The process
What a listing shoot includes
A listing shoot is a couple of hours at the house and a couple of days of work after it. Here is the whole thing in order, so you know what to tell a seller before we arrive and what to expect in the folder afterward.
Prep, shoot, finish, deliver
Before
Prep
When we book, we send a short prep note and confirm how we get in. Everything on the checklist further down is the difference between shooting a house and tidying one, and the time that saves on the day goes into the frames instead.
- We confirm the date, the arrival window, and the access: lockbox code, gate code, or who is meeting us.
- You tell us what the seller is proud of, and anything you want covered from the air.
- If the house is occupied, we ask that people and pets be able to step into a room we have already finished.
On site
The shoot
One to two hours at most homes. We work room to room in a set order so nothing is missed, and we shoot the exterior when the light is on the front of the house rather than behind it.
- Photos: bracketed exposures in every room, so the room and the view through the window both hold detail.
- Floor plan: a scan of the whole house, closets and garage included, when it is in your package.
- Aerials: the exterior, the roofline, the lot, and the approach, weather and airspace permitting.
- Video: motion coverage of the same spaces, plus the details a still photo cannot carry.
- Twilight, on the Signature package, is a second visit at the end of the day for a narrow window of light.
In the edit
Finishing
The edit is where a shoot becomes a listing. Nothing is handed over straight off the card.
- HDR blending: the brackets are merged so the interior and the window are exposed together.
- Color: one consistent pass across the whole set, so the gallery reads as one house on one day.
- Cleanup: lens corrections, verticals straightened, sensor marks removed.
- Video editing: cut to music, graded to match the stills, captioned where captions help.
- One round of revisions is included on every package.
After
Delivery
Everything arrives in one shared folder, organized, sized, and yours.
- Photos in full resolution and in MLS ready sizes, in the same folder.
- The 2D floor plan as an image you can put straight into the listing.
- The listing video as a horizontal master plus vertical cuts for Reels and Shorts.
- A link you can forward to your broker, your stager, or your seller.
- You own everything we produce, forever, with no license or usage restrictions.
More on each deliverable
Checklist
What we need from you
Short enough to forward to a seller the night before.
- Lights on in every room, and every bulb working.
- Blinds and shades set to the same height.
- Counters, sinks, and bathroom surfaces clear.
- Cars off the driveway and out of the front view.
- Pets, bowls, toys, and laundry out of frame.
- Bins, hoses, and tools around the side of the house.
- Access sorted: lockbox code, gate code, or someone meeting us.
- A note on anything you want covered from the air.
Questions
Questions we get about the shoot
- What should I do before a real estate photographer arrives?
- Turn on every light and replace any bulb that is out, set all the blinds and shades to the same height, clear the counters, sinks, and bathroom surfaces, move cars off the driveway, and put pets, toys, and laundry out of frame. Bins, hoses, and tools go around the side of the house. If there is something you want covered from the air, or a detail the seller is proud of, tell us when we arrive rather than after we have packed up.
- Do I need to be at the listing shoot?
- No. Plenty of agents send a lockbox code and get the folder when it is ready. It does help to be there for the first shoot we do together, because that is how we learn how you like your listings covered, and it helps on a house with a specific detail you want featured. After that it is whatever is easier for you.
- Can you photograph a house that is still occupied?
- Yes, and most of the houses we shoot are. We work room to room, so anyone at home can move into a space we have already finished. The one real constraint is that personal items, laundry, and pet things need to be out of frame, and that takes far longer to sort out on the day than it does the night before.
- How many photos do you get with a listing shoot?
- There is no fixed count, because a cape and a five bedroom colonial do not need the same gallery. We cover every room, the exterior from the angles that show the lot, and the details worth a frame of their own, then deliver every finished photo rather than holding some back. If your MLS caps how many you can upload, you have the full set to pick from.
Book a call
Book a 20-minute call.
Tell us what you are trying to do. If it is a fit, we send an agreement and pick a date.
Prefer to write? Send us a note at studio@thecoremedia.co
Saint James, NY 11780studio@thecoremedia.co
Based in Saint James. Working across Smithtown, Huntington, Port Jefferson, and all of Suffolk and Nassau County.