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Eighty-five percent of homebuyers say that images are the most valuable feature of a real estate firm’s website. However, photo editing can be time-consuming, and hiring in-house professionals can be challenging and expensive.
Business process outsourcing (BPO) is a viable solution. Outsourced real estate photography editing offers streamlined production and optimized costs, allowing you to focus on core competencies.
If you want to learn more about how real estate BPO services can help you with photo editing, this article is for you. It explores the relevant tasks outsourcing teams cover and the benefits they bring. Keep reading!
An overview of photo editing outsourcing for real estate firms
To better understand the concept of photo editing outsourcing, let’s first answer the question: What is BPO? This strategy involves delegating specific tasks, such as real estate photo editing, to an external team.
How outsourcing works is it provides qualified virtual assistants (VAs) to accomplish necessary tasks. If you’re wondering what a real estate VA is, it is a remote professional skilled in supporting firms, brokers, agents, and investors.
Service providers and their VAs utilize advanced photo editing technologies to enhance efficiency. These software and hardware include:
- High-performance computers can handle large image files and run complex software.
- Color-calibrated monitors ensure accurate color representation and consistency.
- Digital photo scanners digitize physical photographs and documents.
- Cloud storage allows users to store, edit, and share files online.
- Floor plan creation software generates accurate floor plans from blueprints.
- Image editing software enhances and manipulates images through color correction, layer masking, retouching, etc.
With such tools, outsourcing companies can help your real estate agency with the following photography editing tasks:
Basic photo editing processes
BPO providers train their VAs in photo editing fundamentals and best practices. They can improve an image’s appearance and quality, correct technical issues, and enhance visual appeal.
Some basic photo editing techniques they know are:
- Color correction (e.g., adjusting color tones, white balance, and contrast to accurately represent the scene)
- Exposure correction (e.g., balancing the image’s brightness to optimize both shadows and highlights)
- Cropping (e.g., removing unwanted parts of the image or improving its framing and composition for a cleaner look)
- Straightening (e.g., correcting tilted horizons or objects for balance and symmetry)
Advanced photo editing tasks
BPO companies have a pool of tenured photo editors with complex, advanced techniques. They can correct imperfections and create a specific photo look or style.
Outsourcing firms can provide your real estate agencies with the following advanced photography editing techniques:
- High-dynamic range (HDR) blending combines multiple exposures to create images with enhanced detail in both shadows and highlights.
- Sky replacement enhances the image’s mood by replacing the existing sky with a more dramatic or appealing one.
- Object removal eliminates unwanted elements, such as trash cans, cars, or people, from the photo.
- Perspective correction adjusts lens distortion to create straight lines and accurate representations of architectural elements.
- Interior/exterior enhancement improves the appearance of indoor and outdoor spaces through color correction, contrasts, and white-balance adjustments.
Additional photo editing services
Besides photo editing, BPO teams offer other services to help your real estate firm elevate its property presentations.
Here are examples of these additional solutions:
- Virtual staging involves digitally rendering a property’s interior space with virtual furniture and decor.
- Creating floor plans entails generating accurate and professional plans from property blueprints or measurements.
- Aerial photo editing includes enhancing drone photography with color correction, stitching, and object removal.
- 360-degree photo stitching leverages your VA’s expertise and tools to stitch multiple photos together and create interactive virtual tours.
Why outsource real estate photography editing
Outsourcing is a widespread business practice. According to Statista, the global BPO market value can reach $390 billion in 2024.
What makes the practice popular? The primary benefits of partnering with a BPO provider for real estate photo editing include:
1. Significant cost reduction
The main advantage of outsourcing is accessing quality resources at a lower cost, mainly due to economies of scale.
Service vendors operate in more affordable countries, such as the Philippines and Mexico, where lower salaries minimize the typically high photo editing costs. For instance, the average monthly wage of a photo editor in the United States is around $3,000, while a professional in the Philippines earns $400.
BPO vendors also cover the costs of recruitment and hiring, training and onboarding, and employee benefits. Additionally, they invest in, maintain, and upgrade their hardware and software. Thus, outsourced real estate photography editing eliminates the need for expensive investments and subscriptions.
Lastly, one of the reasons to hire a real estate VA is lower overhead costs. Their teams work remotely, as photo editing only requires the right technology and an internet connection. You can avoid spending on office space, utilities, and equipment.
2. Faster turnaround times
About 85% of prospects state images are the most valuable factor in a real estate firm’s website. However, getting properties listed quickly also boosts sales.
BPO in real estate can help you dramatically reduce turnaround times. Specialized photo editors have the expertise, technology, and resources to process images efficiently. Since they focus solely on this role, they can optimize workflows and deliver edited pictures faster than in-house teams juggling multiple tasks.
Additionally, most outsourcing companies operate worldwide. They can maximize time zone differences by providing 24/7 services and staffing to ensure continuous editing even outside your office hours.
3. Consistent branding
Outsourced real estate photography editing can maintain consistency across all images. BPO professionals undergo meticulous training to master your firm’s branding. Your real estate VAs can follow your guidelines on color tones, shadows and highlights, sky treatment, and watermark placement.
BPO teams also implement rigorous quality control, ensuring adherence to style guides and technical standards, and seek regular client feedback to refine their photo editing processes. These steps encourage uniform color profiles and brand aesthetics across all images.
Lastly, BPO teams engage in ongoing skills development to maintain consistent standards, minimize image variations, and stay updated on the latest trends.
4. Scalability and flexibility
Unlike in-house teams, outsourced services are easier to scale based on your real estate firm’s photography editing needs.
During peak season, BPO staff can quickly hire additional editors to manage the increased workload while ensuring timely delivery, consistent quality, and cost savings. Conversely, outsourcing companies can reassign the team to other projects when the business slows down. In the process, you pay only for the services rendered and avoid spending on idle employees.
5. Focus on core competencies
With professionals managing photo editing and technology streamlining the process, you gain more time and resources. You can focus on higher-value activities that directly affect your real estate firm’s profitability, such as:
- Market research and analysis
- Sales and marketing
- Client relationship management
- Transaction management
- Financial analysis
- Property management
Unity Commincations’s real estate case study perfectly illustrates this benefit. In the report, the client company regained 10 to 20 weekly hours for sales by outsourcing its customer service operations.
The bottom line
Powered by specialized expertise and technologies, outsourced real estate photography editing improves efficiency, image quality, consistency, scalability, and business performance affordably.
From basic photo manipulation to advanced techniques, BPO providers can help you with various photo editing tasks. Let’s connect if you want to learn more about real estate BPO and photo editing outsourcing services!
