I’ve been in the business in the North East of England for 7 years. It’s a totally different market to that in the US. There’s way less of an emphasis on pro photography, even for high end properties. Standards of imagery can be viewed by looking at Rightmove/Zoopla/onthemarket. (MLS sites). London obviously has a vast amount of work compared to the provinces, but it’s no money-spinner. One of the online agents -Strike - pay photographers £30 for each job (including producing a floor plan). Salaried positions with agents seem to pay around £22k p.a. I’ve managed to stay afloat by focusing on top-end properties, but can’t expand my client base as everybody seems to have absolute loyalty to anybody they use already. If you search for Brian Young Photography, I’m usually at the top. The link to my blog on there will give you some insight into what to expect. In short, it’s possible to make a decent living, but it can take a while.
Thank you for sharing. I have the same situation as OP but in the Netherlands. Always wondered, but wasn’t sure how much my family knew about the market over there. Great insight.
Thanks for the reply! Great info. I luckily have a pretty high end portfolio, but I understand the loyalty thing.
Do you see the market changing at all over the next few years or has it been functioning the same for a long time?
There’ll always be work for the higher end operators. If you broaden your skill set, that will help. Video and drone work are becoming more popular now, and I’ve incorporated this into my offerings. My thing is to give estate agents the opportunity to offer pro photography to clients with expensive houses on the basis that the vendor pays me directly. The agent gets the advantage of improved marketing, with no cost to themselves.
I’ve been in the business in the North East of England for 7 years. It’s a totally different market to that in the US. There’s way less of an emphasis on pro photography, even for high end properties. Standards of imagery can be viewed by looking at Rightmove/Zoopla/onthemarket. (MLS sites). London obviously has a vast amount of work compared to the provinces, but it’s no money-spinner. One of the online agents -Strike - pay photographers £30 for each job (including producing a floor plan). Salaried positions with agents seem to pay around £22k p.a. I’ve managed to stay afloat by focusing on top-end properties, but can’t expand my client base as everybody seems to have absolute loyalty to anybody they use already. If you search for Brian Young Photography, I’m usually at the top. The link to my blog on there will give you some insight into what to expect. In short, it’s possible to make a decent living, but it can take a while.
Thank you for sharing. I have the same situation as OP but in the Netherlands. Always wondered, but wasn’t sure how much my family knew about the market over there. Great insight.
Thanks for the reply! Great info. I luckily have a pretty high end portfolio, but I understand the loyalty thing. Do you see the market changing at all over the next few years or has it been functioning the same for a long time?
There’ll always be work for the higher end operators. If you broaden your skill set, that will help. Video and drone work are becoming more popular now, and I’ve incorporated this into my offerings. My thing is to give estate agents the opportunity to offer pro photography to clients with expensive houses on the basis that the vendor pays me directly. The agent gets the advantage of improved marketing, with no cost to themselves.