When you’re preparing a new listing, it can be difficult to know exactly what media you need.
Professional photography is the obvious starting point, but should you also order drone photos? A floor plan? Zillow 3D? Video? Matterport?
The answer depends on the property, but a good real estate photography package should do one thing well: give buyers enough information to understand the home and make the listing look professionally marketed online.
Here are the pieces I think Nashville real estate agents should consider when choosing a listing media package.
Professional Interior and Exterior Photography
Professional photography should be the foundation of almost every listing.
A complete gallery should clearly show the important interior spaces, exterior elevations, outdoor living areas, and the overall flow of the property. The images should be professionally edited while still accurately representing the home.
Photography is often the first thing buyers see when they encounter a listing, so this is not the place I would recommend cutting corners.
At Chris W Jones Media, professional interior and exterior photography is included in every primary listing package.
A Floor Plan Helps Buyers Understand the Layout
Photos can show buyers what individual rooms look like, but they don’t always explain how those rooms connect.
That’s where a floor plan becomes especially useful.
A floor plan can quickly answer questions such as:
- Is the primary bedroom on the main floor?
- How does the kitchen connect to the living room?
- Where are the secondary bedrooms?
- Is there a separate office?
- How is a finished basement arranged?
For that reason, I include a floor plan with my standard Listing Essentials package rather than treating it as something reserved only for luxury properties.
Drone Photography Can Add Important Context
Aerial photography isn’t necessary because a drone photo simply looks impressive.
It’s valuable when it helps buyers understand something about the property that isn’t obvious from the ground.
That might include:
- A large or unusual lot
- Acreage
- Waterfront
- Nearby amenities
- Neighborhood layout
- Outdoor features
- Commercial property boundaries
- A property’s relationship to surrounding land
Even on a typical residential listing, an elevated exterior image can give buyers a better sense of the home and its surroundings.
That’s why aerial photography is included in my primary listing packages whenever the property, location, weather, and airspace allow for it.
When Zillow 3D Home and Interactive Floor Plans Make Sense
For agents who want buyers to interact more deeply with a listing, a Zillow 3D Home tour can be a useful next step.
Instead of simply scrolling through photographs, buyers can virtually move through the home and explore rooms at their own pace.
When paired with Zillow’s Interactive Floor Plan, buyers can also see where images were taken within the layout of the property.
I include Zillow 3D Home and the Interactive Zillow Floor Plan in my High-Performance Package because they add another layer of information beyond traditional photography.
They can be especially useful for larger homes, relocation buyers, unusual floor plans, or agents who want to give buyers a more complete online experience.
When Should You Add Listing Video?
Video becomes particularly valuable when movement helps communicate what makes a property special.
That might be:
- An open floor plan
- A dramatic entry
- Luxury finishes
- A pool and outdoor entertaining area
- Waterfront
- Acreage
- Strong indoor-outdoor flow
- An architecturally distinctive home
A listing film allows buyers to experience the property differently than they do through still photography.
My The Works package adds a cinematic fly-through video along with a premium color floor plan with fixed furniture, making it a good option for properties where a more complete visual presentation makes sense.
What About Matterport, Twilight Images, and Virtual Staging?
Some listings have more specialized needs.
Matterport can be useful when buyers need a highly detailed 3D walkthrough of the property.
Virtual twilight images can help create an eye-catching hero image when an actual twilight shoot isn’t practical.
Virtual staging can help buyers understand how an empty room might function when the property is vacant.
These services aren’t necessary for every listing, which is why I prefer offering them as optional additions rather than automatically building them into every package.
Which Real Estate Photography Package Should You Choose?
I generally think about listing media in three levels.
Listing Essentials works well for agents who want professional photography, aerial photography when appropriate, a floor plan, and the core media needed to professionally market a listing.
High-Performance adds Zillow 3D Home and an Interactive Floor Plan for agents who want buyers to explore the property more deeply online.
The Works adds video and a premium color floor plan for listings that deserve a more comprehensive marketing presentation.
The largest package isn’t automatically the right choice.
A straightforward neighborhood home may only need the essentials. A unique home, luxury listing, acreage property, or waterfront property may benefit from much more.
The better question is:
What information does a buyer need in order to fully understand this particular property?
Real Estate Photography Packages in Nashville
At Chris W Jones Media, I provide professional real estate photography and complete listing media for agents throughout Nashville and Middle Tennessee.
My goal is to make the process simple: choose the level of media that fits the property, schedule the shoot online, and receive a professionally prepared marketing package without coordinating several different vendors.
Whether you need straightforward photography for a residential listing or photography, drone, Zillow 3D, floor plans, video, and additional media for a more distinctive property, you can build the package around the home you’re actually selling.
If you have an upcoming listing, I’d love to help you decide what media makes the most sense for it.
