How are you organizing your realtor photos? Hopefully, you aren’t simply deleting them to never be seen again. You never know when those images will be useful.

It’s time to make sure you are saving and organizing your real estate photos in a way that makes them useful for the future.

Why Save Your Realtor Photos

You invest in beautiful high-quality photography, so why not make it work for your business? By saving your realtor photos you can recycle them and use your investment in multiple ways.

You can use them as examples of previous homes sold for prospective clients. You could use them as an example for buyers looking for a home. They can point out features they like and the features they do not want.

There is nothing that says you can’t use the old professional photography in your business marketing efforts. This could be posting images on social media or using the images to enhance the look of your blog posts.

This works especially well if there is a home you are particularly proud of selling. Or if you have a home that is just stunning and would be perfect for your brochures.

Have a Backup Plan for Your
Realtor Photos

Always have a backup of your files. This goes for both your photos and all of your other documents. No matter what method you choose to save your files, you need a backup in case anything happens to your first method.

The idea here is to plan for the unexpected. Without a backup, you risk your entire real estate business grinding to a halt.

For the least amount of maintenance, have your secondary backup method auto update. That way you don’t reduce your productivity.

Local Storage

The easiest and most common location for storing files is locally on your laptop or computer. This is an ok plan until the files become so numerous that they bog down your computer.

Documents typically aren’t huge files. Image files though will take up significantly more space.

You can keep the documents that you are currently working on locally for easy access. Then when you close on a home, you can move them to another location since you won’t need access to them.

The other problem with local storage is that no one else can access them. If you work by yourself this isn’t a big deal. But if you have a team of people, this can be a problem.

External Storage

A great solution is an external hard drive. There are a ton of options out there and they come in various sizes of storage.

If you are a single agent working on your own and on the go, then a portable style hard drive may be an excellent option for you. They are designed to be durable and can withstand bumps and drops.

They can fit in the palm of your hand and can have a few terabytes.

If you work in an office and collaborate with others then a NAS type of external hard drive is a smart choice. These devices connect to your network and allow multiple people to access them.

A NAS drive will often have more than one hard drive in it. This will give you a ton of storage space and take the pressure off of your server.

Since we live in Florida, we need to think about hurricanes. External hard drives are perfect for packing up and taking with you should you decide to get out of the path of an incoming hurricane.

Online Storage

There is truth behind the adage of never putting all of your eggs in one basket. So consider an online storage solution.

There are free options, but you’ll probably quickly outpace the storage limits. You could look into options such as Dropbox, icloud, or Amazon Cloud Drive.

The best part about these cloud storage systems is that they give you access across all of your devices. That way no matter where you are you can pull up a document or picture.

This is perfect if you are out of the office running to meet client and you left your laptop. You can still access your photos and other documents from your tablet or phone.

Now you look professional and prepared in front of your clients, inspectors, and other agents.

Structuring Your Files

Now that you have your storage system and backup system in place, you need to have a solid plan for organizing your documents.

If your files are organized then you won’t waste time looking for what you need. Figure out a structure that works for you.

One good method is to name your files by starting with the address of the property. You could name the main property folder the property address, then within that folder, you would have all of your folders that pertain to that property such as the inspection, title paperwork, and any other documents.

You will also have one folder that is titled Pictures, Images, or Photos. This could also be where you keep any marketing material you produce for the home.

Another option is to have a group of main folders that each hold a particular type of document. So one main folder named inspections, and then within that folder, you have a list of folders, each labeled for a property.

Let’s Take Some Realtor Photos

Now that you have a plan for storing and organizing your real estate photos it’s time to take some pictures! We can help your listings stand out by taking beautiful photos of your listings.

Whatever you can dream up, we can help you accomplish. Maybe your home would look beautiful in the soft glow of twilight light. Or maybe it’s a larger home that would benefit from elevated or aerial photography.

Contact us today!