How I Got into Real Estate Photography
Welcome to the first blog post on my real estate photography blog! This has been a long time coming, and I am excited to start it off with the beginning of 2025!
While I intend to focus this blog on beautiful homes photographed, design trends I’m seeing, and other useful information related to real estate photography, I felt an apporpriate way to kick-start the blog was to share my backstory and how I got into this photography niche. So, without further ado, let’s get into it!
2017 - The Year I got my First DSLR Camera
The story begins all the way back in the summer of 2017. For about a year or so up until that point, I had been experimenting with photography using an old Kodak point-and-shoot camera my family had purchased back in 2006 or 2007. I had debated purchasing an entry-level camera before then, but the Kodak served as a great way to see how much I would actually use the camera and if I could justify the financial outlay of getting a true DSLR.
About half-way through the summer of 2017 I decided that, yes, I could justify the purchase of a more professional camera, and drove to the Best Buy in Dover to get a Canon EOS Rebel T6. It came with two kit lenses - an 18 - 55mm and a 70 - 200mm - so I could try different types of photography. It was during this time that I came to realize that landscape and wildlife photography are incredibly relaxing, and a great way to pass the time.
In December 2017, I graduated from the University of South Carolina with a degree in marketing and human resources management, and decided I wanted to live at the beach (at the time, my family was back and forth between our homes in Rehoboth and Chester County, Pennsylvania where my parents were teachers). I made a deal with my parents that as long as I could get a job at the beach, I could live in Rehoboth. It took a few months, and several cold-call emails, but eventually I found a job doing marketing and bartending at a distillery in Lewes. As part of the marketing work I was doing, I found myself photographing the space and cocktails/bottled spirits while focusing on increasing their overall brand awareness, as not many people knew it was there.
2019 - Entering the World of Real Estate
After a 13-month spell at the distillery ended in May of 2019, I decided to get my real estate license. After about three months working on the pre-licensing course and getting signed up for the test, I passed and was looking for a brokerage in August of 2019.
I found myself joining Coldwell Banker Resort Realty (now Coldwell Banker Premier), joining their rental department. This position would be my first exposure to real estate photography, as I was tasked with taking new photos of rentals when needed, and new listings as well. Looking back, this was a great introduction to real estate photography, as I got a sense of how each home needs to be showcased in its own unique way - even if they have the same floorplan or layout.
2021 - Changing Positions
After about a year and a half in the rental department, I transitioned out and into a different role with Coldwell Banker. Whenever asked, I always described myself as the swiss army knife of the company - I had responsibilities in marketing, basic IT, human resources, the occasional front desk coverage, and more. I was also granted the opportunity to do some sales in this position, though I didn’t have much success with that (I completed two transactions in the year and a half I held this position).
The one task that stayed the same was helping take photos of the rentals the company managed. Just like when I was in the rental department, I would be asked from time to time to take photos of a vacation rental to put on our website - a welcome break from some of the desk work that came to dominate the work I was doing.
2022 - The End and The Beginning
It is no secret now that in early 2022, Coldwell Banker Resort Realty merged with Coldwell Banker Premier.
A few months after the merger had finished, I was stuck wondering what my role would be as certain tasks had been taken from me and reassigned to admins from the company headquarters in Virginia. Finally, I was presented an opportunity to return to the rental department, as the company wanted to take my position in a different direction.
Initially I said yes, but after having a weekend to think about it, decided returning to the rental department wasn’t the best career move for me. So when I returned to work, I notified the higher ups of my preference to stay on in the position I was in or work with them to reshape it to something beneficial to everyone. In the end, we could not come to an agreement and decided to part ways by the end of the year as a result.
Once it was clear what was going on, I began to slowly let certain people within the company know so they were aware and not taken by surprise alter. One of them, the office manager who recruited me to the company, asked me what I would be doing for work once I left.
I told her I wasn’t sure, but that I’d figure it out. It was then she suggested getting into real estate photography. At the time, I said I’d have to think about it and price it out, as I didn’t have the proper camera gear to make it work and wasn’t sure that financial outlay would repay itself well.
Around the same time, I started to see videos on TikTok from a real estate photographer in Texas, explaining his whole process for doing a shoot, how much he made, what equipment he uses, etc. From these, and a little research into equipment, I realized it was more feasible than I thought, and decided that was the way forward.
At that point, I doubled down, purchasing the lens and tripod I needed to get started as soon as possible.
Come mid-November, I was officially gone from Coldwell Banker Premier. As part of that departure, I put my real estate license on inactive status (eventually letting it expire in 2024), as I felt most realtors, property managers, or private homeowners would be less inclined to work with me if I had kept it active. From then on, photography has been my career, and the decision to make this jump has been the best I could have ever made.
2023 to Present - 385 Shoots and Counting
Going back to January 2023, the start of my first year doing real estate photography, through today, and I have officially completed over 385 shoots (125 in 2023, 260 in 2024, and 2 in 2025 with three more already scheduled).
This journey - from getting my first camera to the success I’ve had as a full-time photographer - has been riddled with ups and downs, but I could not be happier. I’ve learned a lot, both about myself and running a business. I’ve captured some stunning homes, and some that were in need of some TLC. Along the way, though, I have found myself excited to wake up and go to work every day as I never know what each one may bring.
This success I’ve had so far wouldn’t have been possible without my top three clients - The Debbie Reed Team, The Julie Gritton Team, and DEL302 Management - and of course everyone else who has reached out to me over the last two years to capture their sales and rental listings (shoutout to Melissa Rudy, Matt Lunden, Molly Bayard Brittingham, and Katie Green just to name a few), and all those who have reached out to me so far in 2025.
Working in real estate photography has allowed me to continue working in an industry I enjoyed during my time at Coldwell Banker in a different capacity, but perhaps even more importantly for me, it has allowed me to achieve a dream I had for a few years before getting into this niche - owning my own business and building something I can be proud of.
Looking ahead, I have set a goal to complete at least 325 shoots this year - be that residential or commercial spaces, vacation rentals or hotels, agent listings or homes for sale by owner, existing homes or new construction.
2025 is shaping up to be an amazing year, and I can’t wait to see all the different spaces it brings with it!
Thank you for taking the time to read my story and how I got into real estate photography. It is greatly appreciated, and I hope to serve you and your listing needs sometime this year if I haven’t already!
Make sure to stay tuned for more regular blog posts on here as well in the months ahead!
See you next time,
Tyler
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