Capturing Real Estate Excellence: Brian Castro's Pro Tips on Photography and Marketing

Ever wondered what makes a house really stand out in the crowded real estate market? Brian Castro of Virtual Vista joins us with a treasure trove of tips and techniques that highlight the pivotal role of stellar photography in selling properties. Brian's fascinating journey from a burgeoning shutterbug to a maestro of the lens offers a blueprint for anyone looking to enhance their marketing game. His unique understanding of real estate dynamics, owing to his own background in the field, serves as a guiding force in crafting bespoke visual services for agents. What's more, Brian's narratives on cultivating his family business—integrating innovations like drone captures and virtual staging—offer a glimpse into the relentless pursuit of excellence in the real estate photography domain.

Now, let's talk about setting the stage for success—literally. As we converse with Brian, we uncover the transformative power of proper staging and decluttering, ensuring that potential buyers see the true potential of each space. But it's not all about the visuals; our dialogue with Brian delves into the core values of trust and collaboration, underscoring the growth and mutual support between his team and their clients. Virtual Vista's commitment to adaptability and meeting unique client specifications isn't just commendable; it's a cornerstone of their reliability. Take a seat with us as we pull back the curtain on the artistry behind the camera and how professional real estate photography can be the secret ingredient to closing the deal on your dream property sale.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Okay, so here we are with another episode of the best of the best. Therese, who do you have today?

Speaker 2: 0:10

Today I have Brian Castro from Virtual Vista and I'm really excited to introduce you to him, because we've been doing all of our photography with him for the longest time and he is so good. But what I love the most is he's always growing his craft. Like every time I turn around, he's doing something new, learning something new and bringing something more to the table. So our sellers and our clients get the best of the best from Brian, who is my best of the best today. So, Brian, tell us a little bit about yourself.

Speaker 1: 0:36

Well, thanks for having me. So, yeah, my business, virtual Vista. So we started back in 2006, right as real estate photography was kind of in its infancy. I got out of school. My dad, who's my business partner, bought some camera equipment and said let's start a business. I didn't know how to take pictures at that point. Nothing Self-taught. We've grown over the years and right around when everything tanked in 07, 08, I said, oh, I have marketing tools for this, let me get my real estate license. So I had my real estate license for probably about eight years, I think, and I liked this business took off first and I like doing doing this more. So I ended up going with this and what I did gain from having my real estate license was an inside look into your guy's end of the business. So it helped us really tailor things. You know, help me learn the business and help us tailor what we do for you guys. You know to you know.

Speaker 2: 1:33

I think that's a huge benefit for us and for any agent, because we don't have to go and meet you ahead of time and talk to you about what needs to not be in the photo or how to make the room look the best, or you understand how to talk to the consumer. So if we can't even be there sometimes you'll go shoot without us and the product looks just as good with or without us there, and I'm probably sure sometimes it's easier without us there because we like to talk too much, but I did not know that you started off as a family business.

Speaker 2: 2:01

That's really interesting.

Speaker 1: 2:02

Yeah, so we um, we grew like. Over the years we started adding products. The videos started becoming a thing. Usually the new fancy stuff in real estate starts in you know, on the on the East coast, down in you know all the, the big city areas, and then it works its way here. So we started doing um, basically the, the primitive version of Matterport and stills, and then over the years that grew video. Now we do drones. Initially we hired somebody, we started outsourcing the drones and then it just there's stuff. I was like, well, let's just buy one, right. So then we learned that Now we do virtual staging, floor plans, anything in between. But in the past couple of years what we've really started doing is building services to help the agents market themselves and grow their business. That's nice. Obviously we want to do the homes, but if we can help you grow the business where you're getting more listings, then it all kind of works together.

Speaker 2: 2:53

That's such a huge added bonus because most photographers that are doing real estate photography that's it. They're just doing that, and a lot of times you have to contract out the other pieces, out the other pieces. So I do like that you're kind of a one-stop shop for everything that we need so we can have our client, just have one appointment so they're not having to set several and the product is always good. Like you said, you were farming that out and then you took it in because the quality wasn't what you wanted.

Speaker 1: 3:16

I learned that I'm not a big, a big fan of outsourcing. You have to take your hand off the quality control at that point and it's just you don't have just control in general. But this way it's like. You know, I can cultivate the team and, you know, make sure that they're operating the same way. I'm very big on customer service and you know, just knowing for our clients to know that they are going to be represented well, whether they're there or not is a big thing for us are going to be represented well.

Speaker 2: 3:44

Whether they're there or not is a big thing for us. Yeah, I think if anybody looks at our websites our Facebook posts, our KW Live TV website you can see the work that you do, because we use you pretty much exclusively and it's phenomenal. It stands out from the rest when people open up our listings. The pictures look great and you can't underscore how important that is. So I was thinking it might be nice to talk to the consumer out there right now that is thinking about putting their home up for sale and give them some tips and pointers on how can they make the home ready for once they list it for you to show up and take their photos.

Speaker 1: 4:17

Sure, absolutely so. The general realtor spiel is you know, clear off all the countertops and on depersonalized declutter, all that type of stuff. In a nutshell, what I usually tell people is pretend you're having company over and you're going to have that. You're. You know, you're taking all your stuff and hiding things and everything, like you're getting ready for a holiday party or whatever it would be. So that's a good starting point. Some, uh, key fact, key things that we look for that we'll always take care of Trash cans. Nobody wants to see your trash Things in the bathrooms. Stuff that goes in your mouth, get it out, or it's like touching Toilet seat.

Speaker 1: 4:53

Toilet seats are always down. Yes, you'd be surprised how many times I see professional pictures in the toilet. I'm like you've got to be kidding me. Yes, windows. I know that can be a pain in the butt, but that's definitely a good one. Most time, if it's not like just been Windexed, it's okay, but sometimes they're really dirty and that's not something we can Photoshop out.

Speaker 1: 5:13

Right, you know, if the windows are, you know, have that dust layer on them and then also, um, check your lights. A lot of times Like, so we want to turn all the lights on and a lot of people are like, oh well, it's, it's dim in here. It's less about the that. We need the lighting in most cases to take the photos, but it adds like an ambiance, like the light, the yellow light added to the cold room, all that type of thing. But you'd be surprised how many people don't use most of their lights. So when it comes time for photography day, they don't know how many bulbs they have out.

Speaker 2: 5:42

Right, that's true.

Speaker 1: 5:43

So that's a big thing there. And then pet stuff. I've kind of changed in some instances on that, because there's a lot of these designer-looking pet bowls and stuff and sometimes they look cute. Sure, if it goes with the scene you can have that in there, but a lot of times you want to take the pet stuff out, the cats, litter boxes, dog beds, all those type of things. Um, and aside from that, I mean it's just a lot of common sense stuff.

Speaker 2: 6:10

I like the way you said it. You know if you're going to have company cause we all have done that Like, oh my gosh, they're going to be here soon and you're running around. Your house has never looked better in like 10 minutes. Um, it's not like you have to spend hours and hours and hours. It's just walk from room to room and make sure that it looks the best that it can look in a shorter period of time. I'm not a big advocate for depersonalizing the house, no.

Speaker 1: 6:33

I'm not crazy about that. I mean, I've seen the occasional wall where it's like every piece of your family lineage is wallpaper in the wall?

Speaker 2: 6:40

Yes, but you know.

Speaker 1: 6:41

But aside from that, just a normal couple of pictures here and there.

Speaker 2: 6:44

Yeah, I don't think that's crazy, Because I mean, I think you know, I always tell people, people who are going to live here are going to live here so it's okay for them to see that you have a family and whatever. If there's something you don't want people to see, then yeah, take that out.

Speaker 1: 7:06

But I do feel like they need to sense themselves and feel themselves in the house. Yeah, another before we move on. Another big thing that a lot of people don't think of is flow of the house and sometimes their furniture. They'll have one extra chair in the room or something that just doesn't allow people to kind of flow through the room.

Speaker 2: 7:16

So just if there's anything that maybe you can mitigate in the amount of furniture I know that's sometimes not the easiest thing to do, but that's a big one to to pay attention to but yeah, for the most part, and then once we get there, if you've done the basics, we can make those little fine tune touches and that's another thing I think you bring to the table is if there is a piece of furniture like obviously nothing big, but like a chair, and it doesn't belong there, you'll move it out, sure, and then you'll put it back, and that way the photo shows the buyer what the room really could function as, instead of sometimes we do over clutter our lives.

Speaker 1: 7:50

Yes, it's funny. People would have no idea how much stuff they accumulate over over time until you move. Yep, and it doesn't matter how big of a house you move to, you will fill that one up too.

Speaker 2: 7:59

Always, and the basement and the attic all those places. So anything else you want to let everyone out there know about you.

Speaker 1: 8:07

Um, I think that when people work with us, that they will learn that we're not just looking to be hey, call the video guy. I want it to be call virtual Vista and Brian and his team, because you're going to get that, that support. It's like, even if it's just still pictures, that we're, that we're doing for you. If I can't answer the phone, or there's always somebody that's going to be able to take care of you and you're going to. We want to grow that relationship. So maybe there's other things that you want to do with your business that we can help out with that. Um, maybe you're not ready for at the moment, but we want to build that relationship. So we're there to help you grow. We want to grow with you.

Speaker 2: 8:44

Yeah, you've helped us out in some pinches too, with houses that were a little further location, wise, and we're like, well, we don't want to go with someone we don't know and as long as it works in your schedule, you've really worked with us on that and that's something that is a huge value, I have to say.

Speaker 1: 8:57

Yeah, I tell people, if we can, we will no-transcript.