Outsource Real Estate Photo Editing: Transform Your Business and Understand the Impact

A before and after thumbnail image of a house exterior that's a result of real estate photo editing

In the highly competitive real estate industry, capturing the attention of potential buyers is crucial. As professionals, whether you're a real estate photographer or agent, we understand that the visual representation of a property could be the deciding factor for a potential buyer. 

Statistics substantiate this idea; for instance, real estate listings equipped with professional photography sell 32% faster, and homes with polished photos get 61% more views. In fact, an astounding 92% of potential home buyers state that photos are the most crucial aspect when viewing a real estate listing online.

These compelling insights bring us to one conclusion — the importance of high-quality photography in real estate listings cannot be overstated. But, the process of producing professional-grade photographs is both time-consuming and resource-intensive, which is where outsourcing real estate photo editing comes into play.

As a leading virtual staging company offering professional image enhancement, we're here to explore the transformative potential of outsourcing your real estate photo editing needs and the significant impact it can have on your business.

Here's a quick overview of everything we'll cover in this article:

What Is Real Estate Photo Editing and Which Services Does It Include?

Real estate photo editing is the process of manipulating and enhancing property images to make them more appealing and accurate. It's a crucial step in real estate photography aimed at presenting properties in the best possible light to grab the attention of potential buyers.

The services included in real estate photo editing typically comprise of:

  1. Image Enhancement: This involves correcting color balance, brightness and contrast, sharpness, and saturation to bring out the best features of the property.
  2. Sky Replacement: Changing the sky background to make the photograph more attractive and engaging, especially in outdoor shots.
  3. Removing Unwanted Elements: This includes removing distracting elements from the image such as wires, trash bins, or other undesirable items in the frame.
  4. Perspective Correction: Correcting distortions or skewed perspectives that can occur during photography, especially in interior shots.
  5. Photo Retouching: This might include things like removing dust spots or scratches, or smoothing out textures for a clean and polished look.
  6. Virtual Staging: Digitally furnishing and decorating an image of an empty room to help potential buyers visualize the space.
A before and after image of professional image enhancement where a covered pool has been digitally turned into an open one
A before and after image of a bedroom where furniture has been digitally removed and replaced with virtual staging
A before and after image of an office/hallway area that's been virtually renovated

By outsourcing these services, real estate photographers and real estate agents can save immense amounts of time and effort, enabling them to focus more on capturing perfect shots and sealing successful deals.

Understanding the Pricing for Real Estate Photo Editing Services

Editing real estate photos typically comes with a price tag between $0.5 and $4.80 per photo, depending on the type of changes you want. 

With professional image enhancement, you're looking at a flat rate of $1.2 a photo at VirtualStaging.com — no matter how many adjustments you need. This regularly includes popular requests such as brightness and contrast adjustments, image alignment, white balance tuning, adding fire to a fireplace, lawn embellishment, TV image insertion, and adding blue skies.

And if you've got an outdoor shot that would look perfect with a twilight sky? That'll run you $4.80 an image.

When it comes to removing unwanted objects from the photos, the pricing works a bit differently. Simply mark the items to be removed to receive an instant quote, with pricing starting at a modest $0.50 per designated area.

Switching up the look of the floors or walls? You're back at the $4.80 per photo rate.

Then there’s the big guns - things like virtual staging, virtual renovations, and full-on 3D floor plan renderings. These in-depth edits have their own separate pricing, and they’ll definitely give your listings some serious wow-factor.

Here’s a detailed look at our real estate photo editing pricing:

Real Estate Photo Editing Service: Service Entails: Pricing: Turnaround Time:
Image Enhancement Brightness and Contrast
Image Straightening
White Balancing
Adding Fire to Fireplace
Lawn Enhancement
Adding Image to TV
Adding Blue Skies
$1.2/image 8-24 hours
Item Removal Complete Decluttering
Furniture Removal
People and Pet Removal
Wire Removal
Garage Cleanup
Outdoor Cleanup
Visible Camera Gear Clean-Up
Erasure of Almost Anything Else Imaginable
from $0.50 per area selected 8-24 hours
Twilight Backdrop Removing Daylight Brightness
Turning on Lights
Adding Twilight Sky
$4.80/image 8-24 hours
Floor Change Adding New Flooring
Replacing Current Flooring
Digitally Installing Outdoor Flooring
$4.80/image 8-24 hours
Wall Change Texture Changes
Color Changes
$4.80/image 8-24 hours
Virtual Staging Interior Virtual Staging
Outdoor Virtual Staging
Commercial Virtual Staging
"$24/image
Bulk discount $19.20/image
4-8 hours rush delivery
24-hour ETA
360° Virtual Staging 360° Interior Virtual Staging
360° Outdoor Virtual Staging
360° Commercial Virtual Staging
$32/image 8-48 hours
Virtual Renovation Interior Renovation
Exterior Renovation
Commercial Interior Renovation
"$90/image (interior)
$140/image (exterior)"
2 to 5-day ETA
Floor Plan Renders Full 3D Floor Render
5 Rendered Photos
from $700 5 to 12-day ETA

Why Outsource Real Estate Photo Editing?

A before and after image of a pool that's been digitally enhanced using real estate photo editing services

Outsourcing real estate photo editing emerges as a strategic choice, particularly considering the demands and expectations in the competitive real estate industry. A few defining reasons underscore the value of this move, highlighting why real estate professionals should consider outsourcing real estate photography editing.

At the crux, time-efficiency surfaces as a significant factor. Real estate photo editing involves intricate and detailed adjustments, consuming a substantial portion of time. By deciding to outsource real estate image processing, real estate agents and photographers can effectively save time. This time can then be directed towards capturing compelling shots, engaging with clients, or strategizing business growth. Essentially, outsourcing editing for photographers unlocks more time, enabling you to channel it towards core real estate functions.

Next in line is the undeniable advantage of expertise and specialized skill sets when you outsource photo editing. Professional editing teams are equipped with advanced skills, allowing them to handle everything from image enhancement and photo retouching to virtual staging. Having the luxury of a team proficient with real estate photo editing software boosts the overall quality of your pictures, ensuring they stand out in the bustling real estate marketplace.

Finally, outsourcing real estate photo editing is an economically sound decision. Unlike recruiting and retaining an in-house team of editors or personally acquiring expensive editing software and dedicating hours to learn it, outsourcing provides a cost-effective alternative. You are charged on a per-project basis, enabling you to manage costs and resources efficiently.

In conclusion, outsourcing photography editing does not merely streamline your workload but accentuates your real estate business's overall success. Whether through improving the visual appeal of interior images with a real estate photo editor, refining images through real estate image retouching, or enhancing the look of your properties through real estate image enhancement services, outsourcing can provide the competitive edge your business needs.

7 Benefits of Real Estate Photo Editing Outsourcing

Outsourcing real estate photo editing doesn't just meet needs - it opens up a substantial array of benefits for any real estate business, big or small. After exploring the compelling reasons behind the strategic decision to outsource - such as improved time-efficiency, access to specialist expertise, and cost-effective solutions - it becomes clearer that these motivations are just the tip of the iceberg.

Indeed, diving into the realm of outsourcing exposes a world filled with advantages that can propel your business to greater heights. So, let's delve deeper into the tangible, beneficial returns this decision can yield for your real estate venture:

  1. Professional Quality: Working with experts in outsourcing editing for photographers ensures your property images reach professional-grade quality. They can effortlessly remove unwanted elements, adjust the color balance, and more, all resulting in photos that truly sell your property.
  2. Quick Turnaround Time: Outsourcing photo editing services generally means your projects get completed faster. Editing companies have a throughput process, ensuring your images are edited in a timely manner, which can be key for meeting listing deadlines and keeping your business moving forward.
  3. Cost and Resource Management: Outsourcing image editing saves money in the long run as you pay only for the service you need. You don't have to worry about costs incurred by hiring an in-house team or acquiring and training with high-end real estate photo editing softwares. Plus, the time saved on editing can be invested into other aspects of your business.
  4. Consistent Results: When you outsource photo editing services, consistency in image quality is a significant advantage. The team of professional editors can provide a uniform style and standard to all your images, ensuring there is no deviation in quality.
  5. Advanced Editing Techniques: By outsourcing photography editing, you get access to a variety of advanced editing options such as panorama stitching, color cast removal, and sky or background replacements. These techniques, handled by professional editors proficient in real estate photography retouching and real estate image enhancement services, can drastically improve the look of your images.
  6. Increase in Property Interest: High-quality, expertly edited images normally garner more attention from potential buyers. This increase in interest can lead to faster sales and higher profits, amplifying your business's overall profitability.
  7. Less Stress, More Focus: Outsourcing real estate photo editing allows you to focus on other critical aspects of your business. Whether it's seeking new properties, networking with clients, or closing sales, not having to worry about photo editing relieves a significant amount of stress.

By outsourcing your real estate photo editing to a professional company, you leverage expertise and resources that your business may not have access to normally. The myriad of benefits clearly establishes that real estate photo editing outsourcing is a step towards superior visual content, boosting business growth, and achieving competitive success in the fast-paced real estate market.

Determining the Right Time to Outsource Your Real Estate Photo Editing

Outsourcing real estate photo editing is a thoughtful strategic decision, and determining the right time to take this step depends on several factors. Here are some key indicators that it might be time to outsource your real estate photography editing:

  • Saturated Workflow: If you find yourself constantly overwhelmed with the volume of photos that require editing or are struggling to meet listing deadlines, it could be time to consider outsourcing. A professional photo editing service can handle high volumes of work and deliver timely results.
  • Inconsistent Quality: Are you noticing inconsistencies in the quality of your photo edits? If the demand for uniformity and high-quality images is becoming challenging to meet, outsourcing to professionals can be the solution. They have the experience and skill to ensure consistency across all your images.
  • Difficulty Keeping Up with Trends and Technology: The field of photo editing is constantly evolving, with new trends and technologies emerging all the time. If you're having difficulty keeping up, outsourcing can give you access to a team of professionals who stay current with industry trends and have the latest tools at their disposal.
  • Limited Skills or Resources: Learning advanced editing techniques like virtual staging, or dealing with complex real estate photography editing software can be both time-consuming and tricky. If you're reaching the limit of your skills or resources, it could be time to lean on external expertise.
  • Business Expansion: If your real estate business is expanding and your photography needs are growing, outsourcing photo editing is a scalable solution. As your needs grow, your outsourced team can adapt accordingly, giving you the flexibility to pursue new opportunities without worrying about a backlog of images.
  • Cost Considerations: Ensure to perform a cost analysis. If you’re spending more time editing photos than actual business development or if hiring an in-house team is proving to be expensive, outsourcing can be a cost-effective solution.

By recognizing these signals, you can decide when it's the right time to outsource real estate photo editing. The focus is ensuring quality visual content to engage potential buyers and ultimately contribute to your success in the real estate industry.

Outsource Your Real Estate Photo Editing with VirtualStaging.com Today!

In conclusion, in the digitally competitive landscape of real estate, having visually engaging and clutter-free property images places you light years ahead of your competition. At VirtualStaging.com, we provide top-of-the-line real estate photo editing services that not only offer superior image enhancement but also save you time and resources. 

Enhance your property presentation, capture your potential buyers' attention, and expedite your sales process, all with an investment that promises a tangible return. Partner with VirtualStaging.com today for your real estate photo editing needs.

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