1. Take a look at their portfolio and reviews – Knowing what the professionals have done in the past will help you decide if they can help you in the present. So, go through their past projects or portfolio and ask about how they plan their work. Things might be different if they have to simply take photos of your property or create a video. Also go through client testimonials to get an idea about their professionalism, ethics and communication norms.
   
2. Ask if they can create custom virtual tours – Photography for businesses, including the ones in real estate, has become an extremely competitive field now. This means, just putting up beautiful and vibrant photos might not be enough to win brownie points. So, ask the photography professionals if they can create 360 degree virtual tours by “stitching” panoramic images of your property together. These tours are the latest in visual marketing and offer an exciting, immersive experience to prospective buyers. You can add them to your website, social media pages and even Google My Business listing to get more queries.
   
   Read – The Top 4 Predictions for the Future of Photography
   
3. Find out what kind of lighting will work best for you – One of the timeless real estate photography ideas is to highlight your property in the best light. And what works for one might not be ideal for another. Also, while outdoor shots seem better, more crisp and close to the original colors at dusk, indoor photos should be taken in the middle of the day when the sun is bright. Moreover, night-time shots can look amazing if the right kind of artificial lighting is in place. So, request the professionals to explore your property and discuss what you want to highlight with them. Then ask about the type of lighting they plan to use and why.
   
4. Remove clutter and stage the scene – This is one of those photography tips that all professionals recommend.  Before taking shots of any room, get rid of unnecessary items and clean up the whole place as much as possible. For example, remove pots and pans from the kitchen, laundry bins from the bedroom, cleaning accessories from the bathroom and that pile of newspapers from the living room. Ideally, only large and eye-catching furniture pieces and light fixtures should remain. Next comes the staging part. Here, real estate photographers will help you make the room attractive, by maybe adding a few pretty vases, cushions, throws or a painting. It will help the potential buyer to visualize your property better.  
   
5. Find out about the photo editing basics – Professional real estate photographers usually edit the photos to make them more beautiful and appealing. For that, they might use a variety of tools, which you should get a basic idea about. You can also ask how they will make dull photos more vibrant, correct contrasts, or make the colors realistic. Ask how they intend to make your interiors look bright and cheerful. Editing tools are also available to reduce brightness, make edges sharper or softer and to balance the blacks and whites. 

All in all, the above realty photography will prepare you for the things professionals take care of while shooting a property for a quick sale. And if you are looking for experts who can handle various properties and create awesome photographs, videos or virtual tours in no time, email us at info@massinteract.com. 

Read Also – Hands-On Guide to Getting Started with 360° Photography

1. Better customer engagement – Since 360 photos offer a holistic view of your business, potential customers can visualize what it will feel like to eat at your restaurant or stay in your hotel or study at your college. Bright and crisp photos can grab eyeballs quickly, engage viewers and nudge them to explore more about your business. Another reason why adding 360 photos to Google My Business listings boosts engagement is because visual content is easier to register and recall than plain text. And potential customers consider your business to be well-established and professional when you make an effort to highlight its best aspects with the photos.
   Read –  Why Visual Marketing is the Future for Businesses
   
2. Better ranking and visibility – The more people click on your photos or engage with your listing, the greater will be your chance to rank high on Google. Why? Because this search engine is intelligent enough to figure out that your content is helpful since so many people are clicking on it. Naturally, it gives your website’s rank a good push. And the better your rank, greater is the visibility. Basically, adding 360 photos in GMB is your key to generating greater brand awareness and interest.  
   
3. More transparency and conversion – If you add 360 photos to a Google My Business listing, it shows that you are transparent about your business and have nothing to hide. Good quality pictures that show panoramic views of your establishment, products or services can give them a fair idea about what to expect. This can help you earn their trust easily and more viewers will convert into paying customers. In fact, if your listing has 360 photos and your competitor’s doesn’t, prospects will tend to choose you over others. After all, using 360 photos also indicates that you are up to date and ahead of the competition.  
   
4. Making the most of Google Maps – Did you know that 41% of business searches (on average) that take place on Google Maps lead to actual or onsite visits? So, with the help of 360 photography, you can make your listing more powerful and increase chances of getting more customers through Google Maps searches. It has also been observed that listings that feature photos or virtual tours encourage customers to buy something almost 30% of the time.

Read Also – Does Your Business Need a Virtual Tour?

Things to remember for 360 business photography

Unless you are an expert with the latest camera models (especially the ones used for 360 photos), hire professionals to do the job. Remember to check their past experience, portfolio and ask them questions about how they will decide the right lighting, angles, décor etc. Find out what kind of editing they might render to the photos. And don’t forget to describe the photos, preferably in a search engine optimized manner (with the right keywords), so that your GMB listing has a better chance to rank high on Google.

So, you now know why adding 360 photos to a GMB makes so much sense, right? They get your business the visibility as well as traffic it needs to become more profitable. As one of the best forms of visual marketing, 360 photos are attractive, convincing, trustworthy (unless heavily edited), and will lend you a competitive edge too. So, if you are all set to boost the uniqueness and credibility of your GMB listing and draw more local customers Call us. 

Read – Does Your Business Need Google Street View? The Pro & Cons of Google Street View