Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hello everyone, I am a photographer based out of Wisconsin and was recently confronted about doing some real estate photography for a small company. I have not emailed them back simply because I am unaware how much to charge. This isn't my specialty, but I do perform commercial work for my employer( a upscale hotel) shooting food, rooms, and events occasionally. One thing that I am certain on is I will be billing them per job, and nothing flat rate. Give me your thoughts, I'd appreciate it.
Is the money really an issue? Or do you want the experience or change of pace?
I did real estate photography about 50 years ago as a teenager. Take B&W photos of the outside of houses, provide a 4x5 print, and provide within 24 hours or so. I got $5 per print. The term "real estate photography" is a bit vague...
You charge what you know your time is worth..
Is it worth $20/hr or is it worth $200/hr?
Or are you charging per property
Remember that with this job a lot of things comes In to play in addition to making the customer happy.. Travel/gas/travel back/processing/prints etc..
I would be charging per property. And the money is not an issue, but I do need to put a realistic figure out there.I don't have anything like this in my portfolio, so I want the job.
Do the first one for free. They can't refuse that. After the first one you'll have a better idea of what to charge, and they'll have a better idea of what you're worth. If you never get hired for the second property, at least you got some experience.
And I'd approach them just like that. If they want prints, that's a charge you can easily price out.
Keep in mind that you might want different and more equipment for shooting real estate, especially interiors. And they often take a lot of photoshopping to get right, plus it takes some careful planning and scheduling to shoot at the best time, whether for interiors or exteriors. (You don't normally want to shoot an interior with windows when it's bright outdoors, and you normally want to shoot exteriors early mornings and later afternoons, etc., etc.) Do the first one and keep track of every minute you spend. Subsequent jobs will go faster as you gain experience, but your quality should also go up making you worth more per hour.
Also, they're likely to have some limits with how much they want to spend. I usually asked my potential clients how much they wanted to spend, because I could do a fairly good job without using studio strobes for half the price. Did they want a great job for $2000 or a good job for $1000?
When I was shooting a lot of real estate for a particular contractor I charged them $100/hr for shooting time and $50/hour for travel time (+expenses), $50/hour for computer time and $50/hour for waiting time (waiting for someone to show up, etc.). That was 20% off my normal rate, because I was billing them about $10K/year. They were a great client, paid quickly, never haggled, never complained.
I would be charging per property. And the money is not an issue, but I do need to put a realistic figure out there.I don't have anything like this in my portfolio, so I want the job.
"The money is not an issue"? are you a trust fund baby? how much stuff do you get for free? who's paying for your gas? Just so you know, there are still people out there who do real estate photography for a living, as in not having another job or trust fund paying for their expenses.
Please be mindful of that, and don't ruin your own colleagues pricing structures.
I think you should Google to see who else is doing this for a living in your area, and have a chat with them about pricing.
Be warned: Real Estate agents are THE WORST clients. They have zero appreciation for our work, and would like the world and a few planets for free with those photos.
You should ask what exactly they want photographed; how many rooms, how detailed etc, if you're there 20 minutes or 5 hours...in more than one case, once you're there it starts: "can you shoot this too, and this, and that?"........
After you do work for free (=slave), the cases where one will get paid are counted like this: 0.00000000000001%.
"The "photoshopping" is NOT to "get it right"! I actually do this for a living.
Your camera will not be able to get both shadows and highlights, plus reflections, plus the good angles in one shot. Did I mention street signs, wires, dirty roads? bad mid-day light?
He needs different equipment as this is specialty photography, and not your average point and click. The goal here is to sell someone's house, and not to keep it on the market longer than it needs to be.
One doesn't get to choose "when" they get to shoot an interior; whenever the RE+homeowner are available, so chances are mid day is probably what he'll get.
OP: If you want to get into RE photography, I suggest you study it a bit further before doing an actual job; you have a place to live, so you can study at home before taking guesses on someone else's home. Common sense.
RE's generally like a flat rate fee. If you present them with an itemized price sheet as you would a builder or interior designer, or an architect, you won't be shooting much real estate. To them, (RE's), we're just a bump in the road. My experience with them is not the greatest, I stay away from them like the plague. Their usual answer is: "I make $20k on my commission, and I can buy my own gear, so I really don't need you!"....No thanks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by WyoNewk
Do the first one for free. They can't refuse that. After the first one you'll have a better idea of what to charge, and they'll have a better idea of what you're worth. If you never get hired for the second property, at least you got some experience.
Keep in mind that you might want different and more equipment for shooting real estate, especially interiors. And they often take a lot of photoshopping to get right, plus it takes some careful planning and scheduling to shoot at the best time, whether for interiors or exteriors. (You don't normally want to shoot an interior with windows when it's bright outdoors, and you normally want to shoot exteriors early mornings and later afternoons, etc., etc.) Do the first one and keep track of every minute you spend. Subsequent jobs will go faster as you gain experience, but your quality should also go up making you worth more per hour.
Flat rate per property based on square footage. 100-1000 Sq ft = $xxx, 1100-2500 Sq ft = $xxx and so on. You will need external lighting for interior shots. I recommend a tilt shift lens for strait lines. Shoot on a tripod and bracket for some HDR but don't over cook them. You can rent what you need if this is a one time deal.
"The money is not an issue"? are you a trust fund baby?
Lay off, okay?
Quote:
Originally Posted by PhotoProIP
Please be mindful of that, and don't ruin your own colleagues pricing structures.
I have no professional photography colleagues... I do a lot of free work for communities and charities...
What are you going to do, send a bunch of professional photographers after me?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
