Apply Now To Make $$ With Your Professional Photography(Seriously) 

One of the biggest questions that photographers face is how to find clients and make a living from the craft. There is money to be made with photography, especially if you find a good contract. Here is one such opportunity that will allow you to make money with your photography. 

Who Is Hiring?

Homes.com has put out a call for photographers all over the US to work for them on upcoming real estate and architectural shoots. They are a subsidiary of CoStar group. Founded in 1987, they have become a leader in providing information about real estate to a vast portfolio of customers. CoStar’s research has led to one of the most comprehensive databases of real estate information, which serves the $17 trillion world of real estate. 

Homes.com itself is a website dedicated to helping customers find the next perfect property that will match their identity and lifestyle. 

What Do You Get?

There are several benefits to applying and working for Homes.com as an architectural and real estate photographer. The one that excited me the most is the paycheck. Sure, not everything is about money, but all of us want to see the money before committing to a job. And let’s face it, money plays a role. 

Homes.com is paying up to $1,000 a day for 150 days. In this pay-per-assignment contract, you will be able to work independently and use your expertise to make money while making content for the homebuying industry. 

Another benefit of working on this project is the professional growth as well as honing your skills alongside other creatives just like you. By professional growth, Homes.com means that there is an option to apply to become full-time if you meet and go beyond the expectations, which includes a competitive salary, as well as a good benefits package. Due to the nature of the job, you may find yourself working alongside other creatives, which will, of course, let you hone your own skills and bounce ideas from each other to create world-class content for the client. 

What Do You Need To Have?

It is expected that you have an FAA Part 107 license to complete drone work. Moreover, you are expected to own professional gear, as it won’t be provided by the client. A good kit for completing architectural work would consist of two camera bodies, a wide-angle lens for wide shots, as well as a tilt-shift lens for more precise images. One of the finest architectural photographers, Mike Kelley, uses a variety of strobes, lenses, tripods, and filters. As with any assignment, you need to know how to edit. Homes.com is specific about the software you use: Photoshop and Premiere Pro. 

If you’re interested in creating video, life is made much easier for you, as you only need to provide the footage, which will be edited by a separate team. So, if video editing isn’t exciting for you and you’d rather shoot all day, you can do that by working for Homes.com.  

Previous experience working in architectural and real estate photography is certainly a benefit. This applies both to capturing profitable commercial images, as well as video, both with handheld cameras as well as drones. 

You need to be able to manage several projects, as well as meet fairly strict deadlines, as well as collaborate with a team of other creatives such as writers or videographers on demand.  All that has to be done autonomously, just from the back of your own experience and expertise on how to create images. 

Quick Tips for Great Architectural Photography 

I remember when I also did a bit of real estate. Thankfully, I watched Mike Kelly’s Where Art Meets Architecture tutorials, which helped me make fewer mistakes when photographing for my clients. Here are some takeaways from my experience as well as advice I heard from other architectural photographers that will surely help you create better architectural and real estate photos. 

Variety of Shots

Making sure that you show the building from the most profitable angles is one thing, but making sure you are able to accurately show the property and make sure that the buyers know what they’re getting themselves into is crucial.

Lighting 

Good lighting is a must. This is hardly a surprise since I talk about the light so much, but you really need to make sure that the property is lit in a way that shows it best. For real estate, that is likely to be bright, airy, and spacious. A trick I learned is that bright images do a lot better since they show the property as more spacious. If you already own strobes, you can go as far as trying to mimic sunlight on tight shots. Just make sure to place your strobe far enough and gel it right. Extra light is never a bad idea.  

Keep Things Natural

It may be tempting to go and shoot everything at as wide of an angle as you can. After all, you want to show as much as possible. Thing is, a super-wide shot will be very unnatural. It will seem very amateurish and probably annoy viewers from looking at the image. I have seen real estate photographers zoom in on the details of the image, and use a standard focal length to create their work on some occasions. The point is: have a wide shot but don't make everything wide-angle.  

Use the Power of Symmetry and Lines

Perhaps this is a personal favorite of mine, but it is generally a good idea to show symmetry where there is symmetry. Composition techniques showing vertical, horizontal, and diagonal lines will definitely make the shot more professional. A way to bring lines out, even more, would be using keystone adjustments. 

Closing Remarks 

Homes.com is providing an excellent opportunity to grow and make good money as an architectural and real estate photographer, videographer, and drone pilot. Offering a good and competitive compensation, as well as an opportunity to become full-time, Fstoppers encourages you to apply for the position using this link. The job is remote, so photographers from all over the US are welcome to join the vast network of Homes.com creators!