Comments on: Real Estate Photographer Web Sites – Do You Need One?

By: Marikki Patrikka

Marikki Patrikka — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 03:35:04 +0000

I beg to differ using only Smugmug to present your photos! With 1 day’s worth of customization I was able to create a totally professional real estate photography website using Smugmug. And we all know how good Smugmug is with storing your photos, so there’s no need to pay extra for hosting your photos somewhere.

Putting together our website brisbanepropertyphotos.com.au was about $70, which is just purchasing the Power Account and your custom domain. I wrote a complete, step-by-step tutorial how to transform your default, ugly-ish smugmug account to a stylish, professional beauty and that be seen at http://brisbanepropertyphotos.com.au/Real-Estate/Articles-and-Tutorials/Smugmug-Website-Customization/10011102_3Ny7y.

By: Real Estate Photographer Web Sites - Do You Need One? por Blog - Veo y Alquilo

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 11:08:35 +0000

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By: josh

josh — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 11:07:04 +0000

Thanks Larry.
I shoot 3 or 4 jobs and deliver them to the retoucher , moving on to a dusk.
By the time I get in I am not up for much.
It works well for me, I get through more work that way.
I cant always service my clients while shooting, and they sometimes have tight deadlines, my retoucher is always there for them.
I am pretty good with CS3 but find my workflow best services my customers and meets their needs.

By: larry

larry — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 21:09:28 +0000

Josh- You are absolutely right, relationships and service are most important. What I’m saying in this post is that looking good in the media you are working in (the web) will help you quickly build new relationships.

Direct face-to-face relationship building is super important, but as a Realtor, if you come into my office and have a face-to-face discussion about real estate photography and you leave me your card, one of the first things I’m going to do is want to see what your work looks like. If your card has a URL of a knock-out real estate portfolio on it, I’m more likely to call you to shoot my next listing. Why would I hire someone to promote my listing on the web by someone that doesn’t have a web site.

As for finding a good “retoucher”, an anonymous commenter left the following comment on a post that I did earlier this year about a retouching service:

“… if you call yourself a photographer in this digital era, and don’t have Photoshop skills, then to be quite blunt about it, you’re in the wrong business, or still living in the 80’s.

It’s a bit like an electrician being unfamiliar with a digital multimeter, or a mechanical workshop not having modern diagnostics equipment… just a tool of the trade these days.”

By: josh

josh — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 20:21:11 +0000

Hi
I have numerous customers probably 7 to 10 who use me often.
All of them are with me because of my relationship with them.
So Number one for shooters in our game is relationships.Number two good retoucher, number three delivery and service.
Yep good retoucher maybe Larry can help us find ones that dont charge the earth.

By: Jessica

Jessica — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 14:07:47 +0000

Your web site is part of your brand, you need one!
I recently separated out my RE photography http://www.casafinaphotography.com from other photography http://www.honeycombfoto.com. I completely agree with having that separated (my first business is in a bit of an identity crisis and I’m trying to get that redesigned/branded as well).

While a template web site is light-years better than a photosharing link, I would highly advise against. There is little or no search engine optimization with those things. The same for having Flash on the front page of your web site. The bots can’t read it. If using Flash, incorporate lots of key word text (as Cape Girardeau stated).

By: Hans

Hans — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 09:19:25 +0000

Larry thanks a lot for your feedback. Very helpfull as ever!!! You do great work for everyone starting out with REphotography!

By: josh

josh — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 07:18:12 +0000

I dont have a web site.
I have a delivery site and a very good retoucher.
I did try myself, but find I was being out performed by other local shooters.
It allows me to do more work and service my clients, having a production line for delivery.No more CDs to burn.

By: Dan Kasberger, Chicago

Dan Kasberger, Chicago — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 02:58:08 +0000

Larry I’ve just been a lurker trying to learn my way back to making something of my imaging background & enjoy your bright, informative dialogue and care at sharing quality. So, maybe I can give a small thing back….

To translate language at a site feed the url into :

http://translate.google.com/translate_t#

Be sure to set the source language first or you might be in for an interesting time. Yes, guessing the language is sometimes challenging but your find the context changes really wake up your brain. Only drawback is now we have a zillion more bits of information to wade through…

Good luck & Shutter On!

By: Cape Girardeau Missouri Real Estate

Cape Girardeau Missouri Real Estate — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 18:05:41 +0000

Great points Larry. In addition to showing your best photos make sure you have something for the search engines to read. This mean some real text on the page. Be sure to include items like your city and state. Also include in “Real Estate Photography” somewhere on the page.

Just my 2 cents.