We try to keep the entire process as painless as possible for the seller and agent, but great photos do take some time...and we obviously need a way to access the property.
How we access the property is totally up to you(the agent) and the homeowner.
It is not neccesary for the homeowner to be present, but of course they can be. The majority of our long time clients(agents) don't feel the need to escort us at time of photo shoot, instead having us schedule directly with the homeowner or sometimes just leaving us a key in a combo lock box.
Newer clients usually like to meet us at the house to provide access, at least at first. We are fine with either method, whatever is easier and makes you most comfortable.
When arriving at a house, we take a few minutes to tour the house, get a sense of the different shots we'll want to include, turn on lights, open blinds etc. The next 90-120 minutes we take photos, and the last 30 minutes we will measure for the floor plan (if requested). It's that simple!