The Spiro Podcast: Managing your Real Estate Photography & Videography Business

A lot of real estate media owners believe the hardest part of hiring photographers is finding someone with the same “eye” they have. Todd and Craig argue that the eye isn’t magic—it’s something you build through training, repetition, feedback, and experience.

In Part 2 of their step-by-step guide to shooting a house, they break down how WoW turns years of instinct into a repeatable system: exterior composition, framing, photo order, interior shots, working around obstructions, and the little details that create consistency across a team. They also talk about why new photographers need permission to make mistakes—and why expecting perfection too early can actually slow their development.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 - Intro

Resources Mentioned

Spiro: spiro.media

Spiro Sync 2027: spiro-sync.com

Questions / episode ideas: [email protected]

What if the best way to win new clients was to stop walking into brokerages trying to sell them something?

Colleen Kidd of Three Palms Media shares the in-person workshop strategy that has helped her build relationships with agents, brokers, teams, and some of her company’s biggest clients. She breaks down how she gets into brokerage offices, what she actually teaches, how she turns one workshop into three visits, and why giving value before asking for business has become such a powerful client acquisition strategy.

Colleen also shares how she pushed through the fear of presenting, including one brutal early experience that nearly made her question whether she was good enough—and why she kept showing up anyway.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 - Intro

RESOURCES:

Colleen Kidd / Three Palms Media:

Colleen Kidd:

Colleen’s Brokerage Workshop Resources:

Colleen’s Branding Mini Session Resources:

Spiro Sync 2027:

Questions / Episode Ideas:

Eli Jones joins Todd and Craig for a conversation about building a real estate media business that actually supports the life you want—not one that simply keeps you busy.

Ahead of REPP 2026, Eli talks about why getting around other business owners matters, the balance between doing the work and stepping back to ask what you’re actually building, and why the hard things you choose today can create more freedom tomorrow. They also dig into this year’s REPP framework—design your future, build the roadmap, and commit to action—and why sometimes getting out of the daily grind is exactly what you need to start dreaming again.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 - Eli Jones: Choose the Hard Things Now

RESOURCES:

REPP Conference 2026: repplaunch.com/repp2026

Use discount code: SPIRO

REPP Questions: [email protected]

Spiro: spiro.media spiro-sync.com

Questions / Episode Ideas: [email protected]

There are a thousand opinions about the “right” way to shoot a house. Todd and Craig share the system WoW has used and refined over 23 years—not because everyone should copy their camera settings, but because having a repeatable process creates consistency for clients and makes photographers easier to train.

They get into SOPs, checklists, camera settings, memory-card rotation, handheld versus tripod, and why spending too much time obsessing over tiny creative differences can keep you from focusing on the things that actually grow the business.

00:00 — Stop Sweating the Little Things

Spiro: spiro.media

Revenue can look great on paper while the business underneath it is barely making money.

Todd breaks down the numbers every real estate media business owner should understand—from net profit and expenses to cost of goods and where your revenue is actually coming from. He also shares how losing $250,000 in revenue from a single client forced WoW to take a much harder look at its finances—and ultimately become a healthier business.

They also discuss what not to cut when money gets tight, preparing for the seasonality of real estate, keeping personal and business expenses separate, and why hiring a bookkeeper doesn’t mean you can stop acting as the CFO of your own company.

00:00 — The $250,000 Text Message

That’s about the max I’d go on chapters for this one. The episode naturally has several distinct financial concepts, so fewer than that starts lumping together things people may specifically want to jump to.

Spiro: spiro.media

When the shoots slow down, it’s easy to feel like something is wrong. But that extra space on your calendar might be exactly what your business needs.

Craig shares what happened when getting another photographer trained finally gave him room to step back into business development—from reconnecting with current and former clients to showing up at brokerage offices and Realtor events. Todd and Craig break down why relationships take time, why you shouldn’t panic when a client leaves, and how the work you do during the slow season can create momentum for the next busy one.

00:00 — What Happened When Craig Finally Had Capacity

Spiro: spiro.media

Spiro Sync 2027: spiro-sync.com

Questions / episode ideas: [email protected]

Spiro Sync is back for 2027, and Craig and Shannon are giving you the full preview of what’s changing, what’s staying, and why stepping away from the day-to-day of your business might be exactly what you need heading into a new year.

They look back at what made the first Sync special, preview the speakers, workshops, breakouts and new format for 2027, and talk about the part that’s hardest to recreate online: being in a room with other real estate media professionals who actually understand the challenges you’re dealing with. Plus, why you should consider bringing your team—and why you do not have to be a Spiro user to attend.

00:00 — When You Finally Stop Caring What Everybody Thinks

Spiro Sync 2027: spiro-sync.com

Just because something worked for your business five or ten years ago doesn’t mean it still makes sense today.

Todd and Craig unpack the idea of the “legacy tax”—the hidden cost of decisions you keep carrying simply because that’s how you’ve always done things. From outdated pricing and unprofitable clients to old services, missed opportunities, hiring practices, and employees who may no longer fit where the company is going, they share real examples of legacy taxes they’ve paid in their own businesses.

The challenge: if you were making the decision today with everything you know now, would you make the same choice?

00:00 — What Is the Legacy Tax?

Spiro Sync 2027: spiro.media

What is your real estate media business actually worth—and what would happen if you decided to sell it?

Todd and Craig break down how businesses are valued, why revenue alone doesn’t determine what someone will pay, and how EBITDA, clean financials, systems, client relationships, and owner dependence all factor into the equation. They also share the real story of how WoW acquired Craig’s photography business and the deal they structured to make it work for both sides.

And before you decide to sell, there’s another question worth asking: Do you actually want out, or are you just exhausted?

00:00 — Intro and Spiro Updates

Spiro Sync 2027: spiro-sync.com

Hiring another photographer can create the capacity your business desperately needs—but finding the right person is only the beginning.

Todd and Craig share lessons from their own hiring experiences, including why client interaction can matter more than technical skill, when a contractor model may need to change, and how hiring too late can hold back an entire market. They also discuss training through real-world examples, explaining the “why” behind your standards, and giving new photographers enough time and repetition to become confident on their own.

00:00 — Hire for Personality, Train the Technical Skills

Resources:

Spiro Sync 2027: Visit https://spiro-sync.com

The REPP Conference: Visit https://repplaunch.com/repp2026

Questions or future episode ideas: [email protected]