Real Estate Photographers: What They Do, How to Choose One, What It Costs

In South Florida, residential listing photography is priced by square footage and package rather than by the hour. Our packages start at $199, with the Standard package including drone and video from $399 and Pro from $699. For what the wider local market charges and what drives those ranges, see our South Florida cost guide.

Roughly an hour for a small condominium with stills only, and two to three hours for a large house with drone, video and a floor plan. Twilight is separate, because blue hour lasts about twenty-five minutes and has to be shot in that window specifically.

Twenty-four to forty-eight hours is the local norm for a standard residential gallery. Galleries are delivered within 24 hours of the shoot. If a photographer will not commit to a delivery time in writing, treat that as an answer.

Photography itself requires no license. Flying a drone commercially in US airspace does: the pilot needs an FAA Part 107 remote pilot certificate, and in controlled airspace an authorization — normally via LAANC — for each flight. Part 107 certificate holders can be verified through the FAA’s public airmen inquiry.

Normally the photographer, as the author of the work, unless there is a written agreement transferring it. What matters commercially is the license: you should get the right to market that listing and yourself across the MLS, portals, social, email and paid advertising, stated in writing, with no time limit that expires while the listing is still active.

That depends on your license, which is exactly why it should be written down. Ours lets you keep using the images to market yourself after the sale — in a portfolio, a listing presentation or a just-sold campaign. Some licenses do not, and finding that out afterwards is an unpleasant surprise.

It depends on the address. Much of Miami-Dade sits under Miami International’s Class B airspace, Broward listings sit between three airports, and Palm Beach County sees published temporary flight restrictions from time to time. Every flight in controlled airspace needs an authorization, and in a few grids no automatic approval is available. Aerial work is flown by FAA Part 107 certificated remote pilots; LAANC authorisation is filed by the pilot before every controlled-airspace flight. Any photographer should be checking the grid for your specific address before quoting drone.

Stills always. Add a floor plan on almost any house, because it answers questions photographs cannot and costs little. Add video when the property has a sequence or a reveal worth choreographing, and when you want something that works on social. Add a 3D tour when a meaningful share of your buyers will not walk the property before making an offer, which in South Florida is common.

Search locally and then verify rather than ranking by the loudest claim. Ask for a complete recent gallery from a comparable property, check that the review count on the site matches the linked profile, and confirm they can produce a certificate of insurance for your building. Estate Shutter FL covers Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties; our county and city pages set out what is different about shooting in each market.