S1/EP 9: Dominic Wilkerson

Dominic is a Tacoma, WA-based real estate photographer. He was in the Air Force for years which is where he first picked up a camera. He loved it so once he got out, he got his own camera and thought he’d do journalistic photography. After recent elections, he decied he couldn’t do politics so he got a job with a car company doing their photography. He ended up bored. Then, although he’d thought doing real estate would be boring, this is now his full-time job. Dominic is happy to report that every day during the busy season, he has plenty of work to do.

He knew that with photography making money was going to be on the videography or real estate side. Drones were up and coming when he started in 2013, so he focused more on photography. In 2015 he found a random ad on FB asking for a real estate photographer. He went through training and the company that hired him—Cascade Pro Media—got him a drone. They have been a great alliance because they are consistently very booked and even often have to turn away work. He also has his own clients that he’s gotten from word-of-mouth, from being at the top of the SEO list for Tacoma, WA and via Instagram. He says it’s the best way to reach potential clients because agents browse Instagram when they’re sitting at an open house. Dom’s business is currently 50% what Cascade gives him and 50% what he has grown. He also now does several things—photography, videography, 3D tours and drone work. The drone has become more popular, having been added to 35 of the last 50 shoots.

Dominic does work in Tacoma but also goes west towards Gig Harbor, east towards Mt Rainier and out to Puget Sound, where properties have a five-acre minimum. The drone goes up to 300 feet and gives you so much more so with real estate photography, Dominic is making more money than he did with all his photography jobs in the past five years.

When Dominic got his license, the first drone he flew was the Phantom4 before he backed it into a tree (it can still fly but needs repair). He also used the Drone Launch Academy Part 107 prep course; he says he tells everyone about the quick and convenient set up, which is a great reminder of the military testing and also easy to get through. His second drone was a MavicPro, which fit perfectly in his bag so he could carry just the bag. Less than a week after, the MavicPro2 came out so he bought that. The MavicPro2 is now his go-to drone; the image and color quality make his images great. Dominic feels that knowing photography before he got a drone has helped his business grow. Dominic also says he grew up playing X-Box so the controls were easy (unless there was a tree behind him).

Right now, his method for finding clients is through SEO, word of mouth but also:

“Business Instagram is the best—I can specifically and strategically use hashtags. People often just need extra people when who they often use is booked up.”

He is not actively going to real estate offices or networking. He says anyone can go to offices, but the agents can’t see your stuff and they just shove your card under a table. David asked if Dominic ever tried to offer to shoot something for free. Dominic says he didn’t need to do that. Just from the gig with Cascade ProMedia, the first two months, he made over $7000/month. He pays them a percent of what he makes. But for what he gives them, they give him ten times that in the work they give him. At first, he had to pay a 30% fee, but after he became a drone photographer, that fee decreased to 20%. With this strategic affiliation, Dominic hasn’t had the discouraging feeling of having to find his own work. They also handle technical issues and his billing.

Regarding what he’s charging in the Tacoma area, he mimicked the price sheet of the lead photographer. In Tacoma, his prices seem high, but when he goes north toward Seattle, because real estate is more expensive, they think he’s a deal. He charges $225 for photos and video; $150 for photos (interior and exterior), with a total flight time of 10-15 minutes. His full package of 25 photos (he charges by photo, rather than time) for a 3000 ft2 house is $275. Video is another $350. The drone (photo and video combination) is extra $225. Once the 3D tour (with Matterport) is added, there is a total fee of $1000 per house. He doesn’t scale for size of house; he does factor in time because a large house takes more time to take photos and to process them. His clients understand he’s standard, transparent and fair. During his busy times, he’s said his standard average monthly income during the busy summer season is $6-7 on the low end, up to $12K on the high end.

Dominic has said that he’s sticking with real estate, not diversifying right now. He says trying to build relationships with construction for roofing needs to be done in the Winter season. Mastering and crushing his niche has allowed him to build a network and become a go-to person. He would like to add some more drone mapping outdoors on bigger properties. He says no one does it in Tacoma area at all. He also doesn’t find it hard to get work. Dominic says agencies are making sure the drone photographers HAVE the 107 license. They don’t want to handle the liability and are not as credible.

“Separate yourself from other individuals. Fill the gap between older and younger generations. Understand who your client is and how to interact with them and then provide a good product. Find your own niche.”

He worked on separating his images by taking moving photos. He learned a lot in his college journalism experience. He was also a military cop so he was OK finding crime scenes and capturing raw emotions. He says, “Your auto is not always going to help you. Drone cameras are smart but you need to shoot manually too.” His largest challenges starting this business has been understanding money—budgeting, business licenses, etc. He also felt it was challenging to go into ventures with real estate agents. He says they are either laid back OR by the book and you don’t necessarily understand which is which. Some have become his friends and some are more proper, i.e. if he doesn’t send a grammatically correct email, they won’t do business with him.

“It can be scary...this morning, one shoot cancelled, but another one came in right after. Running a business has made me better with money.” Dominic never has a schedule past two weeks and some people wouldn’t be able to handle that. Because he’s been making as much money as he does, and has a military paycheck, he is able to float with it. And he’s grateful to be doing it.

Connect with Dominic

• Instagram: www.instagram.com
• YouTube: www.YouTube.com
• Email: dom@cascadepromedia.com

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Training from Drone Launch Academy

• Part 107 Exam Prep Course ($50 off)
• Aerial Video A to Z Course (20% off)

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