The Knoxville, Tennessee area real estate agents often work with particular photographers because they like the images they create and because they work very well together. It’s important they work as a team, both benefit from their relationship.

Providing good high quality photography helps an agent be successful and will go a long way to help them stay successful and always be in demand. Teaming together with their photographer also takes a huge chunk of time off an already busy schedule, giving them more time to spend with their clients, its another good reason for an agent to provide professional real estate photography to display on their web site.

In todays real estate world, professional real estate photography has really intensified greatly over the last many years, professional real estate and commercial photography is seen as the required property marketing tool for marketing to new buyers.

Most all new home searches begin with an internet search, an agents web site is an opening door to prospective clients, and very often is the principle reason new buyers are attracted to that real estate agent. It’s the professional photography that buyers want to see in their online searches and in turn will encourage the phone calls or the emails that will provide the agent the opportunity to help those buyers with their new home search, or not — its most often the agents web site where a agents listings are seen and become interested in and have made a good enough impression to engage buyers enough to make the inquiry on what they have found on the real estate agents web site. Real estate photography has become a must have for realtors.

Home buyers mostly don’t understand the complications involved in selling a property.  Houses weren’t designed to be placed on a sales table to be seen and inspected by prospective buyers from all sides up and down. It’s the professional photography that brings out just what a listing is. Its always best to structure the presentation of a new listing so as to really WOW for that first impression.

As a professional real estate photographer, my job is to help. I provide the images that best show what the property is all about, the beautiful area the listing lives in, the great Curb Appeal the listing has — probably the most important image I provide, it’s what kindles the burning interest to get the buyers into the open house to start the process. The interior photographs will be to showcase how the home is laid out, the furnishing help show how this house can be their new home, Its tells how well the owner has cared for the house. Professional real estate photography is a look into a make believe world of how the client can mold this property into their new home.

Professional real estate photography is an artistic profession. I have, with many years experience, developed my How I see when I go into a new listing, I’ve learned how and where to use my lighting to bring out a best look, maybe moving a chair a little to the left opens an area that looked crowded. Placing a few home items around to explain where there is a great place to sit and think with a cup of coffee is right here in front of this big window. Every picture I take, tells some part of a bigger story, Every client who sees my photography I hope will see what I saw — all the great possibilities this new listing has to offer.

Suggestions for best staging your home for photography and for selling your home

Frequently Asked Questions

Whenever real estate rates get low, lots of motivated buyers show up looking for investments. With the nation wide housing inventory shortage, you might have been wondering how you’ll make it thru all this coronavirus stuff, how it might affect you.  I came across Kevin Ward, (Yesmasters) he says he helps agents create the success and lifestyle they want. I thought he had some interesting thoughts about the coronavirus, and, since my real estate photography work depends on what work real estate agents get, I thought I’d pass it on to the agents who might follow my thoughts.  In short, his theory is if you’ve got some listings to show, the better off you’ll be.

What are you gonna do?  Distressed sellers are your motivated sellers, they’ll need some help getting their homes sold, they will need the money!  If you’ve got the listings, maybe you’ve got the deals.

Investors are always up for a cheap property, that is as long as there’s cash coming back after the deal.  They want to buy cheap, it’s easier because the renting works out better and much more stable.  Its will be best if you have relationships with some investors, that’s the rub, if you do, you can go to your investor and tell them what you’ve got for them, now is the time to buy.

One day soon we’ll be done with this coronavirus, it’ll be your chance to take care of business.  You must be cofident, work much harder, and do not be afraid.  Keep your eyes open, you’ll never know when a fresh opportunity shows up, this just might be your time to shine a little brighter.

This is just a synopsis, you can watch the Kevin Ward video here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqLSrJQnlig

Many home sellers feel that a budding photographer in their family can take decent photographs of their home for the Knoxville, TN MLS listings. Unfortunately, many of these sellers end up facing longer stints on the market and possibly an expired listing. Poor or amateur photography can delay the sale of your home and leave you with far less profit.

Some real estate agents offer to take the photographs themselves using their iPhones, or they’ve taken photography at the local community college in the hopes of adding more value to their services. This is noble of them to try and help you save money, however, many times their efforts fall short and you end up losing in the end.

Professional photographers are career photographers, not real estate agents with a hobby. Below, are some points to keep in mind when you consider hiring a real estate photographer for your listing.

Photography as a First Impression
Listings that are accompanied by professional photographs sell for more money and they sell quicker. According to REALTOR.com, 92 percent of home buyers search for their homes online. So, listing photographs play a critical role in selling your home to these buyers. 

This doesn’t just go for upscale homes selling above $1 million. This applies to all homes selling on the market for more than $200,000. A great photograph can entice a homebuyer over the threshold of your home. The photographs are the first impression buyers receive of your home, so you’ll want to make sure it’s a good one. Photographs can also affect the homebuyer’s perception of the home before they even see it.

Photographs Trigger Emotions
A professional photograph of a home can set a positive emotion that the buyer associates with the home. It’s often said in the realtor field that emotion is the number one trigger of the luxury home buyer. Placement of props is important, too, so you’ll want to make sure that you hire a professional stager to “set the stage” so to speak. A professional photographer will be able to select the correct lighting and angle to give your home the best presentation possible. 
So, how can you tell a professional grade photograph from an amateur one?

Great Team
When photographing a home for sale, a professional photographer usually takes around 10 to 15 interior and several exterior photographs. There’s no point in taking 200 photographs.

A good art director can help make sure the photographer captures images of the rooms they feel would best represent the home. 

Teaming up with a Home Staging Professional
A professional photographer knows the value of working with a professional staging expert. If you don’t want to hire an art director and home stager, that’s okay, too. I’ve worked with many clients who chose to stage their own homes and were highly successful in doing so. 

A staged home will be easier to photograph and capture the right images to make the home stand out from the other listings on MLS. Photographing an empty home is difficult because the home does not give off any emotion. A poorly furnished home gives a negative impression. That’s why it’s a good idea to team a staging expert with a professional real estate photographer.

The stager will be able to set a stage that will feed the imagination of a potential buyer. That’s why home buying shows like the ones you see on HGTV are so popular. The viewer imagines themselves living in the featured homes. If the home is already furnished, the photographer and a home stylist can rearrange items to create a spectacular shot. If you’re not going to hire a home staging expert, make sure you remove personal items because this can distract a potential buyer from imagining the home as their own. And if your home is empty, please consider hiring a home stager. Empty homes sell for considerably less. As a professional real estate photographer in Knoxville, TN, I know and have worked with the best staging professionals in the area.

The Right Angle
You’ve probably heard people say that when it comes to photography, it’s all about the lighting and angles. It’s true. A professional real estate photographer highlights the best features of a home by using the right angles and lighting. They often use a tripod and sometimes add light to certain areas of the home to make sure each room looks desirable.

Preparation or “Scouting”
A professional photographer often visits the home a few days before a shoot, to scout the property. Sometimes an art director is hired to assist the photographer in selecting the best rooms for the photo shoot. During this scouting time, the photographer will sometimes take sample photos and analyze the light exposure inside the home. This allows the photographer to determine what composition he wants and which tools to bring to the photo shoot. 

Perfect Composition
Photographers use straight lines and curves to guide the homebuyer’s eye along the image and to make the home more appealing. A photographer will decide how best to fill the space, where to focus, and where to create vertical and horizontal lines. The lines should fall in such a way that they lead the potential buyer through the structural elements of the room. This is very important when photographing homes.

Enhancing Photos in Post-Production
Choosing the right photos that best represent the home’s finest features and enhancing those photos is what happens in post-production. Once the photographer artfully selects the best photos, he enhances the color and edits the photos to ensure that the brown patches of grass are removed, the home’s paintjob is impeccably presented, and the sky is bright and clear. This sounds easy, but it’s not. It takes quite a bit of expertise to lengthen and clone certain sections of a photograph.

These are just a few of reasons why a real estate photographer can make the difference in helping you sell your home quicker and for more money. With most home buyers turning to the Internet for their home search, professional photos are powerful tools in making a good first impression and promoting a call to action. 

Mike ONeill Real Estate Photography has been serving the Knoxville, TN area since 2007. Professional real estate photography can help you sell your home weeks earlier and at a higher listing price.
Call Mike today at (865) 292-3865 to schedule a session.

Today’s Knoxville real estate listings are put right into the palm of your hand.  In the recent past, Zillow.com and Realtor.com and a few others weren’t around to provide listing information, real estate agents were the primary source, and they only cared about reaching the buyer's agents and not the average home buyer.  With the advancements in technologies, agents can now market directly to the consumer.  Social media marketing trends have become the essence that some agents should have become comfortable with, but, Realtor.com reports only about 29% of agents really feel comfortable with social media.

Real estate agents really need to work at becoming more comfortable with social media marketing, it's reported that only 9% of real estate agents actually share their listings with social media sites; a direct link to potential buyers that really works well in the driving of awareness that leads to an interest with potential clients. Social media is a connection to the people; the audience where 72% of adults are active on social media sites like Facebook.

Social media is an ever-changing medium, the main requirement: all the content needs to be good, be useful and up-to-the-minute information for the reader, sharing the latest advancements and trends in photography and video can assure that your social media profile stands out and finds the audience you want.

Building your online reputation should be the most important reason to use social media to build your business, providing quality content is the best way to stand out from other agents and position yourself as an industry expert.  Real estate photography is an excellent media to use to engage your audience, it creates an emotional connection and gives the impression of providing special treatment, it provides clients a feeling of being inside the listing and it can generate more inquiries.

Digital photography has become the requirement in real estate marketing, photography captures a listings’ personality and is a showcase for its character, it allows clients to navigate properties as if they were actually there, making it easier to relate to the listing.  Real estate photography is more likely to generate a higher price per square foot, will receive on average 61% more attention and spend fewer days on the market.  Photography is surprisingly influential with a power to lure in clients or even turn them away. 

Finding and using social media properly is a great way for real estate agents to grow their business and strengthen their online reputation positioning themselves as an industry expert, keeps your readers interested and engaged in your postings and makes it a lot easier to attract new clients.

Read a little more,

Social Media Marketing for Real Estate Agents and Brokers

https://www.business.com/articles/social-media-marketing-for-real-estate-agents-and-brokers/

A good real estate agent or broker is a valuable resource.  Agents know the mortgage brokers, inspectors, a good handyman, the neighborhood area, and sometimes even other listings that the rest of the public does not.  And then there’s all the contracts and other legal matters to keep in order. It’s a lot of work!

Agents also help the seller understand the reality of selling their home, the work involved in getting the home ready, and in a condition that will impress home buyers when the property is first seen, which will probably be on the Internet. Getting to that point requires a few steps. People will want to see what the property looks like, so this means professional photography. But before photographing the property, there is staging to be done, preparing the listing for sale. (http://www.joehaydenrealtor.com/home-sellers/updates-staging-and-photos/)

It only takes a quick glance--three seconds--and a prospective buyer forms an opinion of what the property means to them. Those three seconds will make a lasting impression. A realtor’s success may very well depend on a three-second viewing  (http://www.dailynews.com/lifestyle/20130822/the-truth-behind-staging-will-it-help-you-sell-your-house-faster-at-a-better-price) As a professional real estate photographer, I’ve gone into a home many times to find the home has not been well kept, is not clean, areas have not been picked up, beds are not made, dirty dishes are left in the sink or still on the table. Basically, I’ve walked into an unkempt house. The property was not staged. This is where realtors and real estate photographers can give their sellers some very valuable advice.

Staging can produce such good results for the home seller. A staged home will photograph better and make the home look like it’s just waiting for its new family. When staging and professionally photographed listings are used together, they compliment one another. The property will shine, creating a beautiful home showing.

Staging is best done by professionals, but home owners can do their own staging. There are many resources on the Internet explaining how to stage a home to sell. Staging should not be focused on the seller's personal taste and needs, but on making the home appeal to a broad range of buyers. The basic idea of staging is for buyers to be able to picture themselves living in the home as it’s presented and wanting to buy it.  (https://www.nar.realtor/news-releases/2015/01/home-staging-can-help-sell-home-for-more-realtors-say

Here in Knoxville, when I photograph a home that is for sale, I’m expecting to see that it is neat and organized. This means the home has been cleaned thoroughly; living areas are picked up, and beds are made. This means at least some staging effort has been made. I like a table set as if for an evening meal, to emphasize this home is waiting for you. Another small but important thing is to have window blinds open (or flat) to bring in the outside. This allows me to create a more comfortable, natural lighting as I photograph the home. These are just some of the ways staging can help show off your listings. I’m on the job to help Knoxville sellers show off their property, and this helps the agent get that awesome three-second viewing that will help sell the property quicker and for more money. (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/is-it-worth-it-to-stage-your-home-when-you-put-it-on-the-market-2016-05-04)

Professional real estate photographers don’t get a second chance to make a first impression, your job is to work closely with your client or real estate agent. Your job is to provide a service to that agent who’s trying to make a living selling a house. They need your professional images to help promote their business and connect with clients. A professional real estate photographer must form--and support--a relationship with an agent. You must set this relationship pretty much from the beginning. Your part of the business relationship is to photograph their listings and help get their properties sold. You must also be able to get along with them, and you must have an understanding of how the real-estate system works. If you want to keep working, you have to be a professional.

Your client will already know what type of photography they want and will expect you to already have a pretty good understanding of what needs to be photographed. If you're new to real estate photography or are already a working real estate photographer, the following advice (a little basic for some, I hope) may make you more aware of some of the skills you should be experienced with. These skills will help you to create that important professional relationship with your agents.

The best photographers know what questions to ask; show a genuine interest in the business; and learn about their agent's unique needs and their business goals. Photographers must learn to listen to their agents and anticipate suggestions that will be helpful. A professional photographer will be reliable, always show up on time (when promised), dress professionally, and care about their agent's needs. Professional real estate photographers know they have to always work to keep their agent’s trust and work even harder to always do the best work they are capable of. It's all about taking care of business, making that property shine, sell faster and for more money, and making that agent look good. Your photography will one of the most important parts of your agent’s marketing. Your photographs are a reflection of the agent. Your photography has got to top-notch. (http://realtormag.realtor.org/sales-and-marketing/feature/article/2017/06/rules-for-hiring-high-quality-photographer)

Differences in Lines

There are some major differences between experienced and unskilled real estate photographers. The most obvious (and what should be the first thing to look for) is vertical lines. When the look of an interior or an exterior property photograph seems to be at an angle or “tilting,” your vertical lines are not straight.  Almost everywhere we look doors, walls, windows, and buildings are all perfectly straight. It's important to have a strong and sturdy tripod, and you should ensure that it is perfectly level when you take your picture. A level camera will straighten the vertical lines and make the resulting photo more pleasing to look at, and there’s always your photo editing program to help you.  (http://photographyforrealestate.net/2012/05/21/dont-charge-for-real-estate-photography-until-your-verticals-are-vertical/). A real estate photographers’ job is to display the property their clients are trying to sell in the best possible way. Your pictures have to impress the viewer; they need to have true verticals and flat horizontals lines. A professional photographer will know how to level the image to take that best picture. Otherwise, the room or the house will appear distorted and out-of-balance, suggesting the room is in need of repair. That's not good. 

Necessary Bracketing

Manipulating exposure is an important technique for any photographer to fully understand and know how to do. A scene does not always have the same exposure. There are normally light areas and dark areas that have to be dealt with to capture the brightness range of a scene. There are editing programs for photo manipulation as well as other methods; but if you have the software experience, you may be able to edit the exposure problem out. One good method is exposure bracketing. It's a better method that you can use to solve the problem, if you know how to make the camera adjustments. Exposure bracketing is taking the same picture multiple times—but with different exposures each time, either changing aperture, shutter speed, or ISO. One of the exposures should be a more correct exposure; the goal is to get a great photograph that is a realistic looking image.  (How To Shoot Brackets So You Capture The Whole Brightness Range Of A Room)

Filling with Flash

Professional photographers are expected to be able to create great images that are well-exposed and with flash used correctly. Mixing the room light together with either on- or off-camera flash to create a natural look is the best way to show off the features of an interior room. You can bounce your flash off a white ceiling or off a white wall to diffuse the light to avoid the harsh shadows that can ruin your interior shots. Learning this one skill will greatly improve your real estate photography. (How Do You Use A Flash To Light Interiors?) 

White Balance

White balance is important to understand. It is essential to get it as correct as possible for a true representation of the image you're photographing. White balance is the color of an object, affected by the color or temperature under the light in which it is viewed. Our brains and our eyes will compensate for the differences in the light temperature; that's why white objects look white. Our digital cameras can’t compensate as people do and will need help in presenting an exact color. The white balance settings on your camera are what will help your DSLR emulate the correct color. It is a good practice to learn about white balance and how to set it on your camera. White balance works with your fill flash. You need to learn to match the color temperature of your flash with the existing light in the scene you're photographing. White balance can make a dramatic difference in how pictures are seen. (What Workflow Do Real Estate Photographers Use For White Balance?)

There is much to learn to be a professional real estate photographer. We’re only just touching on some of the basic things that will help define you as a professional photographer. You want to be the photographer that you would want to hire as a professional photographer for yourself! Your main goals should be: to be as helpful as you can for your client, know your clients’ needs, and know how they always want certain photography. Understand that the photography you create will either help sell your agent’s listing or perhaps be part of the problem when it stays unsold for too long a time, which will probably cost you your continued work with that client. You want your client happy with your work as well as with you. (http://photoh.com.au/so-you-want-to-be-a-real-estate-photographer/)

Take a few pictures and they will come is an outdated view of real estate marketing. If you don’t show off a home with professional-quality photography, the odds are against you when it comes to getting the best offer and selling it quickly (http://retipster.com/ignore-professional-photography-real-estate-investing/). Just recently, I came across a video by a real estate professional that I would like to share with Knoxville agents. Pete Lorimer is a listing agent in Los Angeles, California. As the top agent in his brokerage for several years, he knows a thing or two about what it takes to sell homes. Check out Pete’s short video with straight talk for realtors where he outlines his reasons for saying, “You absolutely must, must, MUST have professional photographs taken in a house.” Pete asserts that your buyers will “swipe away” any homes shown using DIY photographs but will shortlist properties shot by professionals.

In my career as a real estate marketing photographer, I’ve been called numerous times to re-photograph listings that were not done by professionals. In those cases, I hear the same stories: the old pictures don't show off the house, agents and sellers became frustrated, and the listing became stale. These issues can be avoided when you use a pro from the start.

“You absolutely must, must, MUST have professional photographs taken in a house …”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1oti7sF_1s

This point has also been made before by:  North Carolina real estate agent Leigh Brown in this video

Looking for information about a home to buy isn’t hard. Internet searches give buyers a lot of information in seconds. However, home-buying information has become a clutter of data simply dropped onto the Internet. As a realtor, what can you do make your listings grab home buyers’ attention? The answer: make sure you show your property online before your buyers walk through the door.

More than 89% of home buyers use computers and mobile devices to begin their new home search. The Internet is central to the home-buying process, which makes real estate photography the main component to attract buyers. Good professional photography makes it easy to decide to visit that property both online and in person.  

Professional real estate photography brings more attention to your listings. A professionally photographed home will sell faster, and it will sell at a higher price. The National Association of Realtors (NAR, www.realtor.com) found that the listings with professional photography generate an average of 140% more Internet interest than similar homes with pictures created with point-and-shoot cameras and cell phone photography. NAR also says that only about half of all real estate properties include photographs by professional photographers.

Every year Knoxville real estate agents deal with more competition from new agents entering the profession. The real estate game is not easy to win. Our technological world not only demands consumer convenience, but also demands a professional Internet presence. Successful Knoxville realtors meet the expectations of a typical online shopping experience—just like buying from an online store.

The business of real estate is more about getting clients than about selling properties. Real estate agents who enhance their marketing by using a photographer who specializes in real estate marketing will have a leading edge. High-quality pictures separate agents who are in the game from those who are on the sidelines. The payoff is bringing clients to you.

Mike O’Neill Photography provides pictures that add to the “wow factor” of your listings online and in print. Mike is a real estate marketing specialist who delivers beautiful images of your buyer’s next home.

The Best Real Estate Marketing Strategy - 5 Rules for Exponential Growth

We all know how 1st impressions work; they grab our attention and when it comes to marketing one of your real estate listings here in Knoxville, TN, its pretty much the most important thing in the world -- to you the agent.  In 2015, over 92% of prospective homebuyers started their home search looking on line, and if you don't have the quality images that prospective homebuyers are looking for you might be out of luck, and those prospective homebuyers go looking for another agent who can grab their attention.  Spending a little money, having professional photography done on that little cozy shack can sell that property quicker and make you a little more money.  Read on...

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They say a picture is worth a thousand words – but when it comes to selling a home, the right picture could be worth much more. According to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) 2015 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 92% of prospective homebuyers use the Internet to look for new homes, with 42% beginning their home search online. The same study found that 87% of homebuyers rated photos as very useful in their online home search – even surpassing detailed property information (84%).

It is no secret that buyers value the ability to view images and video of a property before deciding if it is worth visiting in person, and technology has made it much easier to do so. It has also enabled buyers who are out of state to narrow their home search and even, in some cases, to make a decision if they are unable to physically visit the property before moving.

Technology has also made it cheaper and easier to take photographs and publish them online. However, just because it is possible to take, edit and upload a photo from a smart phone does not make it ideal. Anyone can do that. It is the quality of the photos that can help differentiate a real estate agent’s listing.

Professional photographers should have the equipment – like cameras, lenses, light kits, etc. – needed to provide sharp, high resolution images of a property. They may also have unique accessories or tools, like drones or video equipment that can help a listing stand out from the crowd. But it takes more than nice equipment to take a great picture. Professional photographers also understand how to use lighting and angles to their advantage. And those who specialize in real estate photography know how to use their skills and equipment to show off the best features of a home in the best way possible.

While hiring a professional real estate photographer comes at a price, real estate agents might consider it an investment. One doesn’t have to search long to find testimonials from agents who report selling homes faster or for a greater price per square foot as a result of hiring a professional real estate photographer. Investing in high quality photography not only has the potential to impact how fast, and for how much, a home sells, but also demonstrates the level of service an agent provides to his or her clients – which could prove beneficial for securing referrals and other future business.