When does real estate photography go from becoming a hobby to a profession?

Being a real estate photographer for the past 20 years, I've seen a slow transition of adaptability. In the beginning, most realtors were taking their own real estate photos, trying to reduce their overhead costs. Some of them, being hobbyists, found that they were getting pretty good taking photos and decided to offer their services to their competitors. As the demand grew for better quality images, more hobbyists/enthusiasts switched careers and started their own real estate photography businesses.

Now, with homeowners putting demands on their realtors for professional photos (trying to keep up with the neighboring listings), the once-hobbyist-now-professional photographer has other issues to deal with other than taking nice-looking photos. Some fail and a small handful break out of the pack and build a strong worthwhile business.

Other factors have come into play when offering professional photography services.

Being Responsive, Accessible and Reliable - Since the MLS requires that photos need to be uploaded within 72 hours, how quick can a professional a) get to the property to photograph the house and b) process the images and get them back into the hands of the realtor?

Provide Technical Support - Even though many realtors are amazing sales consultants, a good percentage of them do not have a secure grasp of technology (ie. what's a zip file; Dropbox? How do I upload my photos? How do I download my photos? How can I better expose my listing? I downloaded my photos but have no idea where they are). The list is endless.

Keeping up with the competition - In an effort to maintain dominance, one needs to stay on top of the latest and greatest technology developments. It's a very competitive industry and everyone is always looking to edge out the competition by offering a better value-added solution.

HangTime27 has addressed many of these concerns and has built a strong, diversified organization. By paying attention to the items listed above (and many more), we've built an amazing team of professionals to service many needs required by the professional realtor. Please visit our website (www.hangtime27.com) to find out how we can help you grow your business.