the X-factor is the photographer. Professional real estate photographers use DSLR cameras for a reason: it is what they need to get the best listing photos. How a professional real estate photographer "sees" how to line up a shot and find the right angle or perspective is often learned from years of taking hundreds of real estate photos. There's no contest when you add the value of having a professional with the right equipment shoot your listing photos. The right tool DSLR or mirrorless cameras are not software dependent for exceptional imagery. They use big sensors, big lenses, and big grips and tripods that hold these cameras steady to capture the best photos. The images shot with a DSLR camera still can't be matched by any smartphone. The bottom line: DIY with your smartphone is like using the wrong tool from your toolbox when it comes to listing photos. You hire a professional photographer for their exceptional skills and because they use the proper tool. Joe Jesuele is the founder and CEO of HomeJab, America's most popular and reliable on-demand professional real estate photography and video marketplace for real estate pros and architect of the real NFT Marketplace at real.art. HomeJab delivers over 4,000,000 images to help agents sell and rent more than $35 billion in listings.

NFTs in Real Estate: Temporary phase or an enduring fixture?
Are the crypto world and NFTs sunsetting? Or is what's happening simply a reset shaking out the con artists, scams, and the hyperbole that had run amok? If you ask Joe Jesuele, he will tell you it's the latter. And Joe knows crypto and NFTs. Joe is a real estate entrepreneur, a tech innovator, a passionate problem solver, and a remarkably humble leader. Yet, he's purposefully remained an under-the-radar type of guy – until recently. As the Founder and CEO of HomeJab, the leading on-demand professional real estate photography and video marketplace for real estate pros, Joe is one of the foremost experts on visual real estate content. From standard to 3D video home tours, floorplans, aerial footage, virtual staging, and more – he's remained at the forefront of evangelizing the importance of real estate imagery. He was an early real estate video pioneer, and his penchant to innovate manifested most recently in the debut of the first NFT platform for real estate images. Powered by HomeJab, Joe created an innovative alternative to stock photo services. Most importantly, and crypto world enthusiasts will understand this, the platform gives participating professional real estate photographers 96 percent of all sales proceeds – the highest compensation available from a major stock photo platform. People don't realize that the big stock imaging firms only pay photographers pennies in royalties on their images. The NFT marketplace for professional real estate photography images is now at real.art. The next phase of NFTs in real estate Because Joe knows crypto, he can see the forest for the trees. In March, he wrote a blog about real estate photography and the need for NFTs. It's an excellent primer for many real estate pros trying to wrap their heads around this industry. Most recently, he began another NFT-related effort in real estate. HomeJab launched a novel real estate agent marketing method that uses a real estate-backed NFT to promote the sale of a home. Unlike many blockchain efforts, Joe isn't trying to displace real estate agents. On the contrary, his approach keeps agents at the center of the transaction – and enhances the need for outstanding professional real estate photography. He's just creating a new way to reach crypto enthusiasts who want to buy a home with crypto. You can see the first NFT listing at nft.homejab.com. The cream is rising to the top The shakeout in the crypto world has not deterred enthusiasts like Joe. On the contrary, what is happening benefits efforts like the ones Joe is undertaking. That's because the NFT-related innovations he is creating offer practical value. As a pragmatist, Joe is looking for ways that NFTs could be used in real estate to provide real-world benefits. With his latest effort, for example, he is not trying to change the primary path of how real estate is sold. Instead, through the new HomeJab NFT platform, Joe explains that rather than change the legal ownership of the property, the title is still transferred into the buyer's name by a title company, just like a normal transaction. "Purchasing the NFT is like sending in an instant offer," Joe explains. "It doesn't change the title; it gives you an option to purchase." HomeJab sends the funds used for the NFT purchase to a title company, and then the transaction is completed in the usual way – and it also gets recorded on the Ethereum blockchain. Joe says, "I think it makes sense to do both. It's not feasible right now to remove the government entirely from the transaction (considering current security issues we've seen in crypto). But I also think it does not make sense to rely entirely on the government and solely on the traditional way. Our approach is a step toward decentralization: Not an overhaul of the entire system." Joe adds that the overarching goal of HomeJab and its NFT platform was to keep the process similar to how it is now. "We want to add a new way for crypto enthusiasts to use their portfolio to submit quick offers. I think this is the most scalable way to onboard as many real estate professionals and homeowners as possible to the blockchain. Setting up LLCs for each property does not appear to be as practical with large volumes," noting his firm shoots thousands of homes every month. The one thing Joe wants to make crystal clear is the new NFT platform is a service for real estate agents, not a FSBO site. "We're promoting NFTs from the photo shoots we complete for the real estate agents that hire us. Therefore, our service becomes a way for the traditional real estate industry to engage with the crypto community. Anyone who hires us for a photo shoot can get a free NFT listing," he added. Joe sees what he is doing now as a possible bridge to the future. Finally, it's worth taking a minute to review the "How it Works" section at the bottom of nft.homejab.com and the FAQ page. Then you can decide for yourself: Is crypto dead? Or is this a Mark Twain moment, and the reports of its death are greatly exaggerated? Decide where you find yourself on this question, but time will tell. To view the original article, visit the WAV Group blog.

Will Your Listing Benefit from Drone Footage? Look at These 4 Factors
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video must be worth millions. Research confirms what many agents already know: video can be a powerful real estate marketing tool. We also know Google loves video: video appears in 70% of the top 100 search result listings. In addition, a study by Kissmetrics revealed that websites that use video on a home or product feature page dramatically increased sales between 64% and 85%. According to MLS research, properties with aerial images sell about 68% faster than homes using standard photographs. Most importantly, drone costs have decreased significantly, and most experienced professional real estate photographers provide aerial imaging services. But should you use professionally shot drone photography or video to help sell your listings? It depends. Drone footage for most properties can be a blessing, but a curse for others. The question is, "Does it meet the 'CLIP' test?" These four factors help you quickly evaluate if aerial photography and/or video could benefit your listing: Context: Every property has a story to tell, from unique features that provide essential benefits to the buyers to its design or how the property is positioned on its lot. Agents often seize on this in their listing descriptions. Could aerial imagery help tell the story of your property? If you can visually showcase a benefit in a way that significantly enhances a key property benefit or feature that your words alone can't accomplish, adding aerial imagery is a plus. Location: Real estate is all about location; seeing where a home sits in relationship to community amenities can be priceless. Could it help a prospective buyer see how easy it would be for their child to bike to school or shop at a local grocery and other stores? Does aerial imagery reveal that the home is just a couple of rows of houses away from the water or a golf course? Would it help to showcase a property's abundant outdoor space and how it sits in relation to other homes? Location is often a significant reason you should include aerial footage with your new listing. There's probably no better way to show the surrounding neighborhood than aerial shots. Impact: Aerial footage has an instant "wow" factor. Seeing a home from above is cool, especially with video footage. In the right hands, drones shoot stunningly high-quality photos and video. The versatility of the images captured by drones is unsurpassed. Drone footage reminds us of Hollywood filmmakers, and the professional footage makes a listing look more important and the home more valuable. When you can wow your seller, you can win the listing, and drone footage can help agents win listings. Perspective: You can see things from 50 feet above a home you can't adequately capture any other way. Buyers viewing a home from above get a better sense of the house size and the property layout. It also helps buyers get a better understanding of the home's design. Drones also give buyers access to normally inaccessible areas, such as an up-close look at the roof, outbuildings, dense trees on the property, and more. The downside to drone footage is that it can be unforgiving. While a professional real estate photographer can bring out the best features in any home, aerial imagery could enhance the weaknesses of many homes. But the CLIP test demonstrates that drone footage should not be limited to million-dollar listings. While real estate agents listing high-end homes often use drone footage, it should be a consideration for any home that can benefit from drone shots. Today, drone footage is often a "nice to have" addition to a real estate listing photo shoot. But as competition among sellers re-enters the real estate marketplace, we can expect more professionally shot aerial photos and video. For properties where drone footage can boost the prospects of a faster sale, a better offer, or help an agent make more sales, aerial footage should become a "must-have." Joe Jesuele is the founder and CEO of HomeJab, America’s most popular and reliable on-demand professional real estate photography and video marketplace for real estate pros and architect of the real NFT Marketplace at real.art. HomeJab delivers over 4,000,000 images to help agents sell and rent more than $35 billion in listings.

How Could Your Photos Enter Listing Data for You?
Did you know that digital photos shot with a smartphone or a digital camera capture more than just the image? Today's photos contain information called metadata that is individually created with each image. This data can include a plethora of details, including the size, dimensions, and, most importantly, the location. The day and time of the photo are also generally included. What this could mean for real estate agents and professional real estate photographers is incredible. Think about what it would mean if you never had to enter listing data into your MLS again. It would save you time and increase your productivity. That's the idea behind the early work and testing of exciting new technology being done throughout the real estate industry today. A hot new startup, Restb.ai, is one of the leading tech firms in the emerging computer vision space. Power of computer vision Already Restb.ai is processing over 10 million photos a day. They use both computer vision and AI to "see" each image and then can automate tasks. Combine this information with the metadata already in digital listing photos, and you can start to see the potential. MLSs are already jumping in and exploring the possibilities. Greg Moore is one of the early adopters among MLS technology leaders who began looking into the idea that you could use photos to automate listing entries about three years ago. Greg is Chief Technology Officer at Regional Multiple Listing Service, Inc. (RMLS), of the largest MLSs in the Pacific Northwest. He started a small test with Restb.ai. They sent over some URLs connecting to photos to see what would come back. "In our pilot, we sent them URLs; we didn't send them pictures. And I mean seconds later, we got the content," Greg said. He explained that once the photo has a "geocode" – when you can determine its location down to the property address – you can bring in all the other information found in public records. So, for example, you could connect to tax data and autofill that content, populate the address, perhaps see the property's transaction history, what the local school district is, and a lot more. Greg admits his interest in seeing the photo become the first step in listing data entry is self-serving. "Selfishly, as an MLS, we want to be the first point of entry." Automated photo descriptions Restb.ai is doing more than just helping to channel that photo metadata into practical use. Their computer vision can create the content to describe each listing photo. In addition, their technology can classify by room type, identify home features, and even analyze the condition of the room – all from listing photos. "What (Restb.ai) are doing with computer vision is just the beginning," Greg said. He points out that technology is getting faster and more intelligent, particularly AI, machine learning, and computer vision. Power of photos Successful real estate agents have long known the benefits of using great listing photos, and research backs them up. For example, 61% of brokers believe high-quality photography is "crucial," and another 31% think real estate photographers are "important" to selling homes. However, past research shows that only 15% of homes use high-quality photos, according to Photography for Real Estate statistics. While 68% of agents believe professional real estate photography helps their brand, and more importantly, pro photos help them sell more homes and sell them faster. About 32% of homes with high-quality photographs sell faster than those without real estate photography in a typical market. On average, homes with a single photo spend 70 days on the market, while listings with at least 20 high-quality images in their listing description sell within a month. According to the National Association of Realtors, 72.2% of Realtors agree that high-quality real estate photography helps them win more listings. In addition, houses with aerial footage and high-quality photographs sell 68% faster than those without similar visuals. Perhaps the most crucial reason agents who don't use professional real estate photography should: agents hiring professional real estate photographers earn twice as much in gross commission income as others. Agents remain at the center Automating, extracting, and leveraging listing data using photos doesn't mean that the agents will have to give up control of the process. Greg at RMLS says one could create a queue where photos are uploaded, and the listing data is created along with the photos' descriptions for the agents to review, edit if needed, then approve and post. He noted that some agents likely already share their MLS access credentials to save a step with the photographer uploading the photos directly. "(Agents) want the ability to select the order," Greg noted. Finally, Greg argues that MLSs are likely to be at the forefront of implementing this new technology because of the need to maintain quality data. He notes that at RMLS, their business rules assure the quality of the data is already built into the listing content, and he does not see that changing. As for the impact that computer vision, along with AI and machine learning, will have in increasing the value of the listing photo, Greg said, "Every iteration makes it smarter and better. So, if it's not here, it's coming, and it's coming quickly," he added. Joe Jesuele is the founder and CEO of HomeJab, a leading on-demand professional real estate photography and video marketplace for real estate pros and architect of the real NFT Marketplace. A real estate entrepreneur, internet efficiency innovator, and passionate problem solver, Joe is one of the nation's top real estate visual content experts. Today, he oversees an operation that has delivered more than 4,000,000 images to help agents sell and rent more than $35 billion in listings.

Let's Get 'real' about NFTs and Real Estate (Images)
The big buzz building in real estate is all things related to the metaverse: Web3, cryptocurrency, smart contracts, crypto wallet, blockchain, and NFTs or non-fungible tokens. We just launched the first NFT marketplace for real estate images called "real." We are bringing something highly practical to NFTs and real estate. Our goal is to disrupt the $4 billion stock photo industry by paying professional photographers what they are worth. We are flipping the model upside down. Stock photo agencies pay photographers pennies on the dollar for every image they sell. As a result, photographers earn as little as 2 cents to 25 cents per month per photo through stock photo agencies, according to Phototutorial. The new real NFT Marketplace – created by HomeJab – pays photographers 96% of the sales proceeds from every image they sell. For the first time, agents and brokers – or their marketing agencies – can immediately own NFTs that are one-of-a-kind images. Most importantly, they can use these unique images however they want: on their websites, in their marketing materials, framed photos hung in their offices – or all of the above. NFTs offer bigger benefits What's the huge advantage of a real NFT purchase over a stock image purchase? Stock photo agencies allow the use of the same image by anyone who pays a fee. That means every one of your competitors can buy the exact same image and use it for their websites or marketing campaigns. Why would you want to buy a repetitive stock image that any of your competitors can use? Market experts and seasoned real estate agents know that using unique images creates stronger brand recognition. It also helps avoid brand confusion. Real estate agents, brokers, and marketing agencies avoid having the same photos on every website by purchasing one-of-a-kind images on the real NFT marketplace. Another big advantage? Real estate agents and marketing agencies can feel good that professional real estate photographers can get paid appropriately for their creativity, no longer being short-changed by the stock agency compensation model that's been around for decades. Moreover, if an NFT is resold, a small royalty, disclosed in the smart contract before the NFT is purchased, flows back to the original photographer. Understanding the value of NFTs for real estate images For most agents and brokers, this new tech terminology is foreign. To help, we've developed a brief "Glossary" of these new tech terms on our website specifically for real estate pros. I also wrote about "Real Estate Photography and the Need for NFTs." It's an emerging trend that agents and brokers can benefit from understanding. More and more, clients will expect them to at least know these terms. Up until now, many people have marginalized the practical value of NFTs. That's understandable. There has been a flood of NFT scams. Pump and dumps – where unscrupulous actors push out misleading information to raise the price of a cryptocurrency so they can sell and bail – also have become commonplace. The metaverse, out of the gate, faces a credibility problem. We are attempting to be among those who will change the perception that NFTs are just a fad. At HomeJab, our business is real estate photography. We've worked hard to become the most popular and reliable on-demand professional real estate photography and video services for real estate pros. We work with professional real estate photographers every day. We also work with real estate agents and brokers each day. Our job is to deliver to agents a fast, high-end package of photos, video, 3D interactive tours, floorplans, aerial shots, and virtual staging for their listings; a one-stop-shop, on-demand, and online. By creating a practical way to leverage the power of the NFT, we are offering what we believe is a win-win. The new real NFT Marketplace is for real estate agents and digital marketers to purchase one-of-a-kind iconic real estate images. The real platform also enables clients to order custom NFTs to be shot and produced by professional real estate photographers for their exclusive commercial use, as they will own the image. The real NFTs now available include historical landmarks, streetscapes, downtown areas, commercial hot spots, aerial views of developments, parks, bridges, buildings, and beaches. Think of the one single image that best describes where you live. What image would that be? That's the type of NFTs we expect to be the most popular in the beginning. Already, there are more than 500 images available on the real NFT Marketplace. But we are just getting started. The real NFT Marketplace disrupts the old, legacy stock image model because real is a decentralized Web3 solution powered by NFTs with the financial benefits going back to the photographers. Artists deserved to be paid appropriately. Check out the real NFT Marketplace at nft.homejab.com. Joe Jesuele is the founder and CEO of HomeJab, America's most popular and reliable on-demand professional real estate photography and video marketplace for real estate pros, and architect of the real NFT Marketplace. HomeJab delivers over 4,000,000 images to help agents sell and rent more than $35 billion in listings.

NFTs and Real Estate Images: What's Next?
The world of real estate continues to evolve rapidly, and real estate professionals and photographers need to stay up to date on the technological advancements in our industry. One exciting innovation is creating and using non-fungible tokens (NFTs). This emerging digital technology allows professional photographers to solve several crucial real estate image ownership issues. Let's examine the real estate industry's challenges regarding photography and how NFTs can help. What are NFTs? Non-fungible tokens, popularly known as NFTs, are digital tokens created on the blockchain, just like cryptocurrencies. However, unlike cryptocurrency, each NFT is non-fungible, meaning each token is unique or one-of-a-kind in the world. Each token represents the ownership of a specific digital file like a photo, video, or illustration. Ownership of the token is publicly verifiable in the most secure database known on planet Earth—the blockchain. This means that once an individual buys an NFT, it becomes the individual's unique asset, and only that person can claim ownership of it. Think of the blockchain as a network of servers that each store a digital ledger. This ledger keeps track of transactions on the network, including who has bought and sold each NFT. Blockchain technology is decentralized and distributed, making it incredibly difficult to hack into because no one person or company controls the ledgers. Hacking into one part of the system does not affect the other parts. Each ledger in the network must match and be validated by the others before a transaction can be recorded. Examples of NFTs The Bored Ape Yacht Club is one of the most well-known digital art collections available as NFTs. Other examples include CryptoPunks and CryptoKitties, early projects typically credited with starting the NFT craze. You may wonder what is stopping someone from right-clicking on these images to download the file or taking a screenshot? The simple answer: nothing. Anyone can steal an image online. But it's impossible to steal the NFT recorded on the blockchain that proves rightful ownership of that image. This means there is no resale value for a stolen image. Moreover, the perpetrator has no usage rights. AI-powered apps like Pixsy.com, which helps find online image theft, can further protect the rights of artists and NFT owners. Ultimately, as NFTs become more mainstream, social pressure will discourage those who steal images and encourage everyone to acquire their digital assets properly. Also, what makes NFT different, in addition to owning the art itself, is that they are often tied to projects that include other utilities for their NFT owners. For example, some NFTs are being used as content inside a game (known as "in-game" assets). In some cases, buyers can stake an NFT in exchange for an associated cryptocurrency. The Bored Ape Yacht Club has even organized real-world meetups for its members. Community building and social status symbols certainly play a role in the new NFT culture. Real estate photography and NFTs: Who owns the photos? There are several challenges in the real estate photography industry that NFTs can help solve. Let's explore it further. Ownership of photos in real estate has been a burning question for a while now. A few years back, Zillow was sued for $81 million by a real estate photographer for using real estate images without authorization. Recently, Zillow was ordered to pay nearly $2 million because of a copyright infringement case involving real estate photography. Similarly, other court rulings say photographers own the copyrights for their artwork and only provide usage rights to the listing agents. As a result, lawyers are now asking photographers to sign contracts forfeiting their rights to the photos. NFTs can help resolve this issue by providing a clear transfer of photograph ownership. But lawyers do not need to get involved. By using NFTs, real estate photographers can deliberately and transparently deliver digital usage rights to their customers without the need for any legal contracts. Buyers will then use the image exclusively for their marketing without legal or licensing issues. A secondary market emerges Another issue faced by real estate photographers is having no passive or recurring income stream. If you are a photographer working in the real estate industry, you will only get a one-time payment for a photoshoot, and that is it. However, NFTs provide a perfect solution to this problem. Real estate photographers can monetize their portfolios and create a passive income stream by receiving royalties when their images are sold to new buyers. There is no limit on how many times you can sell an NFT. Photographers will solely decide the amount of royalty (1-10%) when creating an NFT, and then a smart contract will execute the instructions automatically. Think of a business owner who needs an image of downtown Chicago for a new marketing campaign. They can purchase an NFT, use the image for a specific period, and then resell it to another buyer after their marketing campaign is complete. In this example, the photographer would get paid for the original sale. The photographer also would receive a royalty of up to 10 percent of the second sale. Recurring revenue is a new pathway for real estate photographers to access the pool of wealth locked in their digital assets. Now, photographers can get paid every time someone sells their images. What are the best images to sell as NFTs? The best photos to sell as NFTs are expected to be destinations in the public domain, such as historical landmarks, streetscapes, downtown areas, commercial hot spots, parks, and beaches. Ask yourself this question: If someone lives in a city or a town and can own one single image that best describes where they live, what image would that be? In the existing model, these types of images would typically get sold by large, centralized corporations (e.g., Shutterstock, Getty Images) in the form of "stock images." The problem is stock images are not unique in any way. The same image is sold repeatedly to many different people. The money earned from these sales most often goes to the corporation, and the photographer does not receive any income after the initial shoot. NFTs provide an alternative to stock images since each is unique and sold to one buyer. If the NFT is resold, royalties flow back to the original photographer. The old, legacy stock image model can change to become a completely decentralized "Web3" solution powered by NFTs with all financial benefits going back to the photographers. Next step: Selling NFTs of real estate photos Real estate photographers we work with have told us they are highly interested in converting photos into NFTs. But they need help. That's why we have an effort underway at HomeJab to help real estate photographers create and sell NFTs. We even believe consumers will be interested in hiring photographers to shoot a specific location as an NFT. We want to assist in filling this need as well. If you are interested in NFTs for real estate photographers, drop us a line at [email protected], and we will keep you posted on the work we are doing with NFTs. Joe Jesuele is the founder and CEO of HomeJab, America's most popular and reliable on-demand professional real estate photography and video marketplace for real estate pros, delivering over 4,000,000 images to help agents sell and rent more than $35 billion in listings.

How to Best Prepare Your Sellers for a Photoshoot
When selling a home, you have one chance to make a first impression with a prospective buyer. Since nearly all home shoppers begin their search online, that first impression most likely will be formed immediately by your listing photographs. Most agents know the value of using professional real estate photographers for listing photos. Research from Redfin found that professionally photographed homes priced in the $400,000 range sold an average of three weeks faster and more than $10,000 higher than their list price than homes using amateur photos. When Redfin compared photo sharpness or detail, such as a crisp reflection or bright flowers, which was accomplished through professional photography, the sharpest 10 percent of photos were for homes that sold at or above list price 44 percent of the time. That's why it is vital to use professional photography to show your listing in its best light. The value of professional photography for a listing is also why it's essential to make sure agents advise their sellers on how to prepare their homes for a photoshoot so sellers can put their best foot forward. Do you prep every seller for their listing photoshoot? Not every agent does. According to a recent study we did at HomeJab, sellers are often not prepared. More than half of more than 300 professional real estate photographers surveyed said that most of the time – half to more than half – homeowners are unprepared. The challenge may well be that since photography comes very early in the listing process, sellers do not realize that they need to prepare their home for a shoot properly. While professional photographers are trying to make the right impression when shooting a listing, they need homeowners to help. How can agents best prepare their sellers for the listing photoshoot? Here are eight things your clients need to do to make the best first impression: 1. Declutter: Store, sell, donate, or dispose. No one loves their stuff as much as their owners. But the rule to showcasing the best features of a home is less is more. Decluttering is the key to making every room shine. When you declutter, rooms will look larger too, as the more stuff a room has, the smaller it will look. 2. Clean and tidy: It may sound obvious, but high-quality photographs won't hide a dirty and disorganized home. Also, make sure there are no vehicles in the driveway or blocking the street view of your home, if possible. When your client's home is spotless – and they put away items cluttering tables, countertops, and any items on the floor – it will pay off with better photos. 3. Think like a stager: The flow of a space – where one's eyes go to as the focal point – gives clues to whether a room can benefit from the furniture being rearranged. A handout from Realtor Magazine suggests creating a focal point on the furthest wall from the doorway by arranging furniture to make a triangle shape. 4. Go green: When strategically placed in every room, living plants can improve almost every interior photograph. Remind your clients that plants can add energy to their listing photos. 5. Removing wrinkles: Bedding, tablecloths, and throws all need to look their best, which means no wrinkles because cameras hate wrinkles and can exaggerate how unkept a home looks. 6. Be pet-free: Research shows that Millennial home shoppers say finding a place for Fido can significantly impact their choice of a new home. However, most agents advise their clients to make sure animals are not present during showings and repair any pet damage to a home before showing it. For photos, it's safer to appeal to all buyers by hiding any evidence of pets, so store those dog beds and cat condos! 7. Aim to be art neutral: While your client may treasure their velvet Elvis painting that was a gift after a first date, it's time to put sentimental value aside and be practical. You want to show buyers a blank canvas, not a Picasso. The more neutral the art, the less likely it becomes the focal point of how home shoppers recall a home. Your clients probably don't want their home to be remembered as "that place with the flying pigs on the wall." 8. Light it up: A simple tip is to ask your clients to ensure all the lights work before the shoot. Then, when a professional photographer shoots a well-lit room, they can make a home shine brighter. These are some of the most important things a seller can do to prep a home before a photoshoot. For additional input, ask the professional photographer for any other ideas they may have. To find a professional real estate photographer near you and order an affordable photo and video package for your next listing, go to HomeJab at homejab.com. Joe Jesuele is the founder and CEO of HomeJab, America's most popular and reliable on-demand professional real estate photography and video marketplace for real estate pros, delivering over 4,000,000 images to help agents sell and rent more than $35 billion in listings.

Why You Should Use Drone Photography for Every Listing
Almost all real estate pros know that high-quality photography helps sell homes. But did you know that when a real estate listing uses aerial photography, they sell 68% faster than homes using traditional photography, according to multiple listing services statistics? It's never been easier to obtain drone footage for every listing than today. Like the emergence of immersive 3D interactive tours, aerial footage is becoming commonplace. Adding drone footage can boost your marketing success for every listing, win over sellers and attract more potential buyers. Moreover, aerial photography for every listing sets you apart from the competition and can wow your sellers. According to a study by HomeJab, while more than two out of three (67%) real estate agents have used aerial photography, currently, just 12% of all agents use drones for every listing. Fortunately, professional real estate photographers widely use today's cutting-edge drone technology, and they are licensed to fly drones and know the local rules and restrictions. Drone shoots are also more affordable than ever, allowing all agents to incorporate aerial footage into their marketing plans for every seller and every listing. Big city shots When you think about using aerial footage to help sell a property, you might envision using it to showcase a home on acreage. But today's smaller and more agile drones can shoot 4K quality video and images in just about any place, including for a big city listing. Whether you are trying to sell a coop in Brooklyn, a townhome in DC, or a condo in downtown Seattle or Miami, aerial footage is a great way to set your listing apart. A home located amid tall structures might get lost in the minds of a potential buyer, but drone footage can give them the proper context. Panned aerial shots allow someone to see the entire community as well as the setting of the home in relation to the neighborhood. Aerial footage will also impress your sellers with downtown listings, so make this part of your listing presentation and the marketing services you provide sellers. Suburban perspective One of the greatest challenges home buyers have when searching for a home on the internet is getting a feel for the area. Unfortunately, local content is often sparse as neighborhood images and videos do not commonly accompany most home listings. Adding drone footage for every suburban listing can change that. With a listing of a house located in the suburbs, aerial photos and video can tell a story about the entire area. You can showcase proximity to schools, parks, pet-friendly areas, and other local amenities buyers today say are essential. Moreover, aerial footage helps give people perspective on the lot and its boundaries as you can instantly see a property's outline from above. A drone shoot can provide a view of the roads that give access to the property, which is another unique benefit. The aesthetics of a neighborhood shine when shot by a drone as nearby playgrounds, lakes, rivers, and golf courses all stand out. Country homes and drones There may be no better way to showcase a country home than with drone photos and video. By capturing the acreage from above, you give your potential homeowner a view that will help them make a purchase decision quicker. Outbuildings and other property features become even more impressive when photographed from above. Access roads, driveways, and other paved areas also are easier to delineate with an aerial shoot. Perhaps most importantly, you will impress your sellers. Aerial footage even in a sellers' market? You might think that when you are in the middle of one of the most robust sellers' markets in history, you don't need to make the extra investment in drone photography. However, when you skimp on your marketing investment that supports your sellers, you may put future referral business at risk. How you market each listing – from what your listing materials look like to the marketing channels you use to promote each listing – says a lot about your brand and agent image in your local marketplace. The best and most successful agents use drone photography and video because it works and increases their brand's perceived value. Last step: hire a professional One of the best ways to elevate your brand as a real estate agent or broker is to hire a professional real estate photographer for every listing. High-quality real estate photos not only convey your listings in the best possible way but can create an emotional connection with potential buyers. It's a win-win because your sellers will be happy too. Most importantly, today, professional real estate photographers typically are a one-stop shop, allowing you to order photos, an immersive 3D tour with a floorplan, and aerial photography and video services as well. HomeJab is America's most popular and reliable on-demand professional real estate photography and video service for real estate pros. Lightning-fast high-end visual production offerings include immersive 3D interactive tours, floor plan creation, affordable virtual staging, and turnkey aerial services. To search for a local professional real estate photographer in your area who offers drone photography, go to HomeJab.com to find an affordable and complete listing package with a 24-hour turnaround and easy online scheduling. Learn more about drone photography and drone video shoots and samples at HomeJab.com. Joe Jesuele is the founder and CEO of HomeJab, America's most popular and reliable on-demand professional real estate photography and video marketplace for real estate pros, and one of the nation's top real estate visual content experts.

Choosing Impressive Listing Photos Can Dramatically Boost Your Image, Too
It takes just seconds to make a first impression, and that's why the photos you select for every listing count. Now that searching for a new home online has rocketed to an all-time high of 97%, according to the National Association of Realtors, property photos may be more crucial than ever before. Today, we have a very image-centric home buying population. Millennials are the largest share of buyers at 37%. Older Millennials (31 to 40 years) account for 23% of home buyers, and Younger Millennials (ages 22 to 30) comprise 14%. More than half of Millennials are active on Instagram, according to eMarketer, the marketing research firm. Moreover, according to NAR's 2021 Generational Trends Report, Millennial and Gen X buyers said photos were the most essential part of a real estate listing, with features such as videos, interactive maps, and virtual open houses ranking in the top 14. The NAR research for real estate is clear: Homes with a single photo are spending twice as long on the market as a home with 20 photos. Other real estate photography research has found that: Homes with high-quality photography sell 32 percent faster. Homes with more photos sell faster, too. A home with one photo spends an average of 70 days on the market, but a home with 20 photos spends 32 days on the market. For homes in the $200,000 to $1 million range, those that include high-quality photography in their listings sell for $3,000-$11,000 more. While we know that photos help homes sell faster, choosing the right listing photos can also boost your image as a listing agent. That's because when it comes to photos, making your first impression your best impression will garner more views and engagement. The quality of your photography is part of what conveys your brand as an agent. If you only use exceptional photos, people will notice this and associate quality with your brand. Shoot your own photos or hire? If you take your own listing photos, that's not a bad thing at all – unless the quality isn't what it should be. The key isn't who took the photo. The most important element is what your photos look like and the impressions they make, collectively, when someone views each of your listings. Today's smartphones have extraordinary camera capabilities that did not exist a few years ago. The best way to know if your photos make the grade is to compare your shots with colleagues who only use professional real estate photographers. If you can see a stark difference, so can your clients and prospects. There are many benefits to hiring a professional real estate photographer versus doing it yourself. Real estate photographers use the best equipment – with special lighting and lenses – to capture shots that are either difficult or nearly impossible to replicate with a smartphone. And when you hire a pro, you hire them because of how they "see" a room, a home, or a yard. They know how to set the right angle and frame, catch the best lighting, and create photos that look like they belong in a magazine. Why photos matter even when homes are selling fast If homes sell in just hours or days and not weeks, why should you still care about your listing photos? Because they remain a reflection of you as a professional. Your property photos influence what others think of you: your fellow agents, your broker-owner, your clients, and potential prospects. What photos help a listing sell? What works better: a kitchen photo or a great room photo? Space outdoors or a bonus room? A room for a home office or a beautiful master bath? Choosing the right rooms to showcase for each listing can be crucial to your listing promotion's success. For example, focus on showing the highlights of the home that help tell its story. Every home has a story that makes it unique. As you write your listing description, think of the photos that will complement its key features as well as what makes the home most attractive. While the industry standard is often to show the home's front exterior as the first photo, there might be a compelling reason to showcase something else. For example, if the home's location is key, an aerial shot could be better. If a new remodel created a chef's kitchen with high-end appliances, that could make an excellent first photo. Or, if the home features a great outdoor living area, that might have a greater appeal. The photos you choose and the order you present them should be done thoughtfully. But, again, listing photos are not just about helping the home sell. They reflect on your brand as a real estate professional. It's not just about taking the right photos that matter the most for your listing. It's also about having the best quality images that will help your listing sell. Here are some additional tips on how you can sell your listing by giving buyers the images they want to see: The first impression photos matter the most: Facebook allows you to select a primary image, so choose the one that best showcases your list. Then follow with more photos that show the main highlights of the home and helps to tell its story. When not to use an exterior photo: Most people use an establishing shot of the front of the home as their primary image. That's fine, as most people want to see what the house looks like. But if you are listing a condo in a large complex, a better primary image would be an interior shot that showcases its best feature. Time your shoot the listing photos: The best time to shoot for your listing is after sunrise and before sunset, as you should have sunlight that provides even lighting and no harsh shadows. Shooting on a clear blue-sky day also can make all your exterior shots shine. Quality over quantity: Again, quality is critical, so if your listing photos don't stack up against those of a professional real estate photographer, hire one. Top producers will tell you that professional photography pays for itself, helps the home sell faster, and enhances your credibility when you provide clients the highest quality images. Remember that it's better to have a few top-tier photos for your listing than many subpar shots. Finally, when you choose to work with a professional real estate photographer, keep in mind that it comes with their post-production talents. They will use software and editing tools to enhance the high-quality photos they deliver. The result will be that when you post these photos to the MLS and your social media sites, people will spend time gazing at them instead of glancing at them. If you have any questions or trouble downloading or resizing photos for your real estate listing, contact Tech Helpline, as we are only a click, call, or email away. To view the original article, visit the Tech Helpline blog.

5 Tips For Great Vacation Rental Photos
Vacation rental photos are different compared to photography of homes listed for sale. However, a good real estate photographer can easily learn to navigate the vacation rental market. In finding the right place to stay, homebuyers and vacationers have different ideals, mindsets, and approaches to the task at hand. Plus, there's not just one type of person who enjoys traveling. Getting away for a vacation means conquering a bucket-list goal for some people, and simply breaking away from the daily grind for others. Despite the differences of vacation rentals and long-term homes, they each have one awesome thing in common: Photography makes a world of a difference in the number of successful and high-quality bookings and sales. To demystify some of the techniques behind vacation rental photography, we explored the professional photography styles of booking websites like AirBnB, VRBO and RedAwning. Read on to learn more about the elements of all great vacation rental real estate photography. Break the Real Estate Photography Rules (and Get Away With It) Like the spontaneous nature of travel, vacation rental photographs are free to break a few rules of typical real estate photography. For these special home listings, people are looking for a break in the everyday. On top of plans for seasonal travel, lots of people are busy daydreaming about the vacations they would take if money were no object. In that way, unique vacation rental photos can help your wildest dreams feel within reach. Half the charm of vacation rental listings is in the quirky characteristics of the property, and all of the novelty experiences that will be at hand throughout the vacation. The other half is having a safe and secure place to live temporarily, whether it's for a long weekend or an extended stay. Vacation rental photography is as much about breaking and bending the rules as it is about inspiring new lifestyles and philosophies. Keep the top five defining characteristics of good vacation rental photography top-of-mind for your next shoot: Include People of All Abilities No one should be hesitant to take a vacation due to a fear of missing out on some of the best experiences, like having a unique place to stay. Accessibility can be the defining factor in why you choose to book a hotel that follows accessibility code over a unique stay at a private vacation home. To be more inclusive of people with disabilities, get to know the features of an accessible home and how to best show them through photographs. Take care to avoid any 'visual blockers' like too much furniture, and show each room from multiple angles. Accessibility in a vacation rental might look like any of the following: Wider Spaces: For people with wheelchairs, space is important for navigating a vacation home comfortably. There should be room to move around the house and turn around without bumping into anything inside of the house, through doorways and on the sidewalks and streets surrounding the property. Photos can show adequate spacing between furniture and room layouts, as well as wide-open hallways, doorways and walkways. Appliances and Utilities: Lowered sinks and appliances aren't standard in all homes, but they can make a massive difference in vacation expectations for someone with a disability. Bathrooms and showers might have specially adjusted plumbing, or a shower stall without a tub and with supportive bars or benches. Other Accessible Features: This could include anything that makes normal use of the house easier for people who are not typically able-bodied. Light switches, ramps, beds, elevators could be the deciding factor in someone's dream vacation. Fill Rooms With Natural Light Reassure potential guests that there is no pressure to be 'on' while they're vacationing. Use natural light to welcome vacationers into the home as they are. In most cases, this means skipping the use of artificial light and external flash entirely — unless there are no natural light sources. Draw the shades and blinds of every room open, and shoot at a time when sunlight sets a particular mood in the home. A vacation rental photographed on an overcast day might fill every room with a pure white glow, while photographs of a home at golden hour in a room with a view says something entirely different. In either case, the natural lighting should complement the best features of the architecture, style, and overall design of the home. In typical real estate photography, relying on natural lighting can limit the view of a home's interior design, and other important structural features of the house. For vacation rental photography, the stakes for a comfortable stay are much lower. Natural lighting creates an organic invitation to an effortlessly stylish getaway. Promote Relaxation It's no secret that most people want to relax and unwind on vacation. You can communicate the relaxing qualities of a home through photos of a space that's visually balanced. For real estate photographers used to stitching together multiple photos, take note! The lens you shoot with shouldn't be too wide — a full frame 16mm lens is the widest recommended for vacation rental photoshoots. Otherwise, you risk making some unnatural-looking lines in the photo composition that aren't ideal for vacation listings. You should shoot and edit vacation rental photos with the goal of making space look as naturally serene and inviting as possible. Try shooting at a lower angle than the standard chest-level MLS photos — AirBnB recommends about four feet high — to capture the feeling of cozying up in a warm cabin, luxurious bathtub, or enjoying breakfast in a happy little breakfast nook. Highlight the Amenities When people look for the perfect vacation rental properties, they are usually weighing the pros and cons of the included amenities. In a big city, that can be anything from a nearby playground, day spa, or a nighttime cityscape view. In a more rural setting, vacation amenities might include a well-curated garden, gym or recreational area. There's no one-size-fits-all list of amenities for a vacation rental. That's part of the excitement in the vacation home search. Another important distinction of vacation rentals from real estate photography is the use of vertical photos. While verticals should be used sparingly, you can use them to effectively show off the unique interior design features of the vacation rentals. In a vacation rental setting, it's easy to appreciate the novelty details, like themed figurines, plants and other signs of a well-traveled life. Small features like this give an exciting glimpse of how staying there might feel. Carry a Shot List In traditional real estate photography, you might aim to get a simple set of photos that covers every inch of the property. It's not always necessary to carry a shot list. For great vacation rental photos, quality over quantity is what matters. That's why we recommend carrying a list of the most important amenities in the home before you arrive, and capturing a few styled angles of each room. Below is an example of a shot list you might use to prioritize your next vacation rental shoot. Main Rooms Take two to three photos of each key room or amenity: Bedrooms Kitchen and Dining Common Areas Outdoor or Recreational Spaces Additional Rooms and Details Take one to two photos of each key room, detail or amenity: Bathrooms Balconies, patios, and gardens Hot tubs Gym Rooftop Exterior view Accessibility Features: Take one to two photos of each, when available: Wide-open entryways are visible in all main rooms Ramps, stairways, elevators, safety bars Handicap parking Shower stalls, plumbing, appliances, light switches With this list in mind, you can showcase the potential of a space in the way it functions, and the way it might make you feel on vacation. Vacation Rental Photos Made Easy The key to great vacation rental photography is showing how one rental is the ideal place to relax, get away from the everyday, and still feel perfectly at home. Ultimately, your vacation rental photos should be inviting, exciting, and maybe even a little bit unusual — in a good way. There's not just one type of vacation rental that works for everyone, so keep the unique features, style, accommodations and amenities front of mind when shooting. Helping vacationers find their next home away from home can be that simple. To view the original article, visit the HomeJab blog.

Do You Own Your Real Estate Photos?
When a home's been listed for sale and arrangements have been made for a photoshoot, who owns the property photos once they've been taken? On the one hand, you have the professional real estate photographer who pushes the camera shutter button and takes the shots. On the other hand, you have the listing agent who's licensed by the state to handle real estate transactions and is ultimately responsible for the images. A professional photographer may be beholden to her artistic integrity and feel strongly about intellectual property laws and copyright ownership. But real estate agents owe a fiduciary obligation to the homeowners and brokerage companies they work with. Not only that, but the agent is most likely the one footing the bill for the property photos. So, the question as to who owns property photos is a polarizing one, to say the least, and many industry professionals have weighed in their opinions. There are legal complications to consider, too, but to present arguments for both the agent and the photographer, we'd rather stick to the guidelines that dictate how property photos get used before, during, and after a real estate sale. Who Owns Property Photos? Answer: it depends on the photo. Some photographers will negotiate the rights to property photos because of their resale values. But just as a car loses value the moment it gets driven off the dealership lot, property photos lose value as soon as the home is sold. For instance, MLS guidelines state that property photos mustn't be reused to market the same home for a future sale. In other words, images that are uploaded to the MLS need to be fresh and current and portray how the home looks today. This governing principle alone already throws a wrench in the photographer's case to own the property photos she takes. Moreover, uploading reused photos can be flagged as fraudulent by the MLS system, especially because aspects of the home may have changed over time. Depicting homes in their current state makes the listing more transparent and authentic. Not only is this an ethical way to do business, but it also helps speed up the sale of the home and protects the listing against "unruly activity" notices from MLS or other marketing platforms. Privacy Consider this: property photos depict someone's private home. The personal property depicted in the photos belongs to the homeowner. Thus, selling or distributing these photos outside of the sale of the home — unless the photographer has signed an agreement directly with the homeowner — infringes on the homeowner's privacy rights. This is yet another reason why real estate agents and homeowners should own the rights to property photos. Once the home is sold, it's up to the homeowner to decide how the photos will be used going forward. More often than not, homeowners will want pictures of their homes' interiors and exteriors taken down once the sale is completed. Every week, homeowners contact HomeJab and ask us to take down images of their homes for privacy reasons. And we happily comply. The Photographer's Portfolio Some photographers argue that owning property photos strengthens their portfolios and helps them attract new customers. This perspective further muddles the question as to who owns property photos. As we mentioned above, due to listings guidelines that devalue property photos once the home is sold and privacy concerns from the homeowner, owning the rights to property photos creates more liabilities for real estate agents and homeowners than it does for the photographer. So, does this mean that photographers can't use any of the photos they take during the shoot? Not necessarily! Copyrights of images in the public domain (i.e., neighborhood photos, points of interest, landmarks, historical buildings, statues, etc.) should absolutely remain with the photographer. For example, if a photographer captures a beautiful shot of a historic landmark from the balcony of the property, he could rightfully request ownership of that photo for reuse in other mediums. What's more, these types of photos could really beef up the photographer's portfolio and do wonders for procuring new clientele. It's become a common practice among real estate agents to demand ownership of all photos taken by the photographer. The agent may even request that the photographer sign away rights to all of their photos. But when it comes to images in the public domain, the photographer shouldn't have to sign off or give away the rights to them, especially because these images have a strong resale value. The photographer could even generate passive income through the reuse of these types of photos. Finally, if real estate agents want to own the rights to these kinds of photos, they should expect to pay a premium. For more info on real estate photography services and pricing, or to schedule a shoot, check us out here! To view the original article, visit the HomeJab blog.

Why Real Estate Photography Is Important In A Seller's Market
It's a hot seller's market! Real estate listings are scarce. Meanwhile, buyers are lining up around the corner, ready to make an offer on their dream homes. With homes flying off the shelves, real estate agents may be tempted to forego professional real estate photography altogether. They figure that the home will sell itself. "I can skip a few steps," the agent says. "I don't need photos." But just because homes are selling like hotcakes doesn't mean that agents should ignore a crucial marketing step: To include high-quality real estate photography in their listings. To prove our point, below are five solid reasons why real estate photos are super important, even in an aggressive seller's market. The Stats According to Realtor.org, 92% of homebuyers surfed the internet while searching for a home. Not only that, but a 2017 study by the National Association of Realtors found that among buyers who used the internet to search for homes, 89% thought that clicking through property photos was useful. Moreover, listings that featured just one photo averaged 70 days on the market compared to the 32-day average of listings with over 20 images. These stats show that professional real estate photography can help sell homes faster no matter the state of the market — whether it favors the buyer or the seller. Get More Listings A listing without professional photos is like a waffle cone without ice cream. One feels incomplete without the other. So, to set yourself apart from other agents, ensure that your listings are loaded with high-quality real estate photos. Not only will this bode well for your brand image, but it could also expand your sphere of influence among prospective buyers and help you score more listings! After all, when sellers research you online (and they will), they'll expect to see quality media. If the listing is between you and another agent, you can emerge victorious by making sure that your listings are packed with superb real estate photography. But don't stop there: if you really want to sweep the seller off her feet, you can include real estate video content, 3D tours, and exciting aerial drone footage in your listings. Take that, Other Agent! Get More Leads Want to rank higher in Google? You'll need to host exclusive, high-quality, and eye-grabbing media that'll generate more clicks and drive more traffic to your site. To optimize your presence in Google search results, you'll also need to apply some SEO best practices. For starters, edit the image filename so that it's searchable and SEO-friendly. Be descriptive without going overboard. For example, instead of a filename titled "IMG_001.jpg," try "2-story-townhouse-Boise-Idaho," if that's what you're going for. The latter has a nice (clickable) ring to it, don't you think? Also, make sure that your Alt Tags are optimized for SEO so that the image can define itself to web crawlers and appear more relevant against search queries: Classic townhouse with modern gourmet kitchen Boise Idaho. Lastly, why spend money on paid social and Google Ads when you can generate organic traffic using impeccable real estate photos that convert leads into customers? Virtual Open Houses In today's tech-driven world, hosting a virtual open house, or offering 3D real estate tours, can help sell the property even faster. Better yet, a virtual tour can take the legwork out of showing the property in person, especially when a potential buyer sends you a last-minute request to view it. Thus, the advent of the virtual tour allows you to work more efficiently. For example, you can send the prospective homebuyer a link to the tour to sustain their interest in the property while sorting out your schedule behind the scenes. What's more, some sellers may not be comfortable with the thought of others visiting their homes post-pandemic, which is why a virtual tour comes in extra handy. At HomeJab, our virtual tour services can offer seamless 3D real estate experiences for your customers. Homeowners Deserve the Best When asked why he hustled on plays that had little effect on a game's outcome or on his team's standing, baseball legend Joe DiMaggio said, "Because there's always some kid who may be seeing me for the first time… "I owe him my best." At HomeJab, we believe that homeowners also deserve the best, no matter the size of their homes. Although a lower-end home might be a small deal for the agent, it's nonetheless a big financial investment for the homeowner. Therefore, it deserves as much energy and hard work as one would pour into a higher-end home. And there you have it — five solid reasons why professional real estate photography matters in a seller's market. Ready to schedule your shoot? To view the original article, visit the HomeJab blog.

Staging the Exterior of Your Home for Real Estate Photography
Want your listing to make the best first impression possible? Share this home seller-focused article with your clients to ensure the exterior of their home is picture perfect! As you prepare to sell your home, there is bound to be plenty of last-minute worries running through your head: Did I get rid of everything from that room? Is the kitchen as clean as it could be? Do I need to stage? However, it's completely normal to become so preoccupied with concerns about the inside of your home that you neglect the outside. The exterior of your home, including the yard, paintwork and driveway, are just as important when making sure your home gives a strong impression. In fact, since the exterior is first seen by potential buyers, it might be even more important than how you have presented the inside. Some steps to take before photography We know how tempting it is get a real estate photographer there right away to start snapping, but there is a basic checklist you should follow before beginning to take photos of your home. Ensure your green spaces are looking neat. Your grass should be freshly mowed for a clean look. If not, ensure that it isn't overgrown at the very least. Similarly, trees and shrubs should be non-intrusive and trimmed down for aesthetic purposes. Consider your pathways and driveways. Are they clear of any potential obstacles? Make sure that any leaves, sticks, or other unsightly objects have been cleared. Your footpaths should always make for a smooth walk. Another tip is to relocate your garbage cans to your garage while you take photos – nobody wants to look at garbage cans when considering a home! Lastly, before photos of the exterior are taken, move your car out of the way. Your car can be a distraction in the photos and potentially cover up some of your curb appeal. Do all of your flowerbeds look their best? A flowerbed should only ever be photographed containing blooming plants or covered in fresh mulch. You want to avoid taking photos of flowerbeds covered in dead plants, gardening equipment, or other debris. A layer of fresh mulch can work wonders in the winter when your flowerbed might be looking bare. Conceal unsightly elements of your yard. Sometimes, these things are fairly easy to hide. Be it toys that belong to your kids or dog, a stray garden shovel, or some laundry pegs, they can simply be removed from your grass. However, if you have an unsightly air conditioning unit, this would be tougher to conceal. You might be able to use shrubbery or a potted plant to your advantage here. Showcase your outdoor living area. If your home boasts a comfortable decking or patio area, it is a great idea to spend some time capturing its essence through photography. Ask your photographer to show off the outdoor living area in its best light, especially if you have luxuries such as a nice seating area, barbecue, or swimming pool. Consider your doors and windows A photo of your front door can be an intriguing one. If you list this image first, it can build excitement about what lays behind the door. However, do note that this tactic only works if your front door is clean, well-presented, and any panes of glass are thoroughly washed. Consider adding a welcome mat or other pieces of porch furniture to really make the front of your home look appealing. Creating a sense of warmth through your external photography is key to getting potential buyers on-site. For more exterior tips as well as interior ones, check out our Prep List! Jack Vale is a writer for Scaffold Store, a scaffolding manufacturer and retailer. To view the original article, visit the HomeJab blog.

How to Prep Your Listing for a Photo Shoot
Real estate photos are the best way to make a strong first impression on a buyer, but it's important that a listing is properly prepared before the photo shoot begins. Share this article with your clients to ensure their home is picture perfect and ready to sell! We've prepared this comprehensive guide to get your listing camera-ready and one step closer to selling! In this article, we cover three key sections to the home prep process — exterior shots, interior shots and virtual staging — and it's all you'll ever need to help your real estate clients prepare their home before the real estate photographer is scheduled to arrive. How to Prep the Home Exterior Ever heard of the phrase, "It's not about what's on the outside but what's on the inside that counts?" Yeah. No. When it comes to real estate photography, the outside counts just as much as the inside. And with the bulk of your life taking place indoors, it's no wonder that a home's exterior is often overlooked during the prep process. That said, below are five areas to consider when prepping the exterior sections of your home. Keep in mind that an impeccable exterior can help your property score a great first impression! 1. Yards and Landscaping A well-groomed front yard, ideally with some flowers and plants that pop, can certainly set the mood for the rest of the home-viewing experience. What's more, a home's exterior and front lawn are usually the featured image in show sheets, so you'll want to make sure that the outside sections of your home are as photogenic as possible, starting with your grass. Grass should be trimmed uniformly for a clean and consistent look. There should be no unruly patches of grass or overgrown shrubs that distract from a uniform look. On the other hand, if your front lawn is comprised of Astroturf or synthetic grass, be sure to spot-clean any stains that may have set into the grass over time. 2. Pathways and Driveways Are there tire streaks on the driveway leading up to the garage? Are there trash and recycling bins lined up against the curb waiting to be collected by the utility company? Are there any other obstructions that might further distract from the main focus of the image (i.e., your home?) When it comes to real estate photography, these are important questions to consider! So make sure that these areas are unobstructed before the photographer arrives. And lastly, we know that you're super proud of your sweet ride, whether it's a '95 Corolla or a '21 Maserati, but homebuyers aren't very keen on viewing pictures of your car (so maybe save that for Car and Driver magazine?) 3. Unsightly Elements Piggybacking off Step #2, you should check for unsightly elements that could derail your real estate photography efforts, such as tricycles parked on freshly mowed lawns, water hoses coiled over rusty pipes, and stray garden shovels staked into the soil. Seriously, not even the adorable child swing hanging from a branch of your olive tree is safe. In real estate photography, less is certainly more. 4. Windows and Doors If you're already prepping the front and back exteriors of your home, we'd like you to take a moment and glance at each exterior section. (Go ahead. We'll wait.) Alright, so now that you're back, may we ask, Where did your eye go? What exactly did you see? A basic interior design trick is to design around a conversation piece in every room. This conversation piece could be a blush wingback chair or an exquisite marble top coffee table that your eye will be immediately drawn to. And then, as you survey the rest of the area, everything else centered around the design will sort of just make sense. You can apply the same technique to your home exterior and really up the ante in your real estate photography game. For example, you might not know the house number for your neighbor down the street, but you know that her door is painted in a "school bus yellow" that you can't help but notice as you drive past. Before you splash a gallon of yellow paint on your front door, ask yourself if there could be a "conversation piece" to your home exterior that your real estate photographer can capture during the photo shoot. This should be something eye-grabbing, such as an ornate door knocker or a comfy seating area. At the very least, you should aim to keep your front and back doors clean and presentable. That goes for window panes, too. 5. Outdoor Entertaining Does your home boast an appealing deck, patio area, or gazebo? If your home is rich in outdoor amenities, use them! Good real estate photography showcases exterior areas in your home where the prospective buyer can imagine themselves spending time. This can be a BBQ grill area, swimming pool, or zen garden. Remember, your goal is to entice the homebuyer to set up a viewing of your property right away, and a flawless photoshoot (highlighting exteriors as much as interiors) is the quickest way to accomplish this. (For more on exterior home prep, check out this article!) How to Prep Your Home Interior At HomeJab, our photographers are instructed not to rearrange items in your home when they arrive to snap pictures. This is why the below three steps to prepping your home's interior are crucial. Before we dive in, note that a home is best captured when empty, so no photobombing with your pets and guests in the background, please. Also, our photographers don't photoshop items out of the pictures they take free of charge, so if you don't want that lava lamp on your nightstand to be featured, please do your best to remove it. 1. Declutter In real estate photography, knickknacks are no bueno; that goes for the spice jars on the kitchen counter and the piles of bills on the dinner table. To ensure that all interior rooms are camera-ready, please put away all personal care items including laundry bags, toys, pet beds, food, and water bowls. It's also recommended that you remove personal photos, such as framed pictures or photo albums that are otherwise on display. And lastly, if you care to leave towel linens hanging on rods in the bathroom, opt for colors like white and beige to offer a neutral palette to the viewer. 2. Lighting Light is an important element to consider when prepping your home for the real estate photographer. Make sure that all light bulbs are working properly and that they're switched on. Also, leaving all doors open in each room can help brighten up your spaces even more and aid the real estate photographer in capturing more depth to your spaces. 3. Cleanliness To prepare for the perfect interior shots, your home should be sparkly clean and uber tidy. To that end, ensure that all beds are neatly made, vacuum and clean all carpets and rugs, empty out all sinks, showers and bathtubs, lower all toilet seats, wipe all counters, surfaces and mirrors, and put away all waste bins. We can't stress enough that when it comes to real estate photography, visual details matter, which is why you should strive to conceal electric wires (if possible) and to arrange furniture items in an aesthetically pleasing way. For instance, you can fluff up the pillows on your couch and arrange them through color coordination. (To access HomeJab's bulleted Prep List, click here!) How to Prep For Virtual Staging But what if there's nothing inside of your home to prep? Not a single chair, table, or desk to sit at? Worst of all, what if the items in your home aren't photogenic at all? What if they're bonafide eyesores like that jungle-themed wallpaper in the bathroom or the red leather sofa in the living room? At HomeJab, we can agree that, for the most part, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But when it comes to real estate photography, you'll want to err on the side of caution, and that includes subduing loud, jarring elements by replacing them with warm, neutral colors. The good news is that our virtual staging services can either fill in those empty spaces or remove unsightly items from the picture, swapping them out for modern furniture and decor instead! When planning a virtually staged home, be mindful of best practices and rules to avoid misrepresenting your property. Some MLSs think that virtual staging presents an ethical issue based on misrepresentation, which is why there should be a disclaimer in your listing stating that your home is virtually staged. If so, the disclaimer should note that items depicted in the room are meant to help the prospective homebuyer envision what the home can look like and not what it actually looks like at the time the pictures were taken. We also recommend including pictures in your listing showing the current state of the room. This way you can help clear any confusion or misrepresentations on your listing. Finally, don't let the photoshoot prep process overwhelm you! At HomeJab, we make it incredibly easy to start with your best foot forward. Just follow this guide and book your real estate photographer when your home's ready for its closeup! To view the original article, visit the HomeJab blog.

4 Reasons Why Waiting on Your Real Estate Photographer Is a Bad Idea
Is waiting on your real estate photographer's schedule keeping you from growing your business? At HomeJab, we'd like to help you prevent this tragedy! Below are four definitive reasons why waiting on your real estate photographer is a bad idea, and why booking with us can help you win more listings and sell more homes on the fly. 1. Efficiency With so many business directives to check off their list, from generating leads to closing deals, the busy real estate agent simply can't afford to be at the whim of a photographer's schedule. In fact, it's quite the opposite: their day needs to be less stressful, better managed, and more productive. So, rather than wait for your go-to photographer to reply to your texts, emails, and even social media DMs, why not skip these time-consuming attempts at communication and schedule a professional real estate photographer with HomeJab in no time? 2. Time Is Money When it comes to running the gamut of a successful real estate business, speed is the name of the game. Period. A savvy real estate agent understands this wholeheartedly, which is why the faster you list your property, the faster you can say "cha-ching!" on your way to the bank. What's more, booking your real estate photographer with HomeJab can keep you ahead of the curve by outsmarting ibuyers like Zillow and Opendoor, who are aggressively pitching homeowners with a quick close. 3. Flexibility Let's be honest: your go-to real estate photographer also moonlights at weddings, snapping pics of happy brides and grooms, amirite? Look, there's nothing wrong with that, but you'll want a reliable service that offers you complete flexibility when it comes to hiring a real estate photographer. Not only that, there's the homeowner's schedule to consider, too. Between virtual Zoom meetings, kids' playdates, and other home engagements, you'll need to hash out scheduling details with the homeowner accordingly and ensure that photo shoots are timed precisely. This is where HomeJab's on-demand scheduling comes in handy. By booking with us, you can make sure that your professional real estate photographer arrives at the optimal time, to a tidy, picture-perfect home. Our scheduling process is so flexible, you can even book around the landscaper's schedule and show off that awesome curb appeal! 4. Win More Listings Imagine speaking with a prospective seller. They're looking to work with a dedicated agent who can list their home and sell it yesterday. Now, imagine telling that seller that you have the wherewithal to schedule a professional real estate photographer to snap exquisite photos of their home as soon as tomorrow! That's the beauty of HomeJab: we provide a swift solution to a pain point that simply can't wait. Besides scoring some major brownie points by impressing the seller with your speed, once you're able to schedule photos right away, the homeowner's committing to working with you. Boom! You've just won another listing, and all you had to do was use HomeJab to connect with and schedule a professional real estate photographer within 24 hours. By the way, this makes us the fastest and most efficient media production service in the real estate industry, but who's bragging? (To view our amazing portfolio of impeccable real estate photography, click here!) To view the original article, visit the HomeJab blog.

How Drones Can Help Drive Interest in Today's Real Estate World
As with so many of the unique challenges in the COVID-19 real estate world, technology is helping to bridge the gaps and allow buyers to fall in love with homes from a distance. Aerial drones filled a valuable niche in real estate marketing even before the pandemic, but their use has only grown more prominent during the last year. With creative use of drone footage, you can help buyers fall in love and help sellers show off their properties from a whole new perspective. Why Drones Truly Took Off in Real Estate in 2020 The challenges posed by COVID-19 and precautions in place to prevent its spread have impacted every part of life, including real estate. Many markets have restrictions currently in place that make touring homes and neighborhoods in person impractical. And while there are some more "open" communities around the country, many real estate clients won't be comfortable making tours in person. Virtual tours and online research have taken an even more important role in buying a new home than ever before, with drones providing valuable footage that simply can't be obtained in any other way. How Buyers Are Adapting to Shopping in the COVID-19 Era The good news is that even with all of the unique challenges we have faced recently, buyers are still very interested in purchasing homes and sellers still want to find the right buyer for their properties. Today, buyers rely on virtual tours for learning about the homes and neighborhoods that pique their interest. They are looking for detailed footage that really helps them fall in love with a home and neighborhood. This includes all of the photos/video that you're already used to gathering from ground level, but a view from above can really help tie the whole package together. That's where aerial drones enter the picture. Normal Home Footage Is Great, But It Has Some Key Limitations With a high-quality smartphone equipped with the right apps and accessories, you can capture great footage of a home from ground level. Drones don't replace that footage, but perspective and scale are also limited when capturing footage from the ground. You can show off individual rooms or provide an impression of how the home looks from the curb, but there's no way to get a holistic view of the property from the ground. So by all means keep creating those great, detailed virtual tours with your phone, but don't forget to include a view from above. Drones Provide a Unique Perspective That Can't Be Captured Any Other Way When you're trying to capture everything that a property has to offer, there's simply no substitute for the unique perspective that drone footage provides. It shows how the whole property fits together, and how it has been maintained. If the home is situated in an area with beautiful, natural views, aerial footage can perfectly show off that natural landscape around the home. If it's in a more densely populated, urban community, then a view from above shows how the home fits into the neighborhood. Helping Buyers Fall in Love with Neighborhoods Is More Important than Ever Savvy buyers know that they're shopping for a neighborhood just as much as they're shopping for a home, and that hasn't changed in the COVID-19 era. Of course, how buyers connect with those neighborhoods has changed a great deal. Traveling to visit a potential new neighborhood is challenging, and in many markets the buyer won't be able to see much even if they did make a trip. But they still want to get a feel for the neighborhood, find how close key services will be located, see what they'll do for fun, and discover how their potential new home is situated within the larger community. Drones and aerial views can help put that all in perspective. How Drones Can Help Capture the Essence of Each Neighborhood While virtual tours work great for homes, they are much more difficult to pull off when you're trying to showcase an entire neighborhood. Even if you get great footage of a few local businesses and attractions, it's hard to show how everything is connected within the neighborhood. An aerial view of the community provides a completely different perspective, allowing buyers to see how they'll move through the neighborhood, imagine what their daily routine would be like, and discover what they'll do for fun. For a home located in a rural area or deep in nature, an aerial view will highlight the privacy of the space and the natural beauty of the surrounding area. Drone Footage Is as Valuable for Sellers as It Is for Buyers We have talked plenty about how drone footage can help buyers fall in love with homes and communities, but the other side of that coin is just as important. When you're selling a property for a client, you want them to know that you're doing everything possible to market their home and overcome the challenges posed by the COVID-19 era. Providing drone footage – in addition to new standbys like virtual tours – shows sellers that you will leave no stone unturned when it comes to marketing their home. A commitment to using the best marketing tools available is great for helping sellers find buyers, and for earning referrals from satisfied sellers once the deal is closed. Getting Started with Drones Is Easier than You Might Think Becoming an expert with drone photography/video takes practice and time, but it's not too difficult to get started. Just remember that before you film with a drone, especially in public, you'll want to check out local regulations for drone use. The first thing you will need is a drone, and there are entry level models with basic cameras, often available for less than $100, that are great for practicing. More advanced models – which you'll eventually want for capturing pro-quality footage – start at around $500 and rise from there. If you wish to use your own camera, you can also purchase a drone capable of carrying cameras of any size. Once you have the equipment, it's just a matter of practicing, reviewing your footage, and getting comfortable with the process. When challenges arise, the most adaptable industries discover new ways to get things done. The real estate world has adapted in so many ways to COVID-19, and many of those adaptations will continue to provide value even when things return to normal. Drone footage is an excellent way to show off your listings/ markets now, and should remain a valuable tool well into the future. To view the original article, visit the Delta Media Group blog.

Friday Freebie: Dress Up Your Listings with this Virtual Staging Offer
As we round the corner towards Halloween, that means one thing--the season of overly decorated listings is upon us. But never fear, there's a way to make sure your listing photos remain high quality (and not frightening to buyers) throughout the holiday season. That very timely strategy? Virtual staging and photo editing. Read on to learn how you can try it out at no cost in this week's Friday Freebie. Free Virtual Staging Edit and 4 Bonus Listing Photo Edits, courtesy of BoxBrownie.com Scary home decor isn't the only thing that can mess up your listing photos. As a real estate agent, we're sure you've seen it all—clutter, mess, poor lighting, ugly furnishings and beyond. Sometimes a seller just won't work with you to prepare their home for a photoshoot. Or maybe the home is empty and it needs a little "dressing up" to pique buyers' interest. Whatever the case may be, virtual staging and photo editing can help you present the best possible version of your listing to the world. And BoxBrownie.com wants to help you do just that. That's why they're offering RE Technology readers a FREE virtual staging edit, plus four listing photo edits. Here are just a few things these edits can help with: Affordably stage both vacant and occupied listings Help buyers envision different uses for a room—e.g., digitally transform a bedroom into a home office Reduce clutter caused by the current occupant's belongings Remove seasonal items like Christmas or Halloween decorations Optimize your listing photos for color, composition, and more Transform daylight shots into warm, attractive twilight shots And more! Want to try it for yourself? Claim your FREE virtual staging edit and bonus photo edits now!

How to Take Professional Photos on Your iPhone or Android Phone
Want to market your property like a professional but can't find (or get access to) a good photographer? Or maybe you're simply looking for an innovative way to take real estate photos yourself and save a few dollars. Well, get excited because today, we're going to teach you how to shoot real estate like a professional using only your smartphone! In this article, you're going to learn: Why you need to be shooting bracketed photos for real estate How to easily set up bracketing on your iPhone and Android How to have your photos edited professionally (for only $1.60 per photo!) Why You Need to Be Shooting Bracketed Photos for Real Estate Bracketing is essentially where you take multiple photos from the same angle at various exposures. The photos are then blended to create a final shot that looks true to the eye. This is essential when marketing real estate as it's the only way to represent your property correctly. To illustrate this point, let's say you're marketing a property that has a beautiful view outside. If you don't use bracketing, the window detail will be blown out in your photo, which will retract from a major selling point of the property. By using bracketing, you'll essentially capture all of the detail required and, once blended, the result will be a stunning photo true to the eye which showcases the stunning view outside. How to Easily Set Up Bracketing on Your iPhone To set up bracketing on your iPhone, you'll need to download an app called CameraPixels PRO (which costs $10) on the App Store. There is a free version called CameraPixels Lite, but we don't recommend it as it has limited functionality. After downloading CameraPixels PRO, you'll need to enter the settings below: 1) Open up CameraPixels PRO Click on ISO and set to 20 (this is very important) Click on Mode Click on Bracketing Click on Set 2) Under "Image" Resolution: 12.2MP x 4032 x 3024 Crop: 4:3 Quality: 100% Stabilisation: On 3) Under "Bracket" Type: Exposure Image Count: 7 Images EV Step: 1.0 F-Stop Flash: Off 4) Under "Intervalometer" Timer: 1 Sec Image Count: Single Lapse: 1 Sec Click Save As Preset Give the Preset a name Now when you take a photo, it'll shoot seven shots automatically! Just make sure you always use a tripod when bracketing, as all the exposures need to align up perfectly. iPhones Models We Recommend iPhone 11 iPhone X (with Moment wide-angle lens) How to Easily Set Up Bracketing on Your Android You'll need to download an app called "Manual Cam" on Google Play. The free version is fine to use. Below are instructions on how to setup Manual Cam on your Android phone. 1) Open Manual Cam2) At the top left, click On "RAW" or "JPG" symbol. Set it for JPG.3) At the top right, click on the "Clock" symbol. Set for 3 seconds.4) At the bottom left, click on the "AW" symbol. Set White Balance to Auto.5) At the bottom middle, click on the "AF" symbol. Ensure it is set for Auto Focus.6) At the bottom right, click on the "- +" symbol. Set ISO for 40.7) At the bottom right, click on the "mountain" icon. Set to BRK. Set exposure bracketing to 5F and 3.0 8) At bottom right, click on the "Cog" symbol. Image quality is 100% Timer – 1 second Image Count – Single Lapse – OFF Now when you take a photo, the phone will automatically shoot five brackets at various exposures! Just keep in mind when shooting, you must always use a tripod to ensure all the brackets align up perfectly. Android Phones We Recommend Samsung Galaxy S20 Samsung Galaxy S10 Samsung Galaxy S9 (with wide-angle Moment lens) Note: At the time of writing this article, there are no apps available on Android (including Manual Cam) that will allow you to shoot bracketed whilst utilizing the phone's wide-angle lens. How to Have Your Photos Edited Professionally Once you've taken your shots, you'll need to get them edited and blended professionally. To do this, you'll need to use our Image Enhancement (HDR Bracketed Images) edit, which only costs $1.60 per photo edited. After transferring the photos from your phone to your computer, you'll need to: 1) Sign in to BoxBrownie.com2) On the Dashboard, click on Image Enhancement3) Under Image Enhancement: HDR Bracketed Images, click on Add New Job4) Enter in your Job Title, Number Of Outputs and Additional Information5) Select which of the 16 steps you would like applied to your images6) Upload your images then click Next7) Submit your job Within 24 hours, you'll receive an email containing a link to your completed photos. Conclusion Marketing a property professionally is now extremely affordable and accessible. All you need is a late model smartphone and a bracketing app to unlock this insane functionality. Bracketing combined with our Image Enhancement (HDR Bracketed Images) edit is essential to produce a final shot that looks true to the eye. Every real estate professional needs to be using this technique to ensure their listing is represented correctly. BoxBrownie.com is currently offering a free virtual staging edit (valued at $32) to every RE Technology member (new accounts only). This offer expires on October 30. Click here to claim your free virtual staging edit. To view the original article, visit the BoxBrownie blog.

How to Shoot Real Estate So It Attracts More Buyers
Looking to up your real estate photography game? In this article, we are going to talk through all the crucial elements that go into effectively shooting a property from start to finish. Even if you're new to real estate photography and have never shot a property in your life, this blog will help get you started with some really simple and easy-to-understand tips and tricks. Not only will we go into how to take that perfect image, we will also give you some recommendations on the right gear to purchase along with camera settings, bracketing, property preparation, and the all-important image enhancement and editing. Step One: What Camera and Tripod to Buy Finding the perfect camera to get started is easier said than done. There are plenty of options on the market and it can get pretty overwhelming if you're new to property photography. For this tutorial, we have used the Nikon D7200. However, this model is discontinued with the D7500 now the next model up from Nikon. This fantastic camera will set you back about $1,100 (at the time of writing this blog) and is a great all-around option for real estate photographers. We recommend using this camera with the Nikon 10-24mm lens (approximately $900), which will allow you to take wide shots and capture the perfect amount of the space. For the majority of the time, you should aim to shoot at approximately a 12mm focal length, as we are using the APS-C camera, which is the equivalent of shooting at 18mm on a full-frame camera configuration. It's important to note that if you shoot too wide, the images may not display the property properly. We also use the Nikon SB-5000 flash to fill out dark shadows while still producing an accurate color in the finished product. To ensure the shots are steady and perfectly angled, we use the Manfrotto tripod and a Neewer Trigger Ball Head. If this set-up is a little out of budget, we recently wrote a blog on how to shoot real estate using an iPhone 11. Step Two: What Camera Settings Should You Use There are countless settings that we could go into and many of them may depend on the exact type of camera you are using. Instead, we will detail here the main camera settings we use and recommend. Set your ISO to 100, which will allow you to capture the highest quality of image. We also recommend shooting in Aperture priority with the aperture set at f8 or above to ensure a sharp image every time. Always be sure to shoot on auto-bracketing mode. This is where your camera will shoot five separate brackets at two exposure values of difference each time you hit the shutter button. Each of these images can then be blended together during the editing phase to produce a dynamic finished product that highlights every detail in the room. If you'd like to learn more about bracketing, you can take a look at one of our previous blogs here. Step Three: How to Prepare the Property Preparing the property is an essential step in effective real estate photography. While every property is different, there are some easy-to-remember tips and tricks when preparing a property. If you'd like a handy guide to help you remember, you can download our Pre-Photography Checklist. Always remove any unnecessary clutter like shampoo bottles and soaps in the bathrooms, bins in the kitchen, kid's toys and tissue boxes etc. It's also always a good idea to straighten the tapware, cushions, towels, bedspreads and furniture to ensure a neat-and-tidy appeal. By opening all the external doors, you can create a more spacious feel and flow to the shot, and the same goes for the window blinds and curtains. Switch on all the lights to add extra appeal to the space and don't forget about the range hood, kitchen pendant lights and bedside lamps. Step Four: How to Shoot the Property When it comes to real estate photography, the aim is to shoot quickly and efficiently. Remember, this is someone's home and tenants or homeowners aren't going to be too keen for you to spend all day walking around their house. Start at one end of the home, line up the shot, half-press the shutter so it auto-focuses and then press the shutter. Providing you have set up your bracketing settings, the camera will then take five shots automatically. Move through the property, making sure to capture all the key rooms, including the kitchen, bedrooms, living spaces and bathrooms. If the bathroom is tight, you may need to shoot slightly wider to capture the layout of the room. When it comes to the exteriors, try to include some foliage in your shoot wherever possible. This will give you a bit more pop in the final image. Step Five: How to Get Your Images Edited We offer editing via our Image Enhancement HDR bracketed function for as little as $1.60 per image. To get started, all you have to do is sign up at BoxBrownie.com and log in to your dashboard. Select Image Enhancement and then the HDR Bracketed Images option. Click to start a new job and then simply enter your new Job Title, your number of total outputs and then upload your images from the property shoot. That's it. It really is as simple as that. Within 24 hours, you will receive your professionally edited images, ready for marketing your listing. Conclusion Shooting a property may seem like a daunting task, especially if you're new to real estate photography—but it doesn't have to be that way. With these simple steps, some correct bracketing, and the help of our professional editors, you too can produce outstanding images that will take your property marketing to the next level. BoxBrownie.com is currently offering a free virtual staging edit (valued at $32) to every RE Technology member (new accounts only). This offer expires on September 18. Click here to claim your free virtual staging edit. To view the original article, visit the BoxBrownie.com blog.

How to Sell a Property in 7 Days
"I recently virtually staged a home that was on the market for six months. It sold in seven days this time!" These are the ecstatic words of Brittiny Howard from Brittiny Howard of EXP Realty, who was thrilled with how virtual staging helped her sell a property that was stuck on the market. Like Brittiny, many other real estate agents are employing virtual staging within their business and are seeing higher sale prices and faster selling times for their listings. But What Exactly Is Virtual Staging? Virtual staging is the process of digitally adding furniture to an empty room. Professionally staged rooms are more attractive to the eye and help buyers visualize the space better. So How Will Virtual Staging Benefit Me? In today's technology-driven world, 90 percent of buyers start looking online, where you only have a few moments to catch their interest. Virtual staging can help you represent your listing more professionally and generate more interest. In fact: 83 percent of staged properties sell for the asking price or above Homes that are staged sell 75 percent faster than those that are not It's a fraction of the price of traditional staging You can virtually stage indoors or outdoors! But What Happens When My Client Shows Up to an Empty Property? Oh no! Your client is expecting this beautifully staged property and they show up to an empty property. Well, you got them there. Now for the next part… What a lot of real estate agents have had success with is printing out a brochure that shows the virtually-staged images. This provides the client with both perspectives of the property: furnished and unfurnished. Some agents even do the reverse. They list the pictures of an empty property online then print out the staged images to show the client when they arrive at the property. What's the Best Way for Me to Virtually Stage a Property? BoxBrownie.com offers professional virtual staging at extremely competitive rates (only $32 per image). Our outputs are photorealistic, so you won't be able to tell the difference if the property was physically staged or not. Turnaround times are super quick as well: less than 48 hours for virtual staging, which is perfect for getting your listing up ASAP. We also offer unlimited changes (if required) to the image at no extra charge. BoxBrownie.com is currently offering a free virtual staging edit (valued at $32) to every RE Technology member (new accounts only). This offer expires on September 18, 2020. Click here to claim your free virtual staging edit. To view the original article, visit the BoxBrownie.com blog.

Instagram 101: How to Successfully Build Your Business in 20 Minutes a Week
Instagram. If you have not tried it yet, it is one of the most fun and engaging social media platforms today. It is underutilized by real estate agents and is a great way to grow your business. The United States is the largest user of Instagram. The current forecast is that by 2023, this photo and video sharing app is projected to reach 126 million active users in the United States alone. There are an estimated 1 billion Instagram monthly active users worldwide.

Are Your Listing Photos Costing You Leads?
NAR reports that, in 2019, a whopping 93% of home buyers and sellers turned to the internet to help with their home search. With so many potential prospects looking at your listings and digital ads, there's no room for error in how you present properties. Above all else, consumers are taking a critical eye to each property photo. Buyers are determining whether your listing is worth their next step, while sellers are assessing your marketing abilities based on how you present your active listings and how attractive your listing ads are.

Let Listing Pictures and Video Do the Talking on Instagram
Are you searching for a new and exciting way to connect with potential buyers in your market? Instagram is a perfect resource for real estate agents and brokerages. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then Instagram is a treasure chest. Imagine showing your target market every delightful property in your portfolio without seeming intrusive or overly "sales-y." Sharing great listing images on Instagram isn't difficult. In fact, developing this type of content and seamlessly integrating it into your current marketing strategy is easier than you'd believe.

When Should You Use Instagram for Your Real Estate Marketing?
Note: The COVID-19 pandemic has made marketing on Instagram cheaper than ever. If you're considering advertising on the social media platform, now is an opportune time. More than one billion people use Instagram every month. However, the appeal of the network isn't so much its outsized user base, as impressive as it is, but rather how well the platform lends itself to marketing, and in particular, real estate marketing. Consider:

6 Apps to Help You Take Better Listing Photos
With social distancing the norm, open houses and in-person walkthroughs are on pause, leaving many agents wondering how they can replicate the feeling of live showings to prospective buyers. While we recommend using Homesnap Stories to create a sequence of visuals like videos, photos, text, stickers and emojis to showcase your personality and emulate the walkthrough experience for prospects, photos are still very much a necessary and indispensable component of listings.

How to Use Your New Smartphone Camera Like a Pro
New smartphone cameras are taking astonishing pictures. Add built-in editing software that uses Artificial Intelligence and the result is even photo bugs are ditching their bulky equipment to shoot with their phones. Welcome to the future of photography. Smartphones are well on their way to replacing more than tablets and PCs; they also are well on their way to replacing SLR cameras. If you have the newest Pixel, Samsung or Apple iPhone 11, you can take photos that, until now, you could only take with professional equipment. Here are ways you can use your new phone's camera like a pro:

How to Improve Your Real Estate Photography
If you're a regular reader, you may be familiar with our previous article covering how to take great photos of the bedroom for your real estate listings. For a room that we spend so much time in each day, it's amazing that it's so often forgotten by most agents in favour of the living areas and hero shots. Hopefully, since reading our article you have been able to put some of those tips into practice and are nailing the elusive high-quality bedroom photo. In this article, we will be focusing on the rest of the home with some of our top tips for improving your real estate photography, both on the interior and exterior of the property. To make it even easier, we have taken ten images from one home to help highlight how to put these tips into practice.

Real Estate Photography: 9 Tips for Stunning DIY Photos
Let's face it, if you want to sell a house, visuals are key. Having vibrant, inviting and attractive photos of the homes you are trying to sell is paramount. The point is, you cannot overlook the idea of having a visually stunning photo of the property. Based on the an article by The Close, featuring 23 Tips for Stunning DIY Photos, we've compiled a list featuring some of these useful tips. Here are nine tips for stunning DIY photos:

10 Ways Virtual Staging Can Make You More Money
Real estate is an old school business, but adopting new technology is having a huge impact on savvy agents' bank accounts. Don't get stuck in the past. Here are just a few ways virtual staging technology can make you more money.

Instagram's Latest Change: What It Means for Your Business
Since its founding in 2010, Instagram has become one of the top social media platforms in the world. According to Hootsuite, Instagram attracts one billion users each month. A recent announcement from Instagram's CEO, Adam Mosseri, shared that the platform would be removing public likes. In a follow-up tweet, the company said they wanted users to "focus on the photos and videos you share, not how many likes they get." Their main focus is to make users' well-being and mental health a priority, rather than popularity.

Repurposing Your Listing Photos: 3 Timeless Shots that Live on Beyond the Sale
Real estate is a hyper-local business, and your photos should help you sell your expertise in your market. Prove that you're a specialist in everything from the architectural style of homes to the natural scenery and popular hot spots by getting extra mileage out of your listing photography. Repurposing your listing photography investment can save you money on an independent lifestyle shoot. Ask for these three shots from your real estate photographer to use on social media, your website and print marketing materials:

Is Your Headshot Killing Your Business?
We've all seen them: Realtor headshots on for sale signs, bus benches, business cards, you name it. But do they actually make an impression on potential buyers and sellers? In an industry where a Realtor's image is their brand, it's hard to think that those carefully crafted photos are a waste. To find out if a real estate agent's photo, whether it be a selfie, cartoon or glamour shot, was affecting the amount of business received, Transactly set out to poll potential buyers and sellers from across the US.

Enhancing Photos and Virtual Staging: Know the Rules
Did you know that enhancing a listing photo could be a violation of your local MLS rules? It could be if you run afoul of your local MLS guidelines. There's another catch: the rules surrounding enhancing photos and using photos are unique to each MLS. Knowing your local MLS guidelines about listing photos "dos and don'ts" is essential, especially if you are uploading images that use virtual staging technology.

13 Spooky Listing Photos that Will Terrify Prospects
'Tis the season for ghouls, ghosts, and all things that go bump in the night. However, if you're looking for something really scary, you need only look at some of the listing photos uploaded to MLSs around the country. Often, the most frightening thing about a bad property photo is that an agent thought it would somehow attract potential buyers. In the spirit of the season (and a good laugh), we've rounded up 13 of the scariest listing photos around. 1. Heeere's Johnny! The best way to show how "open and airy" your new listing is? Frame a random person in the hacked up opening of the basement door. Bonus points for flash-induced red-eye. It only adds to that perfect "The Shining" vibe! Tip: Keep people (and pets) out of your listing photos. Insist that your sellers be out of the house--or at least far from the room you're currently shooting. That also means no accidental appearances of the photographer in the bathroom mirror! There's no hope for that basement door, though.

14 Easy Real Estate Photography Tips
The old cliché "a photo is worth a thousand words" is nowhere more true than in the world of real estate listings. And forget words, really: We're talking dollars and deals here! Nothing pulls buyers to open houses like stunning real estate photography. That's why it's so important to think of property photography as an investment. The more buzz you can build around a listing, the more competition you're going to drive. The photos are what's helping prospective buyers decide whether a listing is worth seeing in person. Photos will get them daydreaming about setting up their life in the house before they've even stepped across the threshold. And photos are what buyers are going to be looking at later, when they're back at home — pondering second visits and offers, maybe thumbing through a whole stack of flyers and brochures from a day of open houses. And beyond that, the best real estate photography also impresses your sellers and further wins them over as clients. Here's how to take your listing photos to the next level:

Headshot Ideas from the Pros: Stand Out from the Crowd
One of the biggest agent concerns is finding ways to stand out in the crowded marketplace of other agents. Why, then, do so many agents copy other agents? From websites to scripts, originality is sabotaged at every turn. And this is most apparent when it comes to an agent's photo. Nine photos out of 10 are absolutely identical. The hands are either on the hips or arms are crossed. Is it any wonder that consumers have the notion that all real estate agents are alike? Step away from the pack during your next photo shoot. Here are some ideas from the pros.

Stay in Your Lane: How Hiring Professional Photographers Saves You Money
Time is money and you need to make the most of both, especially in real estate. Don't waste your time acting like an amateur real estate photographer snapping photos with your iPhone. For around $150, you can have a pro do the job and return the photos to you in as little as 14 hours. Hire a professional and get back to doing what you do best--selling properties.

6 Head Shots to Stop Taking
Whether you're just starting to build your business or you're revamping your image, you probably need a new head shot. Head shots are typically used on all Realtor marketing materials, and we're talking EVERYTHING from business cards, to yard signs, bus benches, and even billboards. When someone in your neighborhood starts thinking of buying or selling, you want them to think of your smiling face. However, you want a head shot that makes them think to call you, not turn you into a meme for internet ridicule. I know they say all publicity is good publicity, but here are a few head shot trends to close the doors on.

How to Shoot Bedrooms
Trying to achieve some great images of a bedroom for your next listing? Brad Filliponi, co-founder of BoxBrownie and experienced real estate photographer, has you covered. In this blog, he is going to share his secret top tips on how to take ideal shots of bedrooms.

Most Real Estate Agents Aren't Using the Right Photo File Type
As a real estate agent, you can easily school anyone on the hidden costs of investing in opportunity zones, no problem. But technical photography file terminology might not necessarily be your forte. Don't worry--we got you. Here, we define key photography vocabulary terms so you can market your property without losing your mind.

How to Attract Real Estate Leads on Instagram
How to Grow Your Account and Get Followers After doing the basics and setting the stage for growing your account--converting to a business profile, adding an awesome bio and profile photo, and creating an aesthetic--we have a few more tips for how to gain followers organically on Instagram.

How to Plan Your Next Real Estate Post on Instagram
Currently, there are 25 million business profiles on Instagram. Is yours one of them? If your business is not on Instagram yet, you are missing out on potential leads and eyes from over 500 million daily users. Fortunately, it's easy to get started. Follow our step-by-step guide to get your business profile up and ready and plan your next real estate post.

57 Hilariously Terrible Real Estate Photos
Where would your dream home be? Would it be a rustic farm hidden in the woods or maybe a luxury condo in Manhattan? Would the interior be more traditional, have shiplap walls, or the latest modern trend? Yes, we love great real estate photos that really capture the perfect house. This post, though, is a tribute to the other kind that we've all seen.

Building Your Brand on Instagram? These Tips Can Help!
Real estate statistics consistently show that buyers do their search online. Some put it at 84 percent of Baby Boomers and 94 percent of Millennials using various websites as their primary search for real estate. With these numbers, it's no wonder so many businesses turn to social media apps to build their brand. One popular app to build your brand online is Instagram. If you're unfamiliar with Instagram, it is a social media app that is entirely based around photography. It allows you to share pictures and short videos with people that follow you. The percent of adults using Instagram has grown from 28 percent in 2016 to 35 percent in 2018. Twenty-one percent of Baby Boomers and 34 percent of US millennials use Instagram, and overall, Instagrammers are the social networkers most likely to follow brands. With these statistics in mind, we put together the basics to help you enhance your Instagram game and close your listings faster.

[Best of 2018] The 6 Listing Photos You MUST Upload to the MLS
We're continuing an annual tradition of counting down our top 10 articles of the year. The following article was originally published in March and is #2 in our countdown. See #3 here. When it comes to choosing listing photos, more is typically better. Consumers want a thorough understanding of what a home looks like before they reach out for more information. But if you can't upload a ton of photos, due to time or budget restraints, what is the bare minimum number of photos you should add to your listing on the MLS?

How to Take Real Estate Pics Like the Pros
Excuse the cliché analogy, but photography really is the jelly to your content's peanut butter. Without it, your online presence would be dry and subpar at best. With real estate being as dependent on visuals as it is, you're practically expected to be a professional photographer (or at least be exceptional at pretending to be one) in order to produce the quality images that clients have come to expect.