28 September 2023

SNAPSNAPSNAP IN ACTION FROM THE LENS OF A PROPERTY MANAGER

We were thrilled to chat with Andrew Johnson from Johnson Property Management about his experience with our app, SnapSnapSnap, and how the company has incorporated it into their workflow for quickly and easily capturing stunning listing photos.  

The reviews are in! 

“We instantly signed up for it. It was a no-brainer.” 

That’s what property manager and licensed realtor Andrew Johnson said when we asked about his first impressions of our photography app, SnapSnapSnap.  

His team has been using SnapSnapSnap since April and has found success in utilizing its innovative point, shoot, and edit technology to achieve consistent and polished images for their rental listings.  

Andrew currently helms Johnson Property Management with his brother and father. It’s a true family operation, a third-generation property management company that manages around 1000 residential units in the Treasure Valley of Idaho, at the time of the interview. 

Established in 1953, Johnson Property Management boasts a wealth of knowledge and expertise when it comes to property management, as well as loyal clientele (some have properties that have been managed by the company since the 70s and 80s!). 

Due to the constant demands of property management, the adage “time is money” is something that Andrew understands deeply, which is probably why he turns to BoxBrownie.com for streamlined property marketing. 

How SnapSnapSnap Streamlined Their Workflow 

Shooting listing photos on a mobile device is something that Andrew says he and his team have embraced, even before using SnapSnapSnap.  

“We have the ability to take great photos faster because there are better-quality cameras on mobile devices now,” he said. 

In the past, Andrew and his team took advantage of the basic image editing features on their phones to enhance the photos and also turned to computer editing software for trickier images. 

“That was time and labor-consuming – I’m glad we have a different solution for that now,” Andrew said.  

“Our inspector takes a majority of the images, and he just uses SnapSnapSnap onsite. 

“As soon as the images are done, he’ll upload them through our software, which also has a mobile app,” he said.  

From there, the listing requires a few finishing touches before it’s ready to be released to the rental market.  

When it comes to crafting the perfect rental listing, Andrew has a few wise words: “Property descriptions are important, but I think, generally speaking, people read less and look at beautiful photos more.” 

"Having a lot of really nice photos is important – that’s what catches people’s eye and brings them into the listing,” he said.  

Snapping Photos and Creating Visual Consistency 

According to Andrew, all the thumbnail images on Johnson’s Property Management’s website gallery have been edited by BoxBrownie.com.  

Andrew highlighted one significant advantage of this practice, which is the remarkable consistency in the appearance of the photos. 

“It’s cool how they all look the same – nice, bright, and clean,” he said.  

“Having everything look very consistent is huge.” 

However, consistency across rental listings is something that can be difficult to achieve. 

“You can’t always take pictures through the same season because tenants vacate at different times of the year,” Andrew said.  

“The photos might be taken at very inconsistent times of the day. The leaves on the trees can be different, and there might be snow on the ground.” 

Thankfully, SnapSnapSnap’s job submission process makes it easy to achieve a consistent result for every image; for example, our Image Enhancement edit involves enhancing the lawn, which can remove any patchiness that might happen during the cooler months.  

Using the App to Minimize Distractions and Maximize Attraction 

Even the smallest item in an image can distract the human eye from taking in the overall picture.  

Garbage, cars, personal belongings, and out-of-the-ordinary décor can all play a part in detracting attention away from a property itself.  

To remedy situations like this, Andrew takes advantage of one of SnapSnapSnap’s transformative edits.  

“The biggest deal has honestly been the Item Removal edit,” Andrew said. 

Every real estate agent and property manager understands the frustration of striving for the perfect exterior property shot, only to have it marred by an obstructing car or truck. 

“We have some properties where there’s always a car parked in front of the building,” Andrew said.  

In those situations, Andrew says SnapSnapSnap’s Item Removal edit is “super helpful” for ensuring an image showcases the property itself without anything pulling focus. 

Bridging the Gap Between Efficiency and Quality 

In the real estate world, there was once a time when using your phone to take listing photos was frowned upon. However, Andrew believes that property managers shouldn't hesitate to explore what was once considered a major no-no. 

The gap in camera quality between smartphones and DSLR cameras has significantly narrowed over time. 

Andrew said he has a DSLR camera at home that he uses for personal, fun projects. 

“It obviously takes fantastic pictures, but the iPhone 14 Pro Max is honestly not far behind,” he said.  

“With a tripod and correct lighting, it takes amazing pictures." 

For those who want to save time and effort with SnapSnapSnap but still hold their DSLR dear, Andrew has some advice: why not have both in your toolkit and choose which will be most effective based on the time constraints?  

Using a DSLR for shooting real estate comes with an inherent learning curve and requires extra time post-shoot for transferring the photos between devices. The results can be stunning, but during a time crunch, Andrew says SnapSnapSnap is effective in achieving great results fast.   

“It comes down to efficiency and the time you want to put into it,” he said.  

“If you want DSLR quality photos, use a tripod and load the images through BoxBrownie.com’s desktop browser. 

“Using SnapSnapSnap on an iPhone with a high-quality camera is convenient, super-fast, and easy.” 

SnapSnapSnap is free to download from the app store. Add it to your iPhone today and discover how it can transform your workflow. 

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