Why You Should Hire a Professional Photographer and Videographer When Listing a Property

It’s safe to say the team at Hayden Outdoors often wear many hats, so to speak – cowboy or cowgirl, rancher, farmer, logger, hunting guide, and fisherman. In the case of Brandon Pendergrass, Chase Higgs, and Billy Krueger, you can add two more to the list: photographer and videographer. Before Brandon, Chase and Billy joined the Hayden Outdoors team, they all had a background in video and photo production. These boys know how to operate a camera and showcase experiences on recreational acreage in a way that not only sells premier properties, but also tells the story of the land. Suffice to say: they’re experts when it comes to hiring a professional photographer for listing a property.

These three shared their favorite tips and tricks, as well as what a real estate agent should absolutely not do when trying to paint a property in the best possible light. 

Meet Our Experts

While Hayden Outdoors staffs multiple other video and photography team members, here’s some great info from three “camera guys” within the marketing team.

Brandon’s love of the craft started when his high school ag teacher gave him a handy cam, and he never really put it down. He took it everywhere – hunting with his buddies, out adventuring. Several years later, he got a job as a full-time producer, which turned into a full-time job, one he later dovetailed with real estate at Hayden Outdoors, where he now gets to pursue both. 

Chase has a similar story – a kid who loved being outside and capturing the family’s camping trips with his hand-held camera. That eventually turned into getting a GoPro, which he used to film hunts and fishing trips. The gear kept upgrading, and he later used his skills as a wildlife biologist, filming his time in the field with Trout Unlimited and Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Dan Brunk, Hayden Outdoors Marketing Director, and his family grew up around Chase, and after discovering his talents, offered him a job. Today, he works at Hayden in all four capacities – biologist, photographer and videographer and editor.

Billy partnered with Brandon to produce a tv show a while back. Today, he has filmed properties all over the country, and helps produce Hayden Outdoors’ video series, Life on the Land. He’ll admit he was initially skeptical of working for a real estate company, that was until he walked into the Hayden Outdoors office and saw all of the mounts on the wall and the first thing they asked was if he wanted to film an elk hunt that fall. He’d found his home. 

Hiring a Professional Photographer or Videographer for Listing a Property

Why Visuals Matter in Real Estate

In our current age of mass media and constant online consumption, you don’t need to live in the same zip code in order to ogle a property. Many buyers peruse online before they even give their agent a call. On this note, Brandon emphasizes the importance of high-quality visuals. “Make it a priority to have professional photos or video done; it sets you apart from the competition right off the bat.” And he’s right. You need to highlight a property in a way that stops the scroll, and invites potential buyers and buyers’ agents to take a look. 

Chase elaborates on this point. “Half the battle of selling a property is getting someone to step onto the land. Good photos, videos, and visual representation, half the time, that’s what makes people click on the listing. It encourages them to dive deeper into the property and discover some things that make them really interested in the property, which is one of the biggest steps in making a potential buyer fall in love with it – even just a little, but enough to set up a showing.” 

This goes for all properties, according to Billy. “Whether someone is selling a $300,000 property or a $10M ranch, it means just as much to both sellers to portray the property as professionally as possible every time.” Adding eye-catching visuals to listings – both in printed marketing materials and online – is the first step in grabbing a buyer’s attention. Without the proper assets, the right buyer becomes a lot more elusive. 

Professional Quality vs. DIY

So the biggest mistake most sellers or agents make when shooting photos or video of a property? The answer was unanimous and simultaneous: vertical cell phone photos. Trying to capture both exteriors and interiors without the proper equipment often results in grainy, dark images that can be the incorrect orientation, quality, or ratio for many online uploads. In fact, many websites real estate agents syndicate their listings to won’t accept vertical photos. Many sellers may have past photos that are vertical, but those usually include wildlife, of which the photo size can be cropped fro marketing.

For some agents, this can boil down to laziness, or not wanting to put the time in to capture quality shots. Or perhaps someone does have high-end equipment but doesn’t know how to use it. Hayden Outdoors agents use professional video and photo staff, but sometimes an agent may have to capture some shots based on timing. According to Brandon, Chase, and Billy, here are a few common pitfalls to avoid when producing DIY visual real estate content:

• Avoid a ratio that captures more sky than ground. “If people are buying land, they want to see the land.” 
• Don’t just shoot photos from your car or truck window. Step outside, onto the dirt, and try to get angles that showcase the property. 
• No obstructions, including thumbs, fingers, removable pieces of garbage, non-marketable items such as vehicles or the neighbor’s dog, for example.
• If you’re shooting a large-acre property, get out and walk it or use a drone to provide the big picture. Potential buyers don’t want to just read about the beautiful stream that flows through the north 40; they want to see it up close.

**But the best and most professional option to represent your land is through a professional!

Highlighting Property Features

There are a lot of things professionals do to enhance key selling points of a property. For example, when these lads go to film a listing, it’s not just a noon-to-five deal. “Oftentimes, when we go film, it’s sunup to sundown so we can capture that 5:00 a.m. sunrise over a ridge line,” says Billy. If you’re investing in professional photography and video, you want to make sure you’re hiring someone who understands the land. For Hayden Outdoors, this boils down to one key concept: telling the story. 

Billy continues, “We’re trying to get people ‘there’ and tell a story of what the property is, so people can envision this being their life.” This means painting a broad strokes picture while still capturing the details that set a property apart. This can mean using correct wide- and close-angle shots when necessary. Find a photographer who doesn’t capture the interior grand room, but the view you can see out the floor-to-ceiling windows of the grand room, especially when that view shines. 

Setting the Stage

Proper lighting is another key feature of effective real estate photography and video – and not just making sure a kitchen is well lit (which you should absolutely do with all interior shots). You also want to shoot a property when it’s in its best light. To Billy’s point, sunrise and sunset are key times for exceptional golden light, when shadows are long and contrast is at its best. High noon when the sun is shining directly down? Not so much. 

Also make sure to capture seasonal change. A ranch in the summer is beautiful. A ranch in the winter can be utterly majestic and give people a perspective of the property they might not have considered. Brandon points out the importance of capturing every key detail. “Everybody wants something different, so you need to talk about every aspect of the property. You can’t leave anything out because you risk overlooking the exact reason someone might want to buy it.” 

The Power of Storytelling in Videography

They say a picture speaks a thousand words, but according to Brandon, to really tell a full story, you’ve got to have video. “One thing you’ve got to keep in mind is people’s attention spans are very short and they’re getting shorter every day. The majority of people who visit a listing are going to look at the first few minutes and that’s it. You’ve got to give them all aspects in a short amount of time.” 

So, how do Brandon, Chase, and Billy recommend doing that? Here are a few insider secrets to real estate videos that sell:

• Incorporate the land owner or ranch manager, someone who’s been there and lived on the property, experiencing it for what it is. These people can tell the story of the place in a way still photos simply can’t. 
• Use voiceover to give reference to popular areas near the property, such as towns, amenities, and public services. 
• Use maps to help people get their bearings of where the property is as well as where lot lines and property boundaries are.

“A picture is only a glimpse,” says Brandon. “The video is a much deeper understanding of what the picture is, helping to tell the story of the property and the land.” 

A Matter of Perspective

It’s good to keep two viewpoints in mind when you’re capturing video of a property – the 30,000-foot view and the five-foot view. This means aerial or drone shots, which add unparalleled depth, as well as interior specifics and walkthroughs. Don’t skimp on either, making sure to give potential buyers a detailed vision of what the property is, how it comes together, its desired end use, and all of the features that set it apart – up close and personal. 

Standing Out in a Crowded Market

Professional visuals can immediately and very effectively set your listing apart. In his home state of Tennessee, Brandon sees plenty of bad examples. “I know a lot of listings from other brokerages across the state that have horrible photography – blurry, too dark, too bright, or you simply can’t see what the picture even is. Professional assets can capture different aspects of each property that are unique and important, and if you don’t get photos, which are standard, and videos, which are a bonus but becoming increasingly more relevant, you’re not really marketing your property well.” 

All three agents know of plenty of other listings that have come Hayden Outdoors’ way because the seller saw the quality of photography and video on another listing. Chase notes a recent listing in South Dakota that he helped feature with professional stills and video for another Hayden Outdoors agent. “That agent just got the listing for a neighboring property because the seller saw our marketing materials and switched to Hayden from their current agency.” 

And then there was an agent Billy knew of in Michigan who had hired a videographer to film a property. The footage was fine minus the fact the videographer had cut it with b-roll of red stag deer – a beautiful species of deer found in Europe, not the Midwest. Billy caught the error, as any qualified hunter-videographer-real estate professional would, and had the agent’s local video contractor edit for accuracy. 

Videos can showcase, tell a story, and sell a property faster than anything besides stepping foot on the land, but only if they’re done in a professional, authentic way. 

Cost vs. Return on Investment

So, is it worth dishing out the expense of a professional photographer or videographer to help sell a property? In a word, yes. “Even though it might be a hard pill to swallow, you’ve gotta spend money to make money,” says Billy. And yes, the initial line item might not seem worth it, but when your listing draws immediate attention and a line of qualified, eager buyers while competing properties linger on the latest real estate site, the money is well worth it. 

Brandon emphasizes, “You can sell real estate without making the investment in professional photography or video, but if you want to set yourself apart, and get those bigger, more premier property listings, then you have to do it. Especially this day in age. If you’re not doing it, you’re way behind the times.” 

It’s not just about the agents, either. It’s about their clients; the people who have lived on these properties for lifetimes. “These people are ranchers, farmers, hunters, and landowners who have done the right thing their entire lives. They’re hard workers. They expect the best.” And the best is photography and video that tells the story of their land. 

Marketing Director Dan Brunk has seen quality and equipment improve over the years, but the mantra he instills in Hayden Outdoors’ agents and video team is consistent. “We owe the highest quality to the seller, and to the land. It’s our job to represent the property in its best light to market to that buyer looking for that exact property.”

Tips for Picking a Pro

When you’re looking to hire a professional real estate photographer or videographer, keep a few things in mind:

• Look at their past work or portfolio and make sure their style is inline with what you’re trying to accomplish. 
• Ensure you’re hiring someone who has experience in the type of property you’re listing, either residential or recreational. There’s a difference between a photographer who can shoot residential real estate interiors versus one who can go out on a 500- to 5,000-acre property up in the mountains and know what to look for and what to film. 
• Don’t just shoot the ranch, but find the elk or the stream or the magical place where the meadow abuts the mountains, and capture it.

In short, good quality professional real estate photographers and videographers are well worth the money. 

Conclusion

To take it back to all those hats, the real estate professionals at Hayden Outdoors don’t just understand the value of capturing a property in a visually striking way; they actually go out and do it. Chase sums it up with a smile, “One thing we do really well at Hayden Outdoors is everything.” He’s half joking, but the point is an important one. The Hayden Outdoors team goes above and beyond in every aspect of their work listing recreational real estate properties, always with a level of professionalism that isn’t just earned; it’s lived. Brandon, Chase, Billy and other Hayden Outdoors video team members put their many passions to work in telling the story of every client property they represent, and they do it in a way that creates meaning for both the seller and the buyer, ensuring the stories are captured, and passed down from one owner to the next.