Author Topic: Real Estate Photography (Read 3183 times)

rdu · « **on:** April 25, 2023, 11:22 »

Guys i have somewhat of a problem and want some advice maybe?

I recently moved on the French Riviera and opened a business in photography for real estate. I am no beginner as i do photography for 20 years, so things like editing, cameras etc. are nothing new at all to me.

For starters, because i did not had a real estate portfolio i posted a facebook message for me willing to do free shootings in order to get my portfolio up and running faster. I had a real estate agent that was ok with me shooting a few apartments and villas for free for him so we both benefit: me i get photos for portfolio, him getting photos for free.

In the end i made my website, made the photos. He was very happy with the results. His own words: your photos are very top notch like for a magazine. He then asked me the prices that i would charge if we were to be working from now on for money. I told him 100$ a studio, 120$ 2 rooms apartment, 140$ 3 rooms, 200$ villa, 250-300$ villa + aerial photos. He said to me that these prices are very high, his photographer or the ones before made a villa with 150$ and apartment with 70$. He said that the results with them were very lower than mine, that their photos are not at all comparing to mine in terms of quality, but apartments and villas sells anyways with that low photos so why pay more?

I left disappointed and created flyers, business cards and started going thorugh agencies, entering saying hello and tell them about my services and left them a card. Some were just "ok, thank you" some were willing to find out more, but in the end the prices are too high for them. You are selling 10 million dollar villa and 250$ for shooting is high? I mean come on. All are saying that they find photographers way cheaper than me.

My question is...how can i start making a living with this attitude? I am i doing something wrong (also how could photographers do this for such low prices in one of the most expensive areas of the world where with 100$ you get a meal at a not so fancy restaurant, why sell yourself so cheap???) ? I would really appreciate some advices and can offer more info if i maybe missed something.

Brasilnut · « **Reply #1 on:** April 25, 2023, 11:56 »

Hi RDU,

I can relate. I've been shooting real estate photography on and off in Portugal for about 3 years. By no means top of the game when it comes to real estate stuff but pretty OK and clients are happy.

It's more standard in the business to charge per square metre but not a big deal if you want to charge per room. My prices start at 60 euros (plus VAT) for under 50 square metres (studio) all the way up to 160 Euros (plus VAT) for anything above 200 square metres (villas). I also offer video walkthroughs and drone services as an extra. So my prices are lower but it's Portugal and has a weaker economy than the south of France. I think in fact you're undercharging for your region which indeed has a lot of expensive properties particularly in Cote d'Azur. Plus, taxes there are super high.

Lately I've been having the same issue. Clients contact me and ask for my portfolio and prices and don't contact again. They don't say I'm too expensive but I'm sure they found someone cheaper and that's fine! Real estate, when done properly, needs to be charged accordingly and good clients will appreciate good work.

One client that I did two jobs for after the last payment told me that their estate agency's policy is only to pay photographers on a contingency basis upon the sale of the property on subsequent jobs. I nearly told that client to fk off but politely replied that I don't work on this basis and if I did I would charge five times more to offset the risk. No surprise that I wasn't called back which is OK for me!

Lots of real estate agents are self-employed and the media cost come out of their pocket (even before a sale), so they really want to save on this cost. I've seen multi-million Euro homes being advertised with old smartphone pics...it's disappointing.

Anyway, if and when I do get back on this business I will contact super high-end businesses only to offer my services. The cheap ones just aren't worth the trouble.

Uncle Pete · « **Reply #2 on:** April 25, 2023, 12:21 »

Locally, better agents and higher agencies will pay for photographers. The just starting and clueless (IMHO) take their own photos with cell phones. Somehow they want to sell a $500,000 house, which is a common value now, with a gloomy or poorly composed snapshot.

This is the standard penny wise, pound foolish approach as they are not marketing or promoting to their best ability.

Quote from: Brasilnut on April 25, 2023, 11:56

One client that I did two jobs for after the last payment told me that their estate agency's policy is only to pay photographers on a contingency basis upon the sale of the property on subsequent jobs.

How does that work? Is that meaning, if they personally sell the house, but others are also selling the same property. You only get paid if they, their agency, makes the sale? Odd as someone with better pictures is more likely to attract a better buyer.

Or are they the listing agency, in which case, there should be sales eventually.

Brasilnut · « **Reply #3 on:** April 25, 2023, 12:29 »

Quote from: Uncle Pete on April 25, 2023, 12:21

Locally, better agents and higher agencies will pay for photographers. The just starting and clueless (IMHO) take their own photos with cell phones. Somehow they want to sell a $500,000 house, which is a common value now, with a gloomy or poorly composed snapshot.

This is the standard penny wise, pound foolish approach as they are not marketing or promoting to their best ability.

Quote from: Brasilnut on April 25, 2023, 11:56

One client that I did two jobs for after the last payment told me that their estate agency's policy is only to pay photographers on a contingency basis upon the sale of the property on subsequent jobs.

How does that work? Is that meaning, if they personally sell the house, but others are also selling the same property. You only get paid if they, their agency, makes the sale? Odd as someone with better pictures is more likely to attract a better buyer.

Or are they the listing agency, in which case, there should be sales eventually.

Not sure exactly. I suppose this agency had exclusivity with all buyers.

It's another gimmick for them to try to save money. Even if the sale does eventually happen it can take months/years and the photographer will long be forgotten.

Reminds me of that wedding client who asked the photographer for a refund after the couple divorced a few years later.

https://petapixel.com/2023/04/12/divorced-woman-demands-refund-from-wedding-photographer-4-years-later/

ps: I charged very little when I first started as I was still learning and that was a mistake. Clients will be equally demanding whether you charge very little or normal.

fotoroad · « **Reply #4 on:** April 25, 2023, 13:32 »

I work with real estate agency around 4-5 years before us real estate market crash. If I remember correctly I have $190 per interior and exterior and $120 interior only.
I work in really high end market , no house under 1M, most is much over 2M and higher.
I am happy with pricing - no, but I have big flexibility and is not problem for me do it 1,2 or 3 houses in one good sunny day with puffy clouds and blue sky, no bad money per one short day. When is something more difficult /for magazine, additional lighting/ it was around $500 or more.
I miss this days, very easy money. When I start first time with real estate i have $15 per house exterior /film and processing is paid with agency/ not relay disaster also, 12 -15 houses per day but you need good route for that, no gps yet. Big plus is meting new people an also new project for me.

Uncle Pete · « **Reply #5 on:** April 26, 2023, 10:32 »

Quote from: Brasilnut on April 25, 2023, 12:29

Quote from: Uncle Pete on April 25, 2023, 12:21
Locally, better agents and higher agencies will pay for photographers. The just starting and clueless (IMHO) take their own photos with cell phones. Somehow they want to sell a $500,000 house, which is a common value now, with a gloomy or poorly composed snapshot.

This is the standard penny wise, pound foolish approach as they are not marketing or promoting to their best ability.

Quote from: Brasilnut on April 25, 2023, 11:56

One client that I did two jobs for after the last payment told me that their estate agency's policy is only to pay photographers on a contingency basis upon the sale of the property on subsequent jobs.

How does that work? Is that meaning, if they personally sell the house, but others are also selling the same property. You only get paid if they, their agency, makes the sale? Odd as someone with better pictures is more likely to attract a better buyer.

Or are they the listing agency, in which case, there should be sales eventually.

Not sure exactly. I suppose this agency had exclusivity with all buyers.

It's another gimmick for them to try to save money. Even if the sale does eventually happen it can take months/years and the photographer will long be forgotten.

Reminds me of that wedding client who asked the photographer for a refund after the couple divorced a few years later.

https://petapixel.com/2023/04/12/divorced-woman-demands-refund-from-wedding-photographer-4-years-later/

ps: I charged very little when I first started as I was still learning and that was a mistake. Clients will be equally demanding whether you charge very little or normal.

Wow, some people? But that sure was a great laugh for the day.

One of the most memorable weddings I played at, and I did them for years, every Saturday night for years, (free beer and cake plus paid) was not a wedding. We showed up, there was no wedding, the bride had called it off, but someone had the place rented and the band, so she threw a party for all her girl friends.

Weddings are the worst. Anyone who can shoot those for a living has to be really strong, or insane. The demands are unreasonable, the people are almost never happy, every relative wants to tell you who and what to shoot. Some Brides are unreasonable and don't want to sit still for photos? Unless you put it into the contract, everyone and their Uncle has a camera and interferes with your set shots. Last one I did was, free, I worked all day and handed the guy, who I grew up with, something like seven rolls of film. All his after that.

Here's the answer to weddings from my photo instructor in college. Charge at least 3 times the going rate. People assumed he was so expensive because he was so good. Then he said he could stomach taking a job now and then.

SuperPhoto · « **Reply #6 on:** April 30, 2023, 13:56 »

Lol, you are lucky. I had an "agent" meet up with me, ask me all sorts of questions, etc - only to find out it was a woman who wanted to sell her own drone photos and was lying in order to figure out how to do it successfully. Totally dishonest piece of s___t.

It is competitive. Drones are inexpensive and many people consider themselves a "photographer" simply because they have a drone, the same way people that take cellphone pictures consider themselves "photographers". Of course, the quality is different - but I'd say it takes a while to build up that reputation.

PaulieWalnuts · « **Reply #7 on:** April 30, 2023, 19:43 »

I did real estate photography for one client for a few years until they decided to find someone cheaper. So I got out of real estate photography. To be profitable required fees nobody would pay and the people I would need to compete with were so cheap it wasnt worth my time. One of the more popular RE photographers in my area charges $100 to do a full house shoot including photos, video, and drone aerials. I did a financial analysis and I couldnt turn a profit at those fees.

I think a good idea would be to focus on higher end realtors that sell more expensive homes. They're more likely to have higher profit to pay a reasonable amount for photography. Lower end real estate agents are more likely to just use their cellphones and do the photos themselves to save money or use the cheapest photographer.