Beginners Guide

Questions to Ask When Searching for a Real Estate Photo Editor

Questions to Ask When Searching for a Real Estate Photo Editor

Finding a great real estate photo editor to work with is not an easy task. The key to making your search as easy as possible is to know what questions to ask before you start. This will cut down your search time and weed out the unqualified editors right away.

This article will lay out all the questions you should ask a potential real estate photo editor so you can quickly find the editor that works best for you and your business.

Table of Contents

Searching for a Real Estate Photo Editor

As I laid out in a pervious article on this subject, How to Choose a Real Estate Photo Editor, finding an editor that works for you and your business is not the easiest task.

We are all bombarded by cold emails and DMs constantly from editors that want to work with us. I know that I get at least 2 or 3 emails/DMs daily from a new editor or agency offering their services and a free trial.

It’s simply too much to sort through, especially without any idea of if these editors are even capable. Knowing what questions to ask up front can act as a filter of sorts to make sure that you’re only testing the best editors for your business and shooting style.

I prefer to put all of these questions together in 1 email or DM and send them at the same time. There’s no reason to go back and forth with a possible editor since you need to start limiting your search quickly.

Sending all the questions at once will show you how much time and thoughtfulness each editor gives to your questions.

Do they only answer 1 or 2 of the questions? Then maybe they don’t have the time needed to respond or simply don’t care enough to answer them all. That’s a red flag for the start of a business partnership right away.

However, if they give you detailed answers to all your questions, if shows that they care enough about you as a possible client which will hopefully translate into good service and communication when working together.

If they respond by not answering any of your questions and instead offering you a free trial, then you should probably look elsewhere.

Finding a great real estate photo editor is one of the best way to grow your business. I explained how helpful a good editor can be in my article Best Options to Scale Your Real Estate Photography Business.

These questions will help you find the right editor as quickly as possible.

Do you have a portfolio of edits you can show me?

The first question is an easy one: Can you please send me your portfolio? If they don’t have a portfolio or they send you some photos that are lacking in quality, you can move on right away.

Without a portfolio there is no way for you to know if they are going to be a decent editor. It’s simply not worth it to waste your time sending them test photos and communicating notes.

You’re looking for a professional, or at the very least someone that takes real estate editing seriously enough to have a portfolio to show prospective clients.

What programs do you use?

Assuming that they do have a portfolio to send you and there are some quality images that you know your clients would like, you can then get into the more detailed questions.

Asking them about the editing program(s) they use will help to give you an idea about their workflows and capabilities. Many editors won’t share their exact editing methods, but asking them to share the program(s) they use is perfectly acceptable.

For me, I want my editors using Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop for 2 reasons:

  1. In my opinion, Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop are the best editing programs for real estate photography. If you’re interested, you can read more about why I consider them to be the best in this article: Best Editing Software for Real Estate Photography
  2. I want my editor(s) using the same programs as me so the notes I give can be more detailed and the overall look will be more consistent.
 
This might not be as big of a deal for you if you intend to send all of your photos out for editing. Although, it’s still good to know because you can look into whichever editing programs they use and get a decent idea of their skill level.

Do you have experience editing my type of shooting style?

For me, it was very difficult to find an editor that had experience editing my type of shooting style. This was easily the biggest barrier in my search.

If you photograph HDR, you probably won’t have an issue finding an editor that has experience. However, bringing a flash into the mix makes finding one a bit harder. This is why my search was so difficult.

Flambient editing techniques are not the easiest to edit and they can be practiced very differently. For example, 1 photograph may only use an on-camera flash while another might use 2 flashes in different parts of the frame.

For a more detailed explanation on the subtle differences in shooting and lighting techniques, check out our article Lighting for Real Estate Photography.

You’ll want to either find an editor with experience of your shooting style, or find someone that is talented and willing to learn. Theres no sense hiring an HDR editor if you shoot using a more nuanced flambient technique.

As another note, if you are an HDR photographer, the editing process is extremely important. Check out our article Why Editing is the Key to Good HDR Photography to read more about why it’s so important to find a good HDR editor.

What is your standard turn around time?

If they’ve passed the portfolio test, you’re happy with the programs that they’ll be using to edit your photos, and you’re confident they can match your style, the next question to ask is about turn around time.

This question is very straight forward. You know what your clients expect in terms of delivery times and the editor needs to be able to deliver the photos within that timeline.

If they can’t get the photos back to you within 24 hours, but that’s the timetable you tell your clients, then they are obviously not the correct editor for you.

Are you the only editor I'll be working with, or is there a team of editors?

Asking them if they are the only editor or if there is a team of editors is necessary for a few reasons:

  1. If they are the only editor, then you’ll want to make sure that they have enough time to edit your photos in the busy season. Too many clients for them means your photos could be delivered late if the amount of work they took on becomes too much.
  2. If it’s a team of editors, you’ll want to be sure about who is your point of contact. Notes and feedback will be important early on, so having an open communication line is extremely helpful.
  3. If there are going to be several different people editing your photos, you’ll want to get some sort of assurance that everyone can produce the same quality.
Figuring out if you’ll be working with an individual or a team will clue you into what you can expect moving forward. Both individuals and teams have their pros and cons, so make sure you are comfortable with which ever works best for your business.
 
There is an entire section dedicated to the pros and cons of individual editors vs a team of editors in our article How to Choose a Real Estate Photo Editor. Give it a read if you’d like a more detailed description of each.

Additional Resources

If you’re just getting started in real estate photography, check out our Beginners Guide. It’s full of helpful articles and tips that will guide you in the right direction as you begin your real estate photography journey.

You can check out our Gear section as well to see reviews and recommendations on the latest real estate photography gear.

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About author
Matthew Digati is a professional Real Estate and Architectural Photographer. Matthew has worked as a Real Estate and Architectural Photographer since 2015 and has photographed properties and projects all over the United States.
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