Spotlight on Real Estate Photography
Similar Prices, but Different Products
When you're ready to hire a real estate photographer, you might get on the internet and start comparing prices. When you do that, you will find that all of our prices are in the same ballpark, especially if you take time to compare things apples to apples.
You can't just look at the "starting at" price or compare the prices by square footage. Each photography vendor develops their own packages based on their strengths and the kind of customers they serve. You have to look deeper to know what to expect.
Who Are They?
For instance, a vendor may do real estate photography as side work. They may have another full-time job (perhaps related to real estate or photography, but not necessarily) and just shoot in the evening or on weekends. Perhaps their "real" business is portraiture, but they also do houses for a little extra cash. I know of several real estate agents that do shoots for themselves and their friends. The point is, real estate photography is not their main focus. While many of these sideline photographers do great work and have very happy customers, if you use them, it's important to know this is not their primary source of income and it follows that your shoot will have to be worked in around their other priority.
On the other end of the scale are the big guys. They may or may not have ties to a nationwide company. They may be a franchise operation. These guys are usually well-organized and real estate photography is their bread and butter, but they are also focused on volume. Their procedures are set in stone and used uniformly by all of their photographers for all of their clients. Your photographer may never speak to the processor and the processor may not know anything about the way the images are delivered. There is genius in this and these businesses satisfy the needs of a huge number of agents throughout the Metroplex and the nation. However, in a system like that, there's not a lot of room for variation. If their rules suit your needs, then they're fine, but many, many agents want a little more personalized service, a little more attention to quality, a little more of an artistic touch...in other words, a little more of something.
So, in-between these two extremes are many other real estate photographers, who do the business as their full-time gig and provide the kind of service and quality that satisfies the need for a little more of whatever. If you are an agent that wants a little more, how do you decide who to call for your photographic needs?
Who We Are!
We could never spell out the all the potential differences in this format, but we can tell you who we are and what we do. Creating images for real estate is the focus of our business. We take both photography and video, on the ground and in the air. Our photographer has a commercial drone pilot license and when needed, can supply an experienced visual observer to assist with highly technical flights. Twilight shoots can be scheduled.
Our claim to fame is extraordinary customer service. We do things your way. Contact us by email, phone, text or whatever method is easiest for you, when you want to schedule and appointment. When it's time to deliver the images, we'll do that your way also. Whether you want an email with a zip file, an online portfolio, images in Dropbox or whatever else suits you - just let us know.
We're flexible. In real estate things happen. It rains on the day we're supposed to shoot. The maid who was supposed to clean the house didn't show up. Your client didn't quite get the house staged like they promised or their child has to stay home with the flu. We know these things happen and we're on your team. Why would we add to your frustration by charging you a reschedule fee for things you have no control over? Just let us know before we head your way and we'll gladly re-schedule. In fact, we don't tack on fees for every little thing to pump up our income. Our prices are real prices including everything you're going to expect.
We're professionals. The world gets more casual every day, but sometimes casualness can lead to sloppiness. We'll be on time. Our photographer will be dressed in true business casual, not look like a lost college student or rumpled professor. He'll be uber polite to your homeowner - greeting them warmly and with respect. He'll ask permission if he needs to move something and he won't insult people if the house doesn't look exactly as he expected. He won't chew anybody out or leave in a huff. He won't smoke anything, legal or illegal, in their house nor will he be gulping down his lunch between shots. He won't swim in their pool. He won't be chatting away, by voice or text,during the entire appointment. He won't bring his kid, his pet or a long lost relative along to your listing. You may think we're making this stuff up, but we've heard stories about all of these instances and more that you probably wouldn't believe.
When we talk about our photographer, we say he, because there is only one of them - Bill Sadek. He does every shoot. You don't have to worry if the photographer this time will be as good as the last one or whether they'll have the same style or equipment or courtesy. You don't have to reiterate any details or special requests, because we'll do this one just like we do all of yours, but probably not the same way we do the rest of our clients, because for them we also do it their way. Someday, we may need another photographer and we'll cross that bridge if and when we have to, but we never intend to be the big guy with a stable of photographers and a swinging door.
Bill is not just a photographer, he's an artist with a specialty at marketing. He's always got his eye out for the things about a house that set it apart from the others. He and his wife/business partner, Jane, have been real estate agents themselves, so he understands what images will get people to think about buying and which are just images of a house. And speaking of Jane, while Bill is out taking pictures, Jane has her own little marketing gig going on. She can complement your marketing efforts with social media, a website, a new bio, branding, blogging or any of a wide variety of marketing and writing services.
Bill uses HDR (HIgh Dynamic Range) for all his images, so each one receives attention during the editing process and all editing is done in-house. No sending it off to someone who doesn't know you or what you want. No late delivery, because the subcontractor didn't get the shots back to us. We won't even use automatic processing for the HDR shots. We do it all manually, to insure the highest consistent quality.
Are We Your Photography Vendor?
We're not the right photographer for everyone. We're not going to be the cheapest guy in town. We aren't the biggest guy in town. We're not famous for all our advertising. In fact, we actually don't pay for any advertising. We don't sponsor MLS meetings and classes and give away the best door prizes. We don't feed you breakfast at your offices. We just go about our business offering extraordinary service to the clients who have been referred to us, because that is how we have gotten the lion's share of our clients. Even though we might not be the right photographer for everyone, we might just be the right photographer for you!