 MATTHEW PARKER |
Real Estate Photography Rates Hello All, I am a freelance photographer looking to make some money on the side regarding real estate photography. This is a new market for me and I am wondering if anyone has any comments on rates for such assignments (central California region). I know what my costs will be but am curious about the what the going rate is for such assigments. Any comments or thoughts are deeply appreciated. Thanks,
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doug Nelson |
You have to offer something that the realtor cannot do himself/herself. Most realtors do an acceptable job with their own digicam, although many seem to have no idea of the resolution required to print a brochure. I think your niche might be high-roller listings, that need expert lighting to show off interiors, and the effort needed to photograph homes and gardens in the mellow light of morning and evening. Get into a high-end house and give it your best shot, look critically at your results, refine where necessary and have a portfolio you can show around.
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MATTHEW PARKER |
Hi Doug, Thanks for the feedback. I agree that many realtors walk around with their point and shoot cameras so we have to offer a unique perspective on these shots. Thanks,
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Todd Bennett |
Matt, I work in the real estate industry. To add a little to what Doug said, you may want to pick up some trade journals (i.e. Professional Builder, etc.) to see what the "big boys" are doing. You will notice that most of their photos are shot early morning or late afternoon so as to take advantage of the mellow light, as Doug stated. You will also notice that none of them are shot without the hard surfaces, i.e. sidwalks, streets, etc. being wet. This adds a lot to the picture. Looking at these pics may give you some good ideas. If you look at the local magazines, (we have one here called Homes & Land and I personally know the guy that owns the local franchise) you will see no creativeness. They may be shot with a nice DSLR; but, there is no imagination as to trying to make the shot look good so that it "wows" the home buyer. They are simply photos of houses. These guys aren't really photogs as much as they are a producer of a magazine. A prime example of this is back in December, I was asked to take a picture of a house that we had for sale that was decorated with Christmas lights. I had never done this before so I took a series of shots at different times as the light was diminishing. They wanted a night shot. As you know, the darker it gets, the more blown out the lights get and can make the picture look so bad that all your eye sees is these darn lights and you don't see the house. I had suggested one taken earlier in the evening because there was a nice balance of natural light with the Christmas lights and you could still see the house. After all, this magazine is about selling houses not lights. Well, they selected one of the pics I took; but, it was almost dark and not the pic I would have used. It still was a good pic; but, simply too dark. If you want to see how not to take a picture of houses, look at some of your local magazines. Hope this helps. Todd
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Todd Bennett |
Sorry Matt, I didn't do much to answer your question about rates.
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MATTHEW PARKER |
Hi Todd, Thanks for the feedback. I agree, a lot of the standard real estate shots are not that great. I believe that is because most of the time the real estate agent is taking the photo and the photo editors for these magazines are not photographers. How did you get into this market? Thanks,
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Todd Bennett |
I think you may have misunderstood my statement about being in the real estate industry. What I meant was that is my full time job. My step father owns a building/developement/real estate company. I started working for them right after I got out of the Marine Corps in 84. I worked my way up from mowing grass to now working the cost and estimating construction cost. Photography is a serious hobby of mine, which has led to one of my photos being published in the local Homes and Land. I have some others on our website and others on brochures about our company.
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Todd Bennett |
Matt, I just purchased "Pricing Photography The Complete Guide to Assignment & Stock Photography" about 2 months ago. I don't know how much help it would be to you; but, it could probably be used as a guideline for pricing. You may want to check it out. Todd
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MATTHEW PARKER |
Hi Todd, Thanks for the feedback. How did you get your photo published? Take Care,
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Todd Bennett |
It was complete luck. It was me and the guy that owned the "Homes and Land" franchise taking shots of the home. Mine were clearly better, in my opinion. They were definitely sharper. And they chose one of them. No pay for it. No recognition for it. Won't do it again even if it's for my parents who own the company I work for and own the home I was photographing. If they like them that much, they should have to pay for them; but, that is anothe subject. Sorry to go off on a tangent. It was just luck, IMHO.
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MATTHEW PARKER |
Hi Todd, I agree. As a full time freelance photographer, I firmly believe one needs to get paid for their time and effort. Some people think taking good photos is easy and cheap, just the contrary. Take Care,
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