Ashley Blackmer in Los Angeles, CA, Ronnie Walker in Long Island, NY, and Luke Regner in Milwaukee, WI, turn the focus on themselves in this revealing case study of what it’s like to shoot for a premium listing service on the most visited residential real estate site in the U.S.
Ashley Blackmer, Los Angeles, CA
Before Ashley Blackmer was a Zillow Showcase photographer, she was an elementary school teacher for 10 years and enrolled in a master’s program to become a social worker.
But after Covid, she had come to the realization that this career path was no longer right for her, so she sold everything she owned and traveled the world for a year.
“After taking photographs with my phone all the time on my travels, I picked up a camera and a drone and, as I traveled, I learned everything on my own. I ended up falling in love with photography,” she says.
When Ashley returned to the U.S., she chose real estate photography as her new career path. She was hired by VRX in 2021 and began working for Zillow Showcase in 2022.
Since she’s been photographing real estate, she’s discovered some unique differences between shooting homes compared to other forms like weddings, portraits and travel.
“The biggest difference is we don’t photograph subjects that are moving, so it’s not necessarily about capturing the moment like portrait work; it’s more about creating one,” she says.
“We have to be incredibly meticulous, take time to compose the shot and ensure that our vertical and horizontal lines are straight. We have to make sure that objects are removed from the scene, that our reflection isn’t in the frame, make sure the curtains are open, the lights are on and that we have the correct camera settings for the way the light hits the room. And on top of that, we have to remember that these aren’t just pretty photos. They’re also marketing materials. Clients rely on us to capture the best side of a home so that potential buyers can think to themselves, ‘I want to live there.’”
No two days are alike for Showcase real estate photographers like Ashley, who has to coordinate the needs of agents, homeowners and schedule changes while herding pets and children, making patience and empathy a prerequisite for every job.
She recalls one shoot when a grandmother was selling a home that had been in the family for years.
“The entire family came into town for a barbecue at the house during the shoot,” she says. “There were probably 20 people in a two-story home. They said to me, ‘You just tell us where we need to go.’ I was like, ‘outside. I just need you all outside,’” she says laughing.
While the shoot took longer than usual and was a bit more chaotic than most, Ashley says, “it turned out great, and they invited me to come eat with them afterward.”
Ronnie Walker, Long Island, NY
A lifelong surfer who started photographing underwater in his early teens, Ronnie Walker combined his two main pastimes into a career. He’s photographed professional surfers in Hawaii; volunteered for Walk on Water, a California-based organization that teaches disabled kids to surf; and he’s shot plenty of dolphins, sea turtles, sharks and manta rays underwater.
But now that he’s found real estate photography, he focuses on capturing the perfect angle, lighting and window framing for every Showcase home he shoots.
Whether it’s centering a Japanese maple through a bathroom window or lining up the Empire State Building in a NYC apartment view, “it’s all about your angles,” he says.
Before every Showcase shoot, Ronnie always packs his wide angle lens, a great customer service attitude and plenty of patience.
Ronnie’s key to connecting with agents and sellers is finding a conversation starter, like the Knicks and Rangers sports paraphernalia that he used to strike a conversation with a homeowner who ended up offering him tickets to a Knicks game that night. He also makes a habit of really listening to the agent and sharing the view on his camera with clients to engender their trust.
“Yes, we’re the experts, but it’s also the agent’s listing so you want to work with them. If they want that angle, we’ll shoot it,” says Ronnie.
At the end of the day it’s the end results that ultimately win over the agents and homeowners.
“They love the layout of Showcase,” says Ronnie. “The carousel, how everything is organized room by room and the way their listings are always on top to get more views – that’s why I feel when you shoot a Showcase home, it really has to stand out – not just the layout but the photography too.”
Luke Regner, Milwaukee, WI
Photography was also a hobby initially for Luke Regner before it became his profession. A former motorcycle and power sports mechanic, Luke took a photography course in high school and, before college, shot pictures throughout Southeast Asia.
“Ever since, I’ve been hooked,” he says. 
At first, he thought he wanted to photograph fashion models or landscapes but after talking to a friend who was shooting real estate for Zillow, he joined the team seven years ago.
As the Milwaukee photography team leader, Luke loves the camaraderie and collaboration he shares with his fellow Zillow photographers. When a peer was bit by a dog on a shoot, a teammate showed up to finish the drone photography. And when another colleague was experiencing a technical problem with his drone, Luke showed up to lend them his equipment.
“This is characteristic of the Showcase team,” he says. “A really cool part of this job and company is you get the best of both worlds. You get to feel like a personal photographer on your own, but you have the support of a company and a team. If you run into an issue, you have so much support.”
For the agents, Listing Media Services and Zillow Showcase listings offer sheer convenience. “Our clients use us because they can go on our site even in the middle of the night and order a shoot a day and half out. Having that availability is huge,” he says.
Even Milwaukee’s rainy and snowy weather doesn’t stop the shoot from moving forward when a listing is on the line. And if the inclement weather grounds the drone, the team is almost always able to reschedule for the next day, “going out of their way” to get the shot, Luke says.
“I like to make the agent look good in front of the sellers and let them know that we’re delivering a premium package for them,” he says. “By making the agent look good in front of their clients, that also makes us look good. We give them the complete white glove treatment.”
The statements, opinions, and thoughts provided above reflect individual accounts. These individual accounts reflect an individual’s experience and advice, which is unique and outcomes and experiences may vary per individual. Neither ShowingTime+℠ or Zillow shall be liable for any and all damages attributed to the use of this information. Ashley Blackmer, Ronnie Walker, Photographer, and Luke Regner are ShowingTime+ photographers.
