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Real Estate Photographers - Is this a fair rate to charge?


4 years 6 months ago #663382 by Nefarious
I'm trying to get into real estate photography as a way to make a few bucks.  I have spoken with a local realtor and he told me that the going rate was $225 per shoot during good times.  However times are slow and he would offer $185 per shoot (per house).  

I don't know yet how long it will take per house, and typically how many photos they will expect from me.  I had cold called this realtor, left a message.  He called me back and only had a few minutes to talk.  So he just mentioned the above, and said if was interested to call him back on Friday and we could discuss other details.  I'm going to call him back, however I would like to get some feedback from others first to help negotiate AND know if I'm getting a good deal or not.  

Thank you
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4 years 6 months ago #663405 by Nikon Shooter
If you're good at something, don't work for less!
Light is free… capturing it is not!
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4 years 6 months ago #663409 by garyrhook
Real estate work doesn't pay a lot for mid-priced homes, sadly. An agent will make 3%, which for a $300,000 house is only $9,000. Out of that come a lot of expenses, so you can see why he doesn't want to fork over much more than %2 of his income for photos.

That's actually not a bad number, as I understand it.

Your job is to be able to walk in, quickly and effectively light and shoot each room, and get the exterior, then go home, PP, and deliver quickly. The less time you spend, the more lucrative the job. You want to avoid PS work at all costs. Your agreement should be to shoot as-is; it's the agent's job to stage the home.

If you've little experience at this, recommend Zillow to get a sense of what you think works/doesn't work, and what an appealing image should look like. Don't try for Architectural Digest, try for appealing.
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4 years 6 months ago - 4 years 6 months ago #663410 by Screamin Scott
Fees vary according to locale as well. Many realtors are shooting their own except in upscale neighborhoods. Plus a lot are going with videographers as opposed to still photographers.
Scott Ditzel Photography

www.flickr.com/photos/screaminscott/
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4 years 6 months ago #663417 by effron
Agents all own cameras these days and think they're photographers. You must decide if that's a fair wage, and if you need the work will influence that.
Why so serious?
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4 years 6 months ago #663563 by ThatNikonGuy
Some good post here.  Personally I would still try to get over $200 for each. 
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4 years 5 months ago #663622 by Moe
eh, $200 Would be my lowest
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4 years 5 months ago #663627 by icepics
Are times slow in your area? Houses are selling where I live!

Look at your local newspaper real estate section or realtor websites and see what the photos look like. In my area for most typical houses it looks like the realtors took cell phone pictures; high end or commercial propery listings use professional looking photos.

The pro photographer organizations like PPA or asmp.org have links to a pricing guide.

You need to consider being paid for your time and ability (incl. learning and practicing etc. which makes it challenging to price creative work); as well as overall cost of maintaining/updating  equipment, taking courses/workshops, gas mileage/travel time, etc. etc. If you make enough to pay taxes on this you'd need to consider that as well.
Sharon
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4 years 5 months ago #663641 by Luca
I think with the commission that realtors make, they can afford to pay more
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4 years 5 months ago #663642 by garyrhook

Luca wrote: I think with the commission that realtors make, they can afford to pay more


Do you know anything about how the business works? Primarily their expenses? It's an interesting line of business, and not quite what you might expect.

Of course, a lack of information never keeps anyone from having an opinion, but still.
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4 years 5 months ago #663703 by Nefarious
Thanks everyone, you gave me something to think about this weekend!
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