Real Estate Photography in Arlington Heights, IL
Arlington Heights is the biggest market I shoot outside my own town. About 76,000 residents, 31,000 households, and 334 homes sold in the year Redfin tracked through August 2026. The median sale price was $497,171, up 4.7% year over year, and 52.8% of those homes closed above asking.
That last number is the one that should shape your photo order. More than half the town sells over list, but the median home still sits 42 days to get there. The difference between those two outcomes usually shows up in the first three MLS images.
I'm Josh Ogiba. I run Ogi Optics out of Mount Prospect, about ten minutes from downtown Arlington Heights, and I shoot listing photography, drone, floor plans and cinematic video across the northwest suburbs. Here's what I've learned shooting Arlington Heights specifically, and what it costs. You can see the full service list on the real estate services page.
GREENBRIER, TERRAMERE AND THE 1970s SPLIT-LEVELS
Northwest Arlington Heights is full of houses built between 1965 and 1980. Greenbrier, Terramere, Stonegate and Surrey Ridge all share the same problem on camera: the original floor plans wall the kitchen off from everything else, and fifty years of tree growth now shades the lots.
When a seller has opened that plan up, shooting room by room hides the one thing they paid for. I shot 1519 W Raleigh Ct in Greenbrier for Magda Chwalek of Gen Z Realty in August, and the whole listing rested on a sightline running from the kitchen island through to the living space. Two separate pictures of a kitchen and a living room would have made it look like every other 1976 house on the block.
The canopy is the second issue. It looks great in person and it eats your exterior light. I shoot those fronts when the sun is off the face of the house instead of fighting dappled shade across the siding, and I use the drone to show the trees rather than apologize for them. From 200 feet you can see that Raleigh Court is an eight-home cul-de-sac and that the streets nearly disappear under the canopy. Neither of those reads from the driveway.
SCARSDALE, RECREATION PARK AND THE OLDER HOMES NEAR DOWNTOWN
South and east of the tracks the stock changes completely. The Scarsdale area runs to 1920s colonials and Tudors, many of them rebuilt or heavily added onto, and Recreation Park has the older, tighter lots right by the park.
These shoot slower. Small original windows, dark woodwork and additions that do not match the original ceiling height all need bracketing and careful color work instead of one flash exposure. I budget more time per room here than in a Greenbrier split-level. It is also the kind of house where the floor plan earns its keep, because a buyer cannot follow a 1925 layout from photos alone.
DOWNTOWN CONDOS AND TOWNHOMES NEAR THE METRA STATIONS
Arlington Heights has two Metra stations on the Union Pacific Northwest line, and express trains reach Ogilvie in about 38 to 42 minutes. That commute is the product for everything within walking distance of the downtown square: Arlington Town Square, Dunton Tower, Hancock Square at Arlington Station, and the townhome courts around them.
The shot list changes for condos. Buyers want the view, the balcony, the building amenities and proof of the walk to the train and the restaurants. A unit interior on its own undersells a downtown listing. I usually add exteriors of the building and the street, plus a couple of drone frames that put the station and the square in the same picture as the roofline.
PACKAGES AND PRICING FOR ARLINGTON HEIGHTS LISTINGS
Same prices everywhere I shoot. There is no Arlington Heights surcharge.
Base — $200. 25 MLS photos, 6 drone photos, floor plan.
Plus — $300. Everything in Base, plus a property walkthrough and a basic cinematic video.
Pro — $450. Everything in Base, plus a property walkthrough and a pro cinematic video.
Base covers most Greenbrier and Stonegate listings. Plus is the right call for anything with a layout that needs explaining, which around here usually means an addition or a finished lower level. Pro is for properties where the video is the marketing rather than a bonus: downtown penthouses, the bigger Scarsdale rebuilds, and the listings you want to show off at your next appointment. Full package details are on the real estate services page.
Photos in 24 hours, video within 48 hours.
BUSINESS AND PROJECT PHOTOGRAPHY IN ARLINGTON HEIGHTS
Not everything I shoot here is a listing. In July I photographed a timber-frame covered patio in Arlington Heights for Woodplank, from wide establishing frames of the whole structure down to detail work on the tongue-and-groove ceiling. Contractors, trades and local businesses book the same way agents do, on a custom quote based on scope.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS REAL ESTATE PHOTOGRAPHY FAQ
Do you cover all of Arlington Heights?
Yes, all of 60004 and 60005, plus the surrounding northwest suburbs. I am based in Mount Prospect, so Arlington Heights is a ten-minute drive.
How fast do you deliver photos and video?
Standard turnaround is 24 hours for photos and within 48 hours for video.
Do I need drone photos for a standard Arlington Heights split-level?
Six drone photos come with every package, so cost is not the question. They do the most work on the wooded cul-de-sac streets in Greenbrier and Terramere, on lots backing to a park or to Lake Arlington, and on any property where the yard is the selling point.
Can you shoot a downtown condo without exterior access?
Yes. I shoot the unit and whatever common areas you have access to, then cover the building, the square and the Metra stations from the street and from the air.
BOOK AN ARLINGTON HEIGHTS SHOOT
Send me the address, the package and the date. You get the same photographer every time, and photos in 24 hours, video within 48 hours.
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Market figures: Redfin, Arlington Heights housing market, August 2026. Statewide context: Illinois REALTORS market statistics.