Who to hire for a house to photograph for sale

Short answer

A real estate photographer, and in most cases your agent will arrange one as part of a marketing package you pay for. You are entitled to ask what the package includes, to see the photographer's previous work, and to arrange your own if you prefer — it is your money.

Plan itThere is time to get more than one quote, which is where the money is.

When it is someone else

Calling the wrong trade costs an attendance fee to be told so. These are the cases where this problem belongs to someone other than a Photographer.

  • a cleaner, and a gardener

    before the shoot, not after. Photography amplifies everything, and no amount of editing fixes an untidy garden.

What to do before anyone arrives

  1. Ask the agent for an itemised breakdown of the marketing package. Photography, floor plan, video, drone and copywriting are usually separate line items.
  2. Declutter properly and have the garden done first. This does more for the result than the choice of photographer.
  3. Ask what time of day they are shooting and which way the house faces. A west-facing house photographs best late; an east-facing one does not.
  4. Ask how many final images you get, and whether you get a licence to use them afterwards.

What to ask when you book

  • How many final edited images, and what turnaround?
  • Is twilight photography included or extra, and is it worth it for this property?
  • If drone shots are included, are you operating under the required aviation approval?
  • What are the usage rights — can I use these images later if I change agents?

What changes the price

No dollar figures here: this directory holds no price data and an invented range is worse than none. What follows is what makes one of these jobs cost more than the same job next door, which is the part you can actually use when comparing quotes.

  • Property size and number of images.
  • Twilight and drone shoots.
  • Floor plans and video.
  • Turnaround time.

What you can do yourself

Is this licensed work?

Photography is not licensed. Anyone flying a drone commercially in Australia needs to be operating under the civil aviation rules for remotely piloted aircraft, which is a genuine requirement rather than a formality.

There is no national register. Search the licence number with the regulator for the state the work is happening in.

Licensing thresholds and certificate requirements differ by state and change with amending regulation, so this page describes the mechanism rather than quoting a figure. The regulator’s own page is the current answer.

Common questions

Who should I hire for a house to photograph for sale
A real estate photographer, and in most cases your agent will arrange one as part of a marketing package you pay for. You are entitled to ask what the package includes, to see the photographer's previous work, and to arrange your own if you prefer — it is your money.
Who owns real estate photographs of my house?
Copyright generally remains with the photographer unless the agreement says otherwise, and what you receive is a licence to use the images for the campaign. It matters if you change agents or relist later, which is why the usage question is worth asking before rather than after.

Find a Photographer near you

2,463 photographers in this directory, ranked on published evidence rather than on advertising.

Who to hire for

General information about who does what, not advice about your specific job. Licensing, consumer law and council rules differ by state and change; the regulator for your state is the current source. More guides to hiring a tradesperson.