Today we’d like to introduce you to Brad Tyler.
Hi Brad, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I’m a retired veteran from the U.S. Navy. I became an ESE Math Teacher teaching math to Kindergarten through 5th grade students with Learning Disabilities. I have a Bachelors degree in Business Administration and a Masters degree in Education Leadership because I was planning on becoming an Assistant Principal. After I got my Masters degree, I still had some of my G.I. Bill left over, so I took classes at Polk State College to learn how to build websites. I also took a Digital Photography class there as well, because I loved my photography class back in High School.
My wife suggested to start a side business taking family portraits to make extra money. I built a photography website and was getting some bookings. My wife also got her Realtors license, and when she got her first listing, she asked me to take pictures of it. I said sure. I took handheld pictures with the Pop-up flash because the house was empty with little lighting, and you should have seen those pictures. They looked like crap. So, I said to myself, I’m going to learn how to take great real estate pictures so one day, someone will hire me to take pictures of million dollar homes.
It took a few years to get there, and I’ve done quite a lot of luxury homes along the way. I do the whole spectrum of homes from small homes to luxury homes. I also shoot vacation homes and Commercial real estate. I’m your One-Stop shop for all your real estate needs. After helping one of my Realtor clients sell a $12.5 million home in Windermere with photos and video, she flew me out to California to take photos and video of her friends home in Santa Clemente.
I started my portrait photography business in 2015. When I became Drone certified in 2018, I created a separate photography business called BT Aerials, for the Residential & Commercial Real Estate and Small Businesses. BT Aerials covers Central Florida from coast-to-coast. I have other photographers that shoot for me that I have trained personally or have their own real estate photography business.
I have a lot of clients that have been with me for several years and some from the very beginning of my journey. They have stayed with me not just because of the quality of my work, but for my ethical standards, trustworthiness, and always showing up for the appointments (either on time or early) because of my military background. My business has grown because of all the referrals from my clients which I am thankful and appreciate so much.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There were many struggles along the way. While I was honing in on my craft, clients came and went. I don’t know if it was because of my photos or the fact that I could only do photo shoots on the weekends and after I got off work from school on the weekdays. Plus, I was trying to do every aspect of the business like Accounting, Bookkeeping, Social Media Marketing, and editing all the photos and videos. Once I started having someone else do all of those things, my work life and personal life got better and I was able to focus on taking great photos and video and the business became more successful.
We’ve been impressed with BT Aerials, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We specialize in all services for Residential and Commercial real estate.
The services that we offer are:
Interior/Exterior photos
Drone photos & video
Walk-Through Video
Home Video Tours
Matterport 3D Virtual Tours
Zillow Showcase 3D Virtual Tours
2D Floor Plans with measurements
Virtual Staging, Virtual Twilight, Virtual Grass, & Object Removal
Real Twilight Photos
Construction Site Project progress photos & video
Business Branding photos & video
Head Shots
Total Marketing Kit to help Realtors to market their Listings
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
My favorite childhood memory was my first concert when I was in the 4th grade going to the KISS Alive II concert at the Los Angeles Forum.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.btaerials.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bt_aerials/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BTAerials
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4hH0sopdTK4NEHkBoc1ZUg
Image Credits
BT Aerials
