Community Highlights: Meet Tomas Caballero of Bird-Solutions Real Estate Photography and Drone Solutions

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tomas Caballero. 

Hi Tomas, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
My name is Tomas Caballero, and I am the Owner and Art Director of Bird-Solutions Real Estate photography and Drone services here in Lakewood, Colorado. I am the son of an Argentine Airline Pilot and a Financial Advisor American mother. With a BA in Advertising, I worked my early 20s in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in the Ad industry until the city lifestyle started taking a serious toll on me, and decided to move to the mountains and up here in the Rockies, seeking a better lifestyle regardless of the type of job offered. Ski-bum? Absolutely, I remember I sold my car in Buenos Aires, a Peugeot 106 to start all this journey. It was an awesome and liberating “See ya” type-of feeling.

So that’s when I started working as an action ski and snowboard photographer in Lionshead Village for Sharpshooters imaging, a snow sports photo company in the Rockies. I was able to learn the ins and outs of running a photo service and everything involved, but sadly, one day, Vail Resorts implemented their own Photography service, and all of us “Sharpies” had to relocate positions with most of us ending up in Hospitality. One day, a GM over at The Sebastian Vail encouraged me to get into Real Estate because of my Spanish skills and my Guest Services experience and I guess, that’s when things started rolling for Bird-Solutions.

While working for 5 years as a Realtor in the Sarasota-Bradenton area, I noticed a massive lack of good and reliable Real Estate photography services. It just blew my mind to see what was offered as “Premium” photos (HDR Photos) and decided to start marketing the properties myself, with my cameras and equipment. I had the knowledge, the photos were starting to look good, I was already using additional flash-pops for better colors (From my advertising background), and other agents started asking me for their listing shoots.

After seven years of working in Hospitality in the Rocky Mountains and 5 years of living as a full-time Realtor in Sarasota, Florida (I no longer hold a license), I decided to blend My Real Estate Sales experience with my Creative Advertising and Photography background to create Bird Solutions photography. Thanks to this blend of work experiences, I am now able to provide our community a solid and reliable service, by also stepping up the Real Estate photo game.

In the end, I pretty much blended all my experiences to do something I enjoy doing and can’t see myself doing anything else right now. Being a full-time photographer in these beautiful mountains is a complete blessing. I look forward to connecting Patagonia and the Rockies with friends and people interested in skiing/riding the Andes and the Rockies. The mountain community vibe worldwide is beautiful, and we should keep that going.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It’s never smooth if you want your own business. You will be outside your comfort zone, every single day, for a long time.

Biggest challenge: Constant Cultural adaptation. I have lived 24 years in Argentina and 14 years in the USA in different states and regions, forcing me to constantly adapt and start from zero. I have been called in a friendly way and between jokes; The “Gringo”, “Yankee” while in Argentina, and the “Che” “Hermano” “Latino guy” in America. Being an outsider, pretty much all the time, definitely makes you stronger and much more creative, and once you have been out of your comfort zone for a while, it actually starts feeling comfortable, or at least used to it.

My philosophy (I am a sports guy) is to always bring something of value, to contribute, add something, raise the bar, do better, and I knew I could do this with Real Estate Photography. Since my first photo session in Lakeland, Fl, I knew I would be doing this for a long time. I remember it was a horrible rainy Florida day, a two-hour drive, and I loved it.

As you know, we’re big fans of Bird-Solutions Real Estate Photography and Drone Solutions. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about the brand?
Thank you for your kind words and for this opportunity, I really appreciate it and it means a lot.

What can I tell everyone about the brand? identity: We are simple people, we love the Mountains, Photography, Rugby, Snowboarding, and Fútbol. We dream about connecting both, the Patagonian and The Colorado Rockies communities. As a company, we like to take risks and want to have a good time. In sports strategy, I can define us as a very offensive team, with lots of wingers and forwards. Our logo is a “Condor” bird, inspired by the Native Incas with a stylized camera lens representing the bird’s eye. You can find the Condor bird in The Andes and The Rocky mountains.

Bird-Solutions is a complete Real Estate Marketing business. We offer Floorplans, 3D Tours, Photography, Drone photos/videos, property websites, and Virtual staging in less than 24 hs. Again, we are stepping up the Denver Real Estate photography game by introducing an additional FLAMBIENT technique to each photo session (This is pretty big), and best of all, we are a small dynamic crew very easy to communicate with. We are locals, here in Lakewood and service everywhere in the state.

Real Estate Photos can be done so much better and more presentable than what we are finding on average today, and we would like to be that service alternative for the ones that are seeking true high-end impact images for everyday properties. I am adding more tools in the process while keeping the same standard pricing my competitors have for a higher-end product. I want to create Value by doing better photos, for the same price. Regardless of how Hot or Cold the Housing Market is, Real Estate photography is needed in lots of other industries such as Vacation Rentals, Property Management, Hotels and Resorts, New construction, Developers, and communities.

I explain more about Flambient photography here:

https://www.bird-solutions.com/post/what-is-hdr-photography-what-is-flambient-photography

Like in every other industry, everything keeps evolving, and photography has changed a lot in just a few years. If iPhones can take great photos, imagine what the Pro cameras can do with someone who has the skills to use them with portable and dynamic flashlights? It’s just unreal for somebody who started with film and mechanic cameras.

Eventually, any commercial and residential Estate will need some photography at some point to be published online. Today, for a fraction of the sale, lease, or Real Estate transaction, you can have a strong property portfolio ready to share.

We have a business text line that works well at 720-345-9281, and we answer questions any time. In the end, my job is to bring Real Estate marketing solutions. I have an automated booking system that will make everything seamless, with calendar integration, instant confirmation emails, text reminders, etc.

We service Property Management companies, Vacation rentals, Realtors, Brokers, Commercial Real Estate, Developers, Food and Beverage, Hotels, and Resorts, everything!

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
Today, I will suggest doing a lot of online research first over at “YouTube University”. Brainstorm, connect. Thanks to this platform, the photo, and video industry (in our case) were able to grow and get better really fast. I found my mentor here as well. Today I have seven of his books, I like to wake up early and read with some good Yerba Mate.

When it comes to networking, I believe the best way of doing so is by going Snowboarding/Skiing. Just get out there and you will meet the right people.

Thank you, everyone, for your time! Muchas Gracias!

Contact Info:

• Email: sales@bird-solutions.com
• Website: www.bird-solutions.com
• Instagram: @birdsolutions
• Facebook: @birdsolutionsCO