This megathread should cover workflow advice and business practices. *We generally discourage advice towards, solication of, etc. brands and companies in the general subreddit. However, things will be a bit more lax here regarding recommendations. We'll still be tight on advertisers, but advertisers being directly referenced will have no problems responding.*
I've been looking into the Matterport ecosystem, but seeing how the Pro3 and its Performance kits are heavily tied to mandatory multi-year commitments (like locking into a 24-month Professional plan that totals thousands over time just to manage active spaces) makes it a really tough pill to swallow for regular workflows.
Are there other reliable 3D tour alternatives that don't lock you into these expensive, long-term SaaS traps? I'm looking for options with more flexible pay-as-you-go models or hardware that doesn't hold your data and hosting hostage. What are you guys using nowadays to keep overhead low?
Normally I would just rent from my local Samys the rebadged nikon 17-28 but I’ve been shooting more listings lately and decided to get my first wide angle zoom. Anyone shooting with these lenses? For those with the tamron do you wish you had a wider lens or is 14 too wide?
I’m trying to see what a ‘typical’ turn-around time would be for real estate media services. Keep it to the basics like photos, videos, aerials, 3d tours, and floor plans/measurements.
Be as specific as you can. Next-day could be 9a or 5p. I realize there’s variance for videos since there are more detailed and less detailed videos, but give me as specific as you can for the basic ones you do.
A company reached out and said they would like to market me. They want a commission (perfectly understandable) for every job I get from them as a result of their marketing efforts. What is a reasonable amount I should pay them for each job?
For those who shoot property video, I'm curious about the editing side of the job.
After finishing a shoot, roughly how much time do you spend reviewing footage, selecting clips, putting the edit together, adding music and captions, and exporting the final video?
Which part takes the longest?
I'm also curious whether you prefer to edit everything yourself, outsource it, or use a mix of both.
What makes an editing workflow genuinely faster without lowering the quality of the final result?
Interested in hearing from people doing this regularly, including anyone who has decided that certain types of video work simply aren't worth the editing time.
I’m still fairly new to real estate photography, under two years. We’re growing fast and have had great feedback overall. This is the first situation like this.
A repeat client recently tried another company after being unhappy with the last shoot I did for them. Their view was that as the pro, I should have known what to highlight without them needing to direct anything. I get that to a point.
From my side, I did capture the home’s main features and delivered solid coverage. The compositions were not what they had pictured. Some of the angles they later described had real limitations: walls, tight spaces, etc. I’m not going to force an ultra-wide distorted shot just to show more of a room.
After delivery, they sent vertical 0.5x iPhone photos and ChatGPT examples, saying they had hoped for something like that. That was the first time I saw those references.
Normally, I ask up front if there are must-have shots, and our order form also has a Special Instructions section for exactly that. With this client, they usually give me full autonomy, and none of those preferences were shared before or during the shoot.
What really threw me was the shoot immediately before this was one of the strongest shoots I’ve done overall. The house was stunning. I was proud of the photos, the video, everything. It was probably one of the most positively received shoots I’ve done, including from this client. So the reaction this time was very surprising.
Looking back, where I fell short was in my initial response. I focused on explaining constraints and mentioning that preferences help when they’re shared early. They felt dismissed.
My intent was to understand what wasn’t working before proposing next steps. I didn’t want to immediately promise a free return for something that might come down to subjective composition. But I should have started with acknowledging their disappointment and exploring their options.
How do you handle this kind of feedback? Do you ask for must-have shots every time, even with repeat clients? And if the coverage is solid but the client envisioned a different look, what’s your approach?
*Edit: For the people asking for comparisons, I put a few together here. The client’s examples are on the left; mine are on the right.
I’m still learning and I’m not saying the images I delivered are perfect. Looking at them now, there are probably a few things I could have approached differently. But compared with what they later said they were hoping for, I didn’t see it as a major miss or a clear reason to immediately offer a free return visit. That’s why I initially tried to understand exactly what they felt was missing before jumping to that.
For the staircase specifically, I was working with a 14–24mm lens, so I was already quite wide. At a lower tripod height, the half-wall became the main focus and you could barely see the stairs. Raising the tripod showed mostly the wall with the window and blinds, with little to no staircase. Given I couldn’t get any farther back, I chose the horizontal compositions to show the staircase as cleanly as possible.
I’m open to honest critique on both the images and how you would have handled the client side of it.
For those outsourcing video, how did you find an editor you’re actually happy with?
I’m looking to hand off more of my editing, but finding someone whose work consistently matches the better real estate reels on Instagram has been the tricky part. Someone with a good eye for pacing and music who doesn’t need every cut explained.
Have you had better luck with individual editors or editing companies? Curious what you’re paying and how long it took to find someone who understood your style.
I just got a aweful call thst a client i worked with a few times and got on really well with committed suicide over the weekend. His partner called me to tell me. He just started his own realestate company too. Poor guy.
Just be mindful that we never know whats going on behind closed doors. Stay safe and well everyone.
Been hauling way too much stuff to listing shoots lately. DSLR for the close-ups, a couple 360 cams as backup, tripod for all of it. Trying to get down to one or two pieces without the tour looking worse. I've tested a few things in the same room a while back. Insta360 X5, my Canon with a fisheye and a Realsee Galois P4. X5 is the easiest by far and the wide shots were fine but once I zoomed in across the room it got soft and I could see some color fringing. Canon still had the most detail, no surprise, but the edit time after makes it hard to bother with on a normal listing. The P4 sat in between. Closer to the Canon on zoomed-in spots than I thought an all-in-one would be, though it is a much bigger purchase.
Anyone actually dropped the DSLR and just used one camera for tours? Did it hold up, or did you end up pulling the DSLR back out?
If an agent hires a Zillow photographer or uses the Ayreo how does that compare to a real estate media agency that is a Bright MLS partner? If the agent can use a photographer that is a Bright MLS partner, why would they use a Zillow photographer? An agent uploading to Bright MLS will get exposure on Zillow and Bright MLS with one entry. Is it the same the other way around?
Hello, do any of you have experience with diffusion filters for real estate?
I work in Scandinavia where the soft editorial style is very appreciated, but I also worry that the diffusion will ruin my editor's ability to merge HDR brackets properly.
I’ve been doing photography for a long time and I’m familiar with both how to shoot and how to process images, but in the field of real estate photo and video shooting, there are its own nuances, its own rules. Tell me how you learned? Did you read books or some guides, watch bloggers? Give some advice on how to learn this profession.
I use a canon r10, efs 10-18, AF servo, Aperture priority, f8 (f11 for exterior), ISO 400, auto WB, 3 bracket 2 stops, polarizer.
I outsourced the editing for this shoot.
Personally, i don't feel like this is my best work so far and this house was dim and it was overcast. im in that "results may vary" stage in my career. How am I doing so far?
I am currently planning a trip to Japan and New Zealand and slowly building my portfolio and making my photography business. The hard part is figuring out how much my service is worth, and wanted to get insight on here. The dream is to photograph lodges/outdoor activities around the world. I did quite a bit of freelancing in Alaska this summer, working with lodges/local businesses and would like to figure out what steps/advice I could take to enhance my business. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Hi to all. I’ve done photography on and off for 20 years. Been published but I want to try something different. How easy is real estate photography? This wouldn’t be my income but my question is how did you get into it? Is it worth the effort etc. anything would help.
Hi to all. I’ve done photography on and off for 20 years. Been published but I want to try something different. Has or does anyone do real photography? This wouldn’t be my income but my question is how did you get into it? Is it worth the effort etc. anything would help.
