The previous responses all contain good advice. Here's another idea you might not have yet considered. How about cutting out the middleman entirely and target homeowners directly? Many sellers nowadays are looking to avoid signing exclusive contracts with agents who will
charge them high commissions upon sale of their home, even if they end up finding the buyer by themselves through other avenues. Unfortunately, very few of them are adept at location photography, which is a specialized field. And they have to compete with those snazzy pictures shot for other homeowners represented by agents who use the services of your competitors. Homeowners are more likely to be willing to wait a week for their shots, since you just might end up saving them a bundle. Another idea is to contact some "home staging" companies in your area and offering them a discount. They then have the option of passing along the discount to their clients as a "perk" for hiring them or keeping it as a commission. Either way, they'll be highly motivated to hire you, especially if you present them with the option of shooting "before & after" shots (presumably, they'd then have to pay for the "before" shots themselves, as these are only useful to the home stager for their portfolio). In essence, for them, it would be like hiring you to photograph the job , and getting their client to foot half the bill. They win all around. And don't worry about only being available to shoot on week-ends. You don't have to tell them you have another day job. Just say you're really busy, but could "fit them in" at the week-end. It will make you look more highly-sought. Meanwhile, they'll be booking you for their clientelle. And if you promise to mention them to the realtors you do jobs for, ... cross-pollination occurs! Moolah!