As real estate photographers, most of us are familiar with solitary workdays.
Yet, on the other hand, would YOU welcome having another photographer along for the ride on a busy day of shooting? I would feel nervous about having another photographer shadow me, and how harshly they would judge all the things I’m doing wrong or that they would do differently. How lucky for me that our CubiCasa Certified Photographer, Ben Jones of Staircase Photography in Northern Virginia, was feeling confident, and welcomed me into his life for a great day of imaging and conversation.
Ben has the superpower of being able to see opportunities to create businesses.
He has combined his vision with the tenacity to grow and allow several businesses to become profitable. Early in his career, he worked with a company which provided the ability to schedule kid’s athletic events online, and when that company implemented a new CRM platform, Ben saw an opportunity to create a consulting firm to help other companies utilize the platform as well. At the same time, he was also an accomplished professional soccer referee, traveling frequently. He is the father of four children, and when his daughters began taking dance classes, Ben discovered a new passion for dance photography.
Never satisfied to leave an opportunity unexplored, as Ben became more experienced with photography, he began to consider the possibility of opening a real estate imaging business, and about six years ago, Staircase Photo and Video was established. Since that time, volume has doubled year over year, and now, recently rebranded as Staircase Photography, he is providing complete real estate marketing, including still photos, aerial services, video and floor plans. He contracts with 6 additional photographers, plus an assistant to manage administrative tasks. I believe one of the things that has been key to Ben’s success, in addition to providing exceptional work and client experience, has been his implementation of systems for training new photographers, booking, image processing and delivery, and reporting. He has streamlined as many tasks as possible for maximum efficiency.
Ben added CubiCasa floor plans to his menu of services about 1-1/2 years ago, and says, “Prior to implementing CubiCasa into my service offerings, I was only able to provide floor plans as a part of my 3D Tours. This was cost-prohibitive for some of my clients and so I began searching for a solution. I reviewed several solutions but quickly found that CubiCasa is strides ahead of the others on the market. Within a couple of days, I was able to download their app, follow a couple of self-guided videos, do my first scan, and then implement CubiCasa floor plans as my latest service offering. The ongoing addition of new features has allowed my business to stay a step ahead in the market. Many of my clients now add floor plans to all of their orders.”
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It was such a pleasure spending the day with Ben, and so refreshing for me to observe his workflow from stills and floor plans, to video and aerial photographs.
I encourage you all to spend a day with another photographer, I left with great ideas to incorporate into my own shooting.
I also have a new appreciation of what a challenge it is to photograph a working photographer without stopping their day completely!
Here are a few portraits of Ben, and his furry Shichon assistant, Brody.
To see Ben’s Behind the Scenes video, visit our YouTube Channel!
Many thanks to Ben, and to Patty Blackwelder, Twins Selling Real Estate, and Jason Park, Keller Williams for making this experience possible. If you would like to connect with Ben, you can find him at staircasephoto.com, on Facebook, and on Instagram.
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