How This Real Estate Photographer Built a 6-Figure Media Business in Atlanta

Danny Garcia (00:00)
If it’s your problem, it becomes my problem. And my little tagline is your success is my business. If I don’t make you successful, if I don’t do what I need to do for my client, then I’m failing you. So that’s.

That’s something that, know, little things like that, we fix whatever needs to be fixed and we make it happen

Quentin Edmonds (01:51)
Hello everyone. Welcome to the Investor Fuel podcast. I’m your host, Q Edmonds. And today I’m excited because I get to talk to somebody who’s doing something, talk to somebody who’s doing something I never talked to before. I never dove into this type of conversation. So I’m really excited today. I have someone here with me, my friend, Mr. Danny Garcia, who is a luxury photographer who,

who specialize in real estate media. I’ve never had this type of conversation before. So I’m super excited to dive in and hear from him. maybe you talked to somebody like this before. I haven’t. So I’m excited for y’all to listen in to this conversation. And I know you’re going to find some great things out about it. I like to use a pun. You see things from a different lens. You know what I mean? OK, wonk, wonk, wonk. I know. Maybe that wasn’t funny. But I’m excited just to hear.

from Mr. Garcia’s perspective. So Mr. Danny, welcome. How are you feeling today,

Danny Garcia (02:51)
Good Quentin Edmonds, thank you for having me. I appreciate taking the time to talk to me.

Quentin Edmonds (02:55)
Absolutely, man. I’m excited. I always love when we have the opportunity to bring maybe something new to our listeners. Maybe they’ve never heard before. Maybe they’ve never thought about. Maybe they’ve never even given the weight to how much they really need. And so I’m excited because I believe what you have is something that we need, right? And I’m excited for people to get to know you. I’m excited about…

maybe get some foot traffic and get you some, even some more bookings. And so I just want to hear it from you. If you don’t mind, I just want to dial in, you know, it’s people here. They’re not familiar with what you do. I just want you to give us a short version of what you do, what you’re focused on these days and maybe tell us what markets you’re operating in as well, if you don’t mind.

Danny Garcia (03:40)
Sure, sure, no problem. Like Quentin Edmonds said, my name is Danny Garcia and I am based in the Atlanta area. I do real estate media. And when you hear the term real estate media, you think, well, what are you talking about, right? It’s photography, it’s gonna be video, it’s gonna be virtual tours. It’s anything that has to do with the real estate marketing visuals, we do that. And…

whether it’s, I know Con said, you know, luxury and you’re, you’re, doing flips and whatever, and you might not be in that market. That’s okay, because I actually work in the investment market as well with a lot of flip homes, rehabs, as is things, even hoarder homes that I’ve done in the past. So we do it all.

Quentin Edmonds (04:22)
Absolutely, absolutely. What really caught my attention is, how you’re able to, and I wrote this down here, you’re able to do the photography, but then also we talked a little bit about how you’re coaching people up to, because you have an eye, right? You have an eye, there’s something about…

You, you’re able to see things aesthetically different than what we are, you know? And so you talked about the photography angle, but then you also talked about coaching up agents on how to look and present themselves when they’re in front of the camera, right? Did I understand that correctly?

Danny Garcia (05:48)
Yeah, that’s correct. I do that for the agents that want to get on camera and actually present themselves as the agent to pick in that particular market. I mean, there’s several books out there. actually recommend some of the books that are out there to some of my clients, but having 30 years of experience of being in front of people, talking to folks, public speaking, teaching crowds of four and 500 at a time, sometimes doing

the conferences and everything else that I used to do in the software industry, that has brought me into a position where I’m different than most other videographers out there doing real estate, where I can actually take that one-on-one time with the agent and explain how they need to present themselves, the words that they use, the body language they use and things like that. So they really come out confidently and they present themselves just in the right way when they’re on camera.

Quentin Edmonds (06:46)
love it, man. So how did this become a passion for you? When did it spark? I to see pictures, but I almost think I have a passion to kind of make it a business. So where did it start for you? Where did that thing click for you?

Danny Garcia (07:05)
I mean, so my career goes back just a bit. From 92 to 2012, I was actually in law enforcement down in Miami and I was a police officer, then became a police sergeant, left that job. My last seven years as a sergeant, I was in what’s called digital forensics. I would do investigations of computers and cell phones and recover data. Well, I started teaching that stuff for an outside company.

and also internally, but really for an outside company. And I started traveling quite a bit back in 2008. What I found myself is at the end of my workday, five o’clock comes around, I would be finished teaching. I would start going, what the heck am I going to do with the rest of my evening? So I grabbed a camera and I started doing a little bit of photography and I have been all over the country, all over the world.

And photography has always been there from 2008 all the way to today. Then I guess in 21, I had been six years in a corporate entity working the same field. They decided to get rid of my position and I decided that it was time to do things for me. And I started in the real estate photography business at that point. And I’ve never looked back.

Quentin Edmonds (08:23)
Man, I love it. So first, man, thank you for the time that you served in law enforcement. Best friend is in law enforcement. Law enforcement has done right by my family for a long time, a long time, not to veer off. But I just want to just thank you for your time, man. So I just want to say that. man, what you said, wow, what a pivot, man. You said.

You picked up the camera and it had me look back, you know, and that’s amazing, man. And I know sometimes, you know, doing that pivot in this climate, it’s not easy. And so here you are, you know, you’ve made the transition, you got things running, but what is it that keeps you kind of still motivated? Like what keeps things running smoothly with the business? We have one customer and they like, listen, you keep doing what you’re doing. We’re going to make sure all of our business, all our clients, they’ll come to you.

So what is it that keep things running smoothly so you can keep pulling those clients in?

Danny Garcia (09:22)
The number one thing in any industry really is treating the customer like they should be treated and making sure that the product or service that you’re delivering is what you promised. That is absolutely paramount because if you don’t treat that customer, and I’ve said it before, you gotta treat your customers like gold, you are not going to get the repeat business, you’re not gonna get the referrals, the word of mouth, and that’s really where the…

business has prospered is really with word of mouth. Setting up a really simple referral program is something that I did way in the beginning where I reward customers for telling other folks in the industry who I am. When they come and use me, I give a credit back to the referring client. So those are little things. And then getting the right people. I have 10 photographers out there now in the Atlanta area that are

going out and shooting almost every single day, the, I don’t want to the routine stuff because we don’t treat really anything as routine, but the quote unquote lower end, if you will. And, you know, we’ve got multimillion dollar properties that we do, but we also do, you know, $40,000 lots or a hundred thousand dollar rehabs that are going to be done.

Quentin Edmonds (10:26)
I hear you. I hear you.

Danny Garcia (11:12)
We do it all and it’s just a matter of going in there and doing the same type of photography, the same editing and delivering in the same turnaround time to that client so that they know that they have somebody reliable. They know that they’re going to book us today, get their shoot tomorrow and the next morning they’re gonna have their photos. That is what keeps bringing them back.

Quentin Edmonds (11:37)
Did I just hear you said they’re going to do their shoot and they’re to have their photos the next day? Did I hear you?

Danny Garcia (11:43)
Well,

that’s my norm here. I actually could turn them around. I could turn them around the same day if you really, really are in a pinch. But obviously there’s gonna be some rush fees and what have you to get things done. But yeah, the next morning, usually anywhere between 6 a.m. and 10 and 12, maybe the latest, latest is gonna be 1 p.m. You’ll have your photos the next morning.

Quentin Edmonds (11:50)
Yeah, yeah.

Yeah.

Gotcha.

Yeah, I’ve been dealing with the wrong photographers,

To me, that’s not standard at all. So no, that’s amazing, man. That’s amazing. So listen, we always try what I call normalize the heart, right? Because every day we got to choose a heart. If I sleep in late, I choose the heart of not the early bird don’t get the worm. I don’t get it, right? If I get up and grind, it’s hard because I lose my sleep. You always got to choose a heart in front of you.

We like to normalize it. just don’t want to talk about all the success. Let’s just be real. Like as we go through this journey, Times get real. Things go sideways. Sometimes you had to pivot, you have to pivot fast. And so do you mind maybe sharing one of those moments within what you do when you had to kind of pivot fast?

Danny Garcia (13:00)
mean, well, let me, let me just add one more thing because this will probably throw you and you’re going to say, well, yeah, I’m definitely dealing with the wrong person. So one other thing that we do is that in addition to the photos, we also give you a floor plan of the place because, my, my, my, my, my investor client, my big investor client has really, when I gave him the first floor plan, he was like, wait, you could do this. And I said, yeah.

Well, we want it on every single one going forward because they’ll buy a property and sometimes they’ll knock down a wall or do something to change the landscape, right? And they want to be able to present not only the photos, but also what is the layout and that really, really helps them and puts them up above other people that are putting these properties out there. And I don’t know if I mentioned earlier, but I do over a hundred of those just for this one client every single year. So.

They’re doing a lot of business right here in the Atlanta area, mean, all over the metro area. But as far as issues, I guess you’re asking about any kind of issues that have come up in the past, do we have issues? Yeah, there’s always gonna be an issue. If a photographer bumps into a tripod and there’s bit of a focus issue, they know that they are responsible to going back out there and taking care of it.

for that client. I am sitting right now and knock on wood, it stays that way, but I’m sitting right now in a perfect five-star rating on Google because we take care of our clients.

If it’s your problem, it becomes my problem. And my little tagline is your success is my business. If I don’t make you successful, if I don’t do what I need to do for my client, then I’m failing you. So that’s.

That’s something that, know, little things like that, we fix whatever needs to be fixed and we make it happen

so that you’re happy.

Quentin Edmonds (15:33)
I am writing that quote down. Your success is my business. Yeah, I’m writing it down. That’s a good quote. That’s a good motto. That’s a good creed to have when you in business. Your success is my business. And I absolutely love that. And I thank you for sharing that. I thank you for sharing that moment. A lot of folks, unfortunately, don’t have that mindset. And so I love it. I firmly believe that’s what’s going to keep you.

in the business for the long term, right? The difference between those is just dabble. When you got the right mindset, you got that heart of servitude. When you want to serve your customer. I think I’ve read that somewhere in your bio, I believe, is that you want to serve as people. You want to serve as the customer. And so that’s amazing, man. I thank you for sharing that perspective. So let me ask you, what are you focused on solving right now? Like what’s, what’s, what are you scaling next? What’s your next real goal?

Danny Garcia (16:26)
I mean, my personal goal for this business, I think I’m at a point right now with a number of folks out there that I can start really focusing on ramping up scaling and pushing most of those assignments out to them. And then I have that focus of really pushing and working with those agents that want to appear on camera, get that coaching, get that one-on-one attention.

Not to say that other photographers aren’t going to be doing that with me because I do have at least one that is Fantastic and does that type of stuff as well? And we have a really good working relationship right now, and I just want to make that even better but that’s Something that I have found very rewarding in getting that agent to look at me right behind the camera as I’m filming them and they get that aha moment that that

point where they go, wow, that felt really good saying what I just said in the way that I said it. And that is really where I’ve been focusing in on developing those skills for the last year or so. And actually this coming weekend, there’s a, there’s a,

photography or sorry a videography group that’s coming here to Atlanta and I’m doing a mentorship basically with them all day long to really hone in on those skills and Basically take me to that next level

Quentin Edmonds (17:51)
Yeah. Listen, man, I’m excited. I’m excited for your next move. I’m excited for the coaching program that you’re building. And of course, we know like the next move, can compound things or like create chaos. Right? Like we know that, you know? And so I’m so happy that you’re not scared of the challenge, right? You’re like, no, you know, that’s, I want to move this forward. I want to empower people. I’m going to empower people that, you know, want to take their business or, know,

Danny Garcia (18:02)
Yeah. Exactly.

Quentin Edmonds (18:16)
to the next level and you’re empowering people through your coaching program. So I’m excited about it, man. I really am. I know you said, I believe I heard you say you have 10 photographers underneath of you. It sounds like to me, you believe in relationships. And so I know it would mean a lot to people listening, if they’re either early in their journey, they’re looking to level up. And I think it would benefit them from hearing this. And here’s the question.

When it comes to building relationships and growing your network, what has made the biggest difference for you?

Danny Garcia (18:52)
You know, in real estate, the only thing that really matters is the relationship period and a story, because you could get that agent that says I’m going to do a listing for 1%. Well, you can also get a photographer that says they’re going to do the photos for you for 20 bucks. What are you going to get? If that 1 % agent, I will just say this, if that 1 % agent does everything for you.

and answers every single question and builds that relationship with you, then guess what? It was worth the 1%. But I will say this, I have worked with everybody from the 1 %ers to the folks up at the 5%, 6 % clubs. The folks that do go into those higher percentages when they do the listings and everything else, they have the relationships, they have the networks. They know

who they’re going to market that property to before it’s even on the market. So is a relationship absolutely essential? yeah, in real estate, absolutely, 100%. And even in this business, even in what I do, I have certain relationships with certain agents that have surpassed the client relationship. We are now friends.

We will sometimes go to dinner, go to lunch. If I am shooting in a specific area, I will sometimes text, hey, so and so, are you available for lunch? And I just, we just talk. So relationships is absolutely key. And that is what’s going to drive any business forward. It doesn’t really matter what it is. So I hope I answered the question at least the way that you were looking for.

Quentin Edmonds (20:36)
Well, no, well, I wasn’t looking for a specific answer, but I’m gonna tell you what you you literally tagged my tagline. Like you said it. Because what I normally say after an answer like that is that relationships are everything in this space. That’s what I normally say. And like you hit the nail on the head. You know, relationships are everything. And so, no, I think you answered that extremely well. I think you gave an honest answer and I think you gave an answer that should connect. And hopefully, you know, people

that’s watching this, get that understanding is that you have to build these healthy, honest relationships, these mutual relationships. know, and I know a lot of people know it, but for you that listening and maybe you haven’t, you know, really put stock in building relationships the right way. You heard from Mr. Danny, relationships are everything in this space, you know? And so, so listen, Mr. Danny, listen, before we wrap.

If someone wanted to reach out to you, connect with you, maybe collaborate, learn more about what you’re doing, what’s the best way for them to reach out to you?

Danny Garcia (21:41)
I’m pretty active on Instagram just about every day. That’s where one of my groups are on where we kind of help each other out and things like that. So Instagram is at flying lens and that’s with a Z at the end, F-L-Y-I-N-G, L-E-N-Z and over on, I mean.

and everything else is out there, but Instagram is really the main main one for me. So we’ll just leave it at that. Everything else is kind of linked in the bio right from there.

Quentin Edmonds (22:08)
Absolutely. Well, there he is again. Y’all Mr. Danny Garcia. Listen, I appreciate your time. I appreciate your story. I appreciate your perspective. We definitely need more people like you that’s doing it the right way, that loves to service people, that want to coach our people. So I’m excited about everything that you’re doing. And I just want to thank you again for being here.

Danny Garcia (22:33)
I appreciate it, Quinton, and hopefully you got something out of it and everybody else gets something out of it as well. I appreciate your time and looking forward to hearing some feedback.

Quentin Edmonds (22:42)
Absolutely, absolutely. Listen, for all those tuning in, if you have found value in this episode, please make sure you’re subscribed. You notice I slowed down my speech so that you can hear me. Please make sure that you are subscribed. You do not want to miss out on amazing conversations like I had today with Mr. Danny Garcia. He’s out here building business. He’s doing it the right way.

and we just want to make sure that you’re doing it the right way too. So until the next time, take care of yourself.