The Business of Real Estate Photography

By Steven Ungermann

The Business of Real Estate Photography provides the blueprints to start your own real estate photography business by providing a detailed guide on developing a business strategy and marketing plan, in addition to valuable information on the financial and legal aspects of the business. It assists you in gaining a thorough understanding of the market and includes many useful tips and lessons learned from the author’s own experiences that can save you time and money when establishing and growing your own business. It also includes free templates to help with market research, financial planning and marketing activities.

The real estate photography business can be an enjoyable way to earn a living if you have a passion for photography or real estate and wish to enjoy a flexible lifestyle. The barriers to entry are minimal as all you need to get started is a digital SLR, wide-angle lens and a tripod. It is a niche photography discipline that requires knowledge of the real estate business and passion for developing the skills for photographing this type of subject.

The book includes many useful tips and lessons from the author based on his own experiences that can save you time and money when growing your business. The book is recommended for people who are planning to start or currently operate a real estate photography business. It is also a good read for those who have a passion for photography and want to start their first business or those who are interested in the business of photography and real estate from a marketing perspective.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Steven Ungermann
• Release date: Apr 9, 2019
• ISBN: 9780646999937

Steven Ungermann

Steven Ungermann is a professional real estate photographer and founder of multiple businesses in the fields of property marketing, proptech and fashion; Recent accolades include being listed in the Anthill 30 under 30 list and being named a finalist in the Broadcasting & Television 30u30 Awards and the Australian Small Business Champion Awards. He started his real estate photography business while studying at university and grew it into a 6-figure company servicing some of the world’s largest commercial and residential real estate franchises in addition to boutique agencies and property developers in Brisbane, Australia. He has written The Business of Real Estate Photography after ten years growing his own business to provide the kind of guide that he would have loved to have had in the beginning of his career. The book shares the lessons that he learned over the last ten years so that photographers starting out in the business can save time and money by learning from his experiences.

Book preview

Disclaimer

The information provided in this book is merely a guide, and I encourage you to seek your own independent and professional legal and financial advice before starting your own business. The book contains affiliate links to websites and services that I recommend; however, I do not bear any responsibility for third-party products, services or websites. Images were downloaded from Unsplash on CCO Licence, photographed by myself or provided with permission from a third party.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without permission in writing from the publisher.

All Rights Reserved. Steven Ungermann 2019

Acknowledgments

This book is dedicated to my family, close friends and long-term clients for their continued support in my photography and business ventures.

Also, a special thanks to Peter Lettice from Twenty8, Anne Gerdes from Wordstamp and my first clients Linda and David Perez from Villa Prestige Properties.

Contents

Disclaimer

Acknowledgments

INTRODUCTION

THE PURPOSE OF THIS BOOK

1 UNDERSTANDING PHOTOGRAPHY FOR REAL ESTATE

WHAT IS REAL ESTATE PHOTOGRAPHY?

HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE PHОTОGRАРHУ

THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY

2 REAL ESTATE MARKETING

CURRENT TRENDS IN MARKETING

NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND FUTURE TRENDS

3 GETTING STARTED IN BUSINESS

DEFINE YOUR PURPOSE

RISKS AND FACTORS TO CONSIDER

4 BUSINESS STRUCTURE AND LEGAL REQUIREMENTS

DECIDE ON A BUSINESS NAME

BUSINESS TYPE AND TAX STRATEGY

TRADEMARKS

INSURANCE

CONTRACTS AND LEGAL POLICIES

5 MARKET OVERVIEW

TRENDS AND SEASONAL FACTORS

MARKET SEGMENT

SHARE OF THE MARKET

CUSTOMER PROFILE

DO YOUR RESEARCH

TESTING YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY AND MARKETING SERVICES

6 EVALUATING YOUR COMPETITION

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

COMPETITOR SWOT ANALYSIS

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

7 THE MARKETING PLAN

SERVICES AND PRODUCTS

PHOTOGRAPHY

FLOOR PLANS

COPYWRITING

AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY AND VIDEO

VIRTUAL STАGІNG

REAL EЅTАTЕ VІDЕО

3D TOURS

SIGNBOARDS

EMERGING SERVICES AND TECHNOLOGIES

8 PRICING STRATEGY

FACTORS TO CONSIDER IN YOUR PRICING STRATEGY

9 DEVELOP A MARKETING PLAN

PORTFOLIO AND WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT

20 MARKETING AND PROMOTION STRATEGIES

CONSIDER YOUR COMPETITOR’S MARKETING

MARKETING ACTION PLAN

10 FINANCIAL PLAN

START-UP COSTS AND SOURCES OF FUNDING

PROFIT AND LOSS

CASH FLOW FORECAST

BREAK-EVEN ANALYSIS

BALANCE SHEET FORECAST

ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE AND ACCOUNTS PAYABLE

SETTING FINANCIAL TARGETS

11 OPERATIONS PLAN

CLOUD-BASED REAL ESTATE PHOTOGRAPHY SOFTWARE

APPOINTMENT BOOKING

FULFILMENT

POST-PRODUCTION

DELIVERY

EQUIPMENT, TECHNIQUE AND WORKFLOW

FINAL WORDS

APPENDICES

Appendix A – Market Survey

Appendix B - Competitor Analysis

Appendix C - Marketing Action Plan

Appendix D - Start-up Cost Template

Appendix E - Profit and Loss Template

Appendix F - Cash Projection Model Template

Appendix G - Break-Even Analysis Template

Appendix H - Balance Sheet Forecast Template

INTRODUCTION

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The spark that ignited my passion for real estate photography began when I was a teenager where I would look forward to reading the glossy real estate magazine that was in the local newspaper every Saturday. I would lay on the lounge room floor and read through the cleverly crafted descriptions and study the photographs of each property.

Although I had learned to use my Father’s Praktica SLR camera as a child, I didn’t pick up another camera until the age of 18 when I moved from Brisbane to the Sunshine Coast, on Australia’s east coastline, to study a Property Economics degree and a Sports Science degree. I purchased a Nikon D60 digital SLR with a twin lens kit and started exploring the Sunshine Coast landscape.

A few months later when the pressure to find a casual job started to creep up on me, I decided to combine my interest in real estate and photography to start a business in providing real estate agents with photography, floor plans and copywriting. In addition to my university studies, I studied business at the Sunshine Coast TAFE school where I compiled my first business plan for a real estate photography company.

In between university lectures, I would visit real estate agencies and deliver presentations to the staff to try to get them to trust me with their real estate photography requirements. Saturday mornings were spent visiting open homes to meet agents and hand them brochures that I would design and print at home. After a while, I had a few stable clients, and I was quite proud of myself for making a couple of hundred dollars for an hour’s work while my university friends would work a 15-hour week to make the same amount.

My goal with the business was to use it as a stepping stone into the property development industry, and a couple of years later, in the last year of my property economics degree, I secured the position as an Assistant Development Manager with a company in Brisbane, Australia. Over the next three years, I was fortunate to work alongside the company directors to gain experience and establish connections in all property sectors. Luckily, the two company directors were supportive of my business, and I was able to run my real estate photography company ‘on the side’. When I turned 25, I left my full-time job to concentrate on growing the real estate photography business I had established five years earlier. From here I grew the company into a six-figure business within 12 months and acquired over 130 clients.

The business has grown into a team of talented photographers, copywriters, web developers, drone operators, customer service personnel and graphic designers. Our service offering has expanded to project and digital marketing, web development, 3D rendering and a range of other real estate marketing services.

THE PURPOSE OF THIS BOOK

I’ve written this book to help people get started in the real estate photography business by providing a detailed guide on developing a business strategy and marketing plan in addition to valuable information on the financial and legal aspects of the business. The book includes many useful tips and lessons I’ve learned from my own experiences that can save you time and money when growing your business.

Running a real estate photography business can be an enjoyable way to earn a living if you have a passion for both photography and the property industry. The barriers to entry are minimal as all you need to get started is a digital SLR, wide-angle lens and a tripod. It is a niche photography discipline that requires knowledge of the real estate business and passion for developing the skills for photographing this type of subject.

I would recommend this book to people who are:

Planning to start or currently operate a real estate photography business.

Looking for a new business venture or wish to start their first business.

Currently a photographer looking to offer real estate photography services.

Passionate about photography and want to start their own business.

Interested in the business of photography and real estate from a marketing perspective.

There are three key components in running a successful real estate photography business:

Thorough understanding of the real estate industry.

Effectiveness of the business strategy and marketing plan.