Connecting agents with local property-media: Jonathan Ayala
Jonathan Ayala is the Founder of Real Estate Photography, a platform that helps agents, brokers, property managers and homeowners find local photographers and property-media specialists. This interview is worth reading because it explains how the site uses AI for routine work while keeping human judgment for portfolio curation and local matching.
AI can speed research, site copy and page structure, but human curation remains necessary to judge a photographer’s creative fit. Focus on being easy to find, clear about services and pricing, and build referrals and partnerships rather than chasing vanity metrics.
What’s the quick origin story of your business, and what makes what you do genuinely different from the other options your customers are looking at?
Real Estate Photography started with a simple idea: finding a reliable real estate photographer shouldn’t be difficult or time-consuming. I created the platform to make it easier for agents, brokers, property professionals, and homeowners to discover experienced photographers and compare the services available in their local market.
What makes us different is that we focus specifically on real estate photography and property marketing. Rather than offering a broad, generic directory, we help people connect with professionals who understand how to showcase homes, commercial spaces, and properties in a way that supports better marketing. Our goal is to make the process more transparent, convenient, and valuable for both customers and photographers.
Where does most of your new business come from today, and where do you wish it came from?
Most of our new business currently comes from people searching online for real estate photographers and property-media services in their local markets. Real estate agents, brokers, property managers, and homeowners often find us while looking for photography, drone, video, floor-plan, or 3D-tour providers.
I’d like to see more of our growth come through direct referrals and partnerships with real estate brokerages, MLS organizations, property-management companies, and industry platforms. Those relationships would help us reach more professionals at the moment they need reliable media services, while also introducing the platform to photographers who want to grow their businesses.
What’s one thing you’ve actually handed over to AI in the last year, and one thing you tried it on and went back to doing the human way?
Over the past year, I’ve handed AI some of the repetitive work involved in building and improving Real Estate Photography, including organizing information, helping structure location-based pages, refining website copy, and identifying ways to explain our services more clearly. It’s useful for speeding up research and turning ideas into a strong first draft.
One thing I tried using AI for was judging the quality and creative fit of a photographer’s portfolio. I ultimately went back to doing that part the human way. A portfolio isn’t just a collection of technically good images. It reflects consistency, taste, lighting, composition, property experience, and whether the photographer can tell the story of a space. That kind of judgment still requires a human eye, especially for a curated directory where we intentionally limit membership to six photographers per state.
Have you noticed a change in how customers find you or what they already know before they reach out? Is anyone arriving through AI assistants like ChatGPT yet?
Yes, customers are becoming more informed before they reach out. Many already understand the importance of professional listing photography and arrive with specific questions about pricing, turnaround times, drone services, floor plans, video, and 3D tours. They are also comparing several photographers online before deciding who best fits their property and marketing needs.
We are beginning to see interest from people using AI assistants to research real estate photography services, although traditional search engines and referrals still generate most of our traffic today. As AI search continues to grow, we are focused on making RealEstatePhotography.com clear, useful, and easy for both people and AI systems to understand. Our goal is to help customers discover the right local photographer with accurate information and a straightforward path to connect.
If you were advising someone in your industry on all of this for the next 12 months, what would you tell them to actually do, and what would you tell them to ignore?
Over the next 12 months, I would tell people in real estate photography to focus on becoming easier to find, easier to trust, and easier to hire. Build a strong local presence, keep your portfolio current, respond quickly, make your pricing and services clear, and create partnerships with agents, brokerages, property managers, and other real estate professionals. I would also invest in services that help listings stand out, such as video, drone photography, floor plans, and virtual tours, but only when they match what customers in your market actually need.
I would tell them to ignore vanity metrics, constant algorithm changes, and the pressure to be everywhere at once. More followers do not necessarily mean more bookings, and copying every new marketing trend can distract from the basics. Focus on producing consistently excellent work, delivering a dependable customer experience, and building a reputation that leads to repeat business and referrals.
Thank you to Jonathan Ayala and the team at Real Estate Photography for sharing what actually worked with Leaders Perception readers.
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