How to choose a real estate photographer.

Look at full galleries, not highlight reels

A portfolio page shows a photographer's ten best frames from a hundred shoots. What you'll actually get is a complete set from an ordinary Tuesday. Ask for two or three full galleries from homes like yours: same price range, same style, ideally the same area. Look at the small bathroom and the dark hallway, not just the kitchen. Check that the colors look like real paint, the walls stand straight, the windows show what's outside without glowing, and that the set looks consistent from the first photo to the last.

Then look at it on a phone. Most buyers will. A photo that's beautiful on a big monitor can be too dark or too busy at the size of a portal thumbnail.

Drone: FAA Part 107, every time

Any drone flight for a listing is a commercial flight under the FAA's small drone rule, Part 107. The person flying needs a Part 107 remote pilot certificate, which they keep current with recurrent online training every 24 months, and the drone must be registered and, for most aircraft, broadcast Remote ID. Ask to see the certificate. A photographer who says the flight is "just a hobby" or "doesn't count" is asking you to share the risk.

Around Washington, also ask how they handle controlled airspace: LAANC near airports, and the FAA/TSA authorization needed inside the 15-mile ring around Reagan National, which takes days. A good answer is specific and includes lead time. Our guides to drone rules in DC and Northern Virginia and in Maryland explain what that should sound like.

Insurance, and what happens when something breaks

Photographers work inside other people's homes, move furniture a few inches, set up lights and sometimes fly over roofs. Ask whether they carry general liability insurance and, if they fly, drone liability coverage, and whether they can send a certificate of insurance. Some condo buildings and HOAs ask for one before a shoot or a take-off from common areas, and it's better to know that before the day than at the front desk.

Also ask the plain question: if a lamp gets knocked over or a drone touches a gutter, who do I call and what happens next? A clear answer is worth more than a promise that it never happens.

Turnaround, cutoffs and scheduling

Next-day photo delivery is common in most markets, but "next day" can mean 9 a.m. or midnight, and it may not include weekends. Ask exactly when photos arrive, whether that holds on Saturdays, and what rush or same-day options cost. Video, 3D tours and floor plans usually take longer than photos; ask for those times separately so the listing date isn't set around the fastest item.

Scheduling matters as much as editing speed. How far out are they booking in spring? Can they time exteriors for the light, or is it whatever slot is open? Who covers the shoot if the photographer is sick? For reference, KONAH delivers photos within 24 hours of the shoot and video and 3D tours in 48 to 72 hours, with a rush edit ($50) or guaranteed same-day delivery ($100) available.

MLS photo rules: they should know them

Your MLS has rules about listing media, and the listing agent is responsible for what's uploaded. A photographer who works with agents should already deliver to them: no logos, watermarks or contact details on MLS photos, no people in frame, edits that correct the image without changing the property, virtually staged or decluttered photos clearly identified, and files sized for the MLS. Ask how they label virtually staged images and whether they deliver an unbranded tour link for the MLS field. In Virginia, DC and Maryland, our Bright MLS photo rules checklist is a good list to compare against.

Photo licensing: who can use the photos, and for what

In most cases the photographer keeps the copyright and gives the agent a license to use the photos. The details of that license decide what you can do later. Ask:

• Can I use the photos on the MLS, portals, my website, social media and print for this listing?
• Can I use them to promote my own business after the home sells?
• Can the seller, the builder or the next listing agent use them? Usually not without the photographer's permission, and often for a fee.
• Can the MLS and syndication sites display them? Uploading usually grants the MLS its own license.

Get the answer in writing, in the terms you accept. KONAH's terms, for example, give a non-exclusive license to market the property and your own real estate services, and require written permission before the media is passed to another agent or business or used for a different property. Our guide to who owns listing photos covers the common situations.

Editing style and revisions

Ask how photos are edited and what's off-limits. Exposure blending, color correction, straight verticals, window pulls and a natural sky are standard presentation. Removing a power line, a crack in the driveway or a neighbor's house is misrepresentation, and a careful photographer won't do it. Ask what a revision looks like: how many rounds are included, how quickly they come back and what a reshoot costs if the seller wasn't ready.

Pricing you can read before you book

A fair comparison needs the full price: what the package includes (photo count, drone, floor plan, twilight), travel fees, add-ons, and the rescheduling, cancellation and weather policies. Look for a photographer who publishes prices and puts the total in front of you before you pay. If you're comparing in Northern Virginia, our cost guide lays out typical package prices with sources. Then compare the things that don't show up in a price: delivery time, how the photos look on a phone, and what the license lets you do.

Privacy, Fair Housing and occupied homes

A listing shoot happens inside someone's home, often with a tenant or seller still living there. Good photographers keep personal information out of frame (family photos, mail, diplomas, medication, security codes), keep people out of listing photos, and caption rooms by what they are rather than who might live in them. If the home is tenant-occupied, ask how they handle notice and scheduling; our guide to tenant-occupied listing photos covers the Virginia notice rule.

Reviews and references

Read the photographer's Google reviews, look at how they answer the critical ones, and ask a colleague who has used them in the last few months. Be wary of reviews that read alike or ratings that don't link to anything you can check. A short call with an agent who books them every week tells you more about reliability than a page of five-star quotes.

The checklist

1. Two or three complete galleries from homes like yours, checked on a phone.
2. A Part 107 certificate for anyone flying, and a clear plan for LAANC and DC-area authorizations.
3. Liability insurance (and drone coverage) with a certificate available on request.
4. A specific delivery time for photos, plus separate times for video, 3D and floor plans.
5. MLS-ready delivery: unbranded, no people, honest edits, staging labeled, correct sizes.
6. A written license that covers how you'll use the photos, now and after the sale.
7. A revision and reshoot policy you understand.
8. Published prices, travel fees and rescheduling and weather terms.
9. Care with personal information and Fair Housing in photos and captions.
10. Real reviews and a reference from an agent who books them regularly.