It’s amazing what can happen in just two years. For Joccelyn Ortiz and Prestige Real Estate Images, it can mean whole new kind of life. The last time we caught up with Richard Camacho and Manuel Valdovinos about their real estate photography business, Joccelyn was mostly involved with administrative tasks, and all three of them were working from a small desk in the basement of a real estate office. 

Today, Joccelyn is the COO at Prestige, overseeing a team of eleven: the six photographers/videographers are out in the field, while the remaining five—the booking coordinator, photo editor, video editor, CFO, and bookkeeper—and Joccelyn herself, work in-house at the company’s brand-new studio located in Garfield Ridge. 

“Becoming a part of the Garfield Ridge community has allowed us to get so much more involved with the community and our clients,” Joccelyn notes. “This change has made such a positive impact on our team. We now have a space to call our own, where we can work more efficiently and even host photoshoots for our clients.”

Prestige Real Estate Images has not just changed in quantity, with more photographers and in-house team members, as Joccelyn notes, but in quality as well, in every aspect of the company—from the management to the staff, to the systems, and even their environment. This commitment to quality comes from the passion that first started with Richard and has now been instilled into each person on the team, as Joccelyn explains:

“Most of our photographers came to us without having any real estate photography experience, but they all came in with a passion for photography, a drive to better their craft, and a hunger to get out there and become the best version of themselves.”

Joccelyn recalls her own entrance into the company and how the culture that Richard set inspired her to take greater ownership of her work and strive to continually improve. She started in 2019, just two years after the company was founded. At the time, her work wasn’t particularly challenging. She was just answering phone calls and scheduling shoots here and there. 

“Richard made it a mission of his to teach and involve me in as much as he could,” she explains. “He would always tell me, ‘One day you will be doing all this [what he was doing] yourself.’ I didn’t really believe it, but the next thing I knew, I was in charge of scheduling shoots, routing out schedules to photographers, learning Photoshop, and delivering the final photos to our clients. I even do client headshot sessions now too.” 

Joccelyn credits Prestige with getting her back into a leadership role, having stepped away from the workforce after her daughter was born, and for getting her back into what she truly loves doing: helping people. The passion with which she approaches her work today comes directly from the company’s culture and core values—something each team member imbues—whether she’s working directly with a client or with a referral partner. 

“Our goal is to make sure our REALTOR® partners are proud to show off their listings to potential buyers, and that each one looks perfect in all marketing materials,” Joccelyn emphasizes. “We believe beautiful pictures, worth a thousand words, can truly help showcase properties to their fullest potential. We employ cutting-edge technology and techniques to capture stunning images that showcase every property in the best possible light.”

Prestige Real Estate Images offers a range of real estate listing marketing services, including professional listing photography and videos, Matterport 3D, floor plans, 3D renderings, digital decluttering, and more. And with their flat-rate pricing, REALTORS® won’t find themselves surprised by “premium service charges” for things like photo editing, a window view, sky replacements, or other photo enhancements. 

“Working with Prestige goes beyond the imaging services we provide. It’s about building a personal connection with our clients,” Joccelyn emphasizes. “We love to see our REALTOR®  partners prosper and grow.”

Joccelyn’s vision for Prestige over the next couple years includes seeing her team continuing to win and become one of the best Chicago real estate photography teams around. Every year, she looks to level the company up—whether through coming up with a new, innovative idea or restructuring, as well as keep up with the media and new trends—to do all they can to provide the best service and experience for their clients. 

“We not only want to become the best in real estate photography, but to also become greater individuals,” Joccelyn notes. “My vision is to see each team member become the very best version of themselves. Our work culture promotes and supports that level of personal growth, and we know that when our people get to be their best selves, it means all that flows from Prestige will only be better and better. We are a very family-oriented company and want our team members to be and feel great, not just at work but in their personal lives as well.”

Joccelyn nourishes her personal life in many ways. She loves spending time with her daughter and going to Chicago White Sox and Blackhawks games. A huge coffee lover, she enjoys discovering new coffee shops in the city and taking her dog for a walk to Dunkin Donuts for an iced coffee. Joccelyn also loves to sing, and she led worship at her church at a young age, was a youth leader for a few years, and was even a regional worship leader. 

Given the asset that Joccelyn’s passion and like-minded, empowerment-focused leadership style is to Prestige Real Estate Images’s already notable growth and success, we cannot wait to see what they will accomplish in the next two years.