General
Unlike many photographers, we don’t sell packages of prints.
We normally deliver a set of high-resolution image files at the completion of each project, along with a license that gives you specific rights to use those images. In most cases, the license includes the right to make prints for your own use (but not resell them). You can get the prints made where ever you want. You do NOT need to order prints through us.
If you would like us to assist you in getting prints made, we’ll be happy to do so. Just ask.
We can arrange for a professional photo lab or commercial printer to make prints for you; and we can create additional image files that are custom tailored to the needs of a particular printing process. We don’t add a mark-up to the cost of prints — we charge only a small fee for the service we provide by handling the printing order for you.
We charge by the project, not by the hour. We don’t publish rate sheets because each project is unique and gets a custom price quote. The exception is real estate photography — you can see our price guide for that service here.
Before we begin a project, we work with you to discover your needs and define the scope of your project. Then we quote a price for producing the agreed-upon results. That way, you know, up front, what your project will cost.
The main factor in determining the cost of a project is the amount of time we expect to spend on it — time preparing for the project, time shooting the photos, and time processing the images. Depending on the project, there may be numerous other factors to consider as well, but time is usually the big one. It’s our responsibility to get that time estimate right before we give you a quote. Once quoted, the price doesn’t change because it ended up taking somewhat longer than expected. (If that happens, we consider it a learning experience and try to do a better job of estimating future projects.)
The quoted price remains fixed as long as the scope of the project remains the same. However, projects can, and often do, change between initial planning and the final implementation, so our pricing must be able to adapt.
The quoted price is tied to a defined scope of work. If you change the scope of the project, the price changes accordingly. Examples of a scope change for a product photography project: changing the number or kind of products to be shot, requiring a different background for each individual product when the quote was for shooting all products on the same background, separating the products to be shot into batches when the quote was for shooting them all at the same time, and so on. You get the idea. Sometimes, a small change can be absorbed with no impact on the price, but any significant change will change the quoted price. We’ll always inform you of the impact your scope change will have on the price and get your approval before proceeding.
Most projects are quoted at one fixed price for the entire project, but we occasionally do quotes with built-in flexibility when we know in advance that it will be needed. For example, we might quote a base price for X number of products, and a price-per-piece for each additional similar product up to a maximum of Y total products.
We don’t keep formal “office hours”. We meet with clients by appointment only, at your business, home, or other mutually convenient location. Our schedule is very flexible, often including evenings and weekends, and it varies depending on the demands of current projects. That said, we’re generally available between 10am and 6pm most weekdays.
We don’t publish hourly rates. That’s mostly because we charge by the project, not by the hour.
We’ll give you a quoted price for your project before we begin, and the price remains firm regardless of the time it takes to complete the defined scope of work. In other words, you pay for defined results, not a potentially variable number of hours.
We do things this way because there are significant problems with pricing photography services based on an hourly rate.
- A photographer and client may agree on an hourly rate, but have very different expectations of how long the project will take and thus what the final cost will be.
- Hourly billing creates an incentive for the photographer to take as much time as possible in order to increase total billing for the project. Knowing this, the client feels compelled to monitor and micro-manage the photographer in order to reduce costs. As a result, conflict is built into the relationship and quality can suffer. Removing the relentless “time is money” pressure makes it easier to concentrate on producing quality work.
- The time spent with camera in hand shooting photographs is just the “tip of the iceburg”. Producing quality images requires a significant amount of time spent processing image files and other behind-the-scenes tasks that are invisible to the client. Billing for this hidden time is problematic. If the photographer charges only for shooting time, the rate must be inflated to compensate for the other, un-billed time spent on the project, but when the client only sees the shooting time, they often feel like they are being grossly overcharged for something that didn’t appear to take very long. If the photographer bills separately for shooting and processing time, that can give the client a better sense of the total time spent, but they may be feel suspicious about whether they are getting a fair accounting for the invisible time that they can’t observe directly. Charging a fixed amount for clearly defined results instead of time-based billing helps everyone to feel like they got a fair deal without obsessing over watching the clock.
- Clients often use hourly rate for “comparison shopping” in an effort to ensure that they are getting the best value. It might work if all photographers were similarly skilled and productive, but that’s not the case. A $50-per-hour photographer might look like a better value than a $100-per-hour photographer, but not if the photographer with the lower rate takes four times longer to get the job done. (That’s not an unrealistically exaggerated example. We’ve seen far more extreme examples.) Value is in the total cost for the project, not the lowest hourly rate.
- Clients sometimes use a photographer’s hourly rate as a measure of quality, but that doesn’t really work either. It’s true that an unusually low hourly rate is often a “red flag” indicating an inexperienced beginner photographer who may be unable to reliably deliver quality images, but there are exceptions to the “low price = low quality” general rule. Conversely, a much higher-than-normal hourly rate doesn’t necessarily guarantee correspondingly higher quality images. There may be some validity to the presumption that a high-priced photographer “must be doing something right” to be able to command a premium hourly rate, but that “something” may have more to do with their sales and marketing skills than their photographic talents. If you want to compare the quality of different photographers, look at their portfolio images, not their rates.
Google Street View
Google Street View FAQ
Yes, there are.
As Trusted Independent Photographers, we must follow Google’s privacy and appropriate content guidelines. The content guidelines are seldom an issue since they primarily restrict things like defamation and adult content. Google’s privacy guidelines, on the other hand, include a stipulation that the POIs we submit must not include recognizable people, and that is sometimes an issue. For example, if we’re shooting a POI of a showroom or restaurant, we must clear the area before we shoot. We can get away with showing the back of a head, but faces are a no-no.
A photo of the business owner or staff is a commonly requested POI. Unfortunately, Google’s privacy restrictions on Trusted Independent Photographers prohibits us from submitting POI images of people.
But there is a work-around.
The guidelines for image submissions by business owners are more relaxed. So, if you really want staff photos, we can take them and give the image files to you. You can then upload those images to your Google Business page yourself. However, if you do that, you are responsible for getting permission to publish images of anyone in those photos.
Note: The need to get their permission before publishing an image of a person is a legal requirement, not just a Google rule. Technically, that permission should be in writing. If you publish someone’s image without permission, you may never be challenged, but if you are, it can be a big deal.
The key word in the “Trusted Independent Photographer” title is “Independent”. We are NOT Google employees, partners, or contractors. We are local commercial photographers who are part of a network of Google contributors. Our lead photographer, Mike O’Mara, received training from Google and has been granted access to some tools that are reserved for members of the Google Street View Trusted program. The “Trusted” part means that Google trusts us to submit quality imagery that follows Google’s content and privacy guidelines.
We don’t work for Google — we work for YOU, to help you promote your business on Google.
Not really. Some cellphone cameras can do HDR based on the same basic concept we use. However, the HDR software in a cellphone is very limited compared to the much more sophisticated dedicated programs we use. A professional-quality HDR image starts with higher quality images than your cellphone is capable of, and then goes through several steps: pre-processing the source images, blending those images with different settings to find the best combination, and then tweaking the final result. In many cases, additional Photoshop retouching is needed to achieve the desired result.
The short answer is that Google Maps and Street View are free, but photography inside a business isn’t (unless you do it yourself).
Google Maps is free to use, and Google cars capture exterior imagery for Street View on public thoroughfares. In addition, Google sends its own team to capture interior and off-road images at a limited number of public places, such as major parks, museums, and landmarks. That part is all free.
Google would love to “map the world” inside and out. However, Google can’t legally photograph on, or inside of, private property, such as most businesses. They can’t walk into every storefront on Main Street USA and take photographs of the interior without permission from each and every business owner, which would never happen. Plus, the task of photographing the inside of every business is too big — even for Google. So, Google isn’t coming to photograph inside your business.
What Google has done instead is open their Street View platform for contributors to submit images of places the Google cars can’t go, such as inside businesses. A contributor might be a customer, a Local Guide (an independent Google user who voluntarily contributes content), the business owner, or a photographer contracted by the business owner. Google doesn’t charge for hosting the imagery from contributors or linking the images so that they show up when searching for the related business.
Yes, you read that right. You (or your customers) can submit images to Google for free. That includes both flat images and 360-degree panoramas.
But, there are problems with most user-contributed images — especially panoramas.
- The image quality probably isn’t going to make a great impression on viewers. Sure, today’s cell phones are capable of taking some pretty good flat images under the right conditions, but most people don’t know how to take full advantage of the technology and their results are often dark and fuzzy. Taking a decent 360-degree panorama is even harder. It requires taking a series of overlapping images and then using an app on the phone to stitch them together into a panorama. If even one of the component images is out of alignment, you get broken lines in the panorama, and there are often problems with light and dark areas in the same panorama.
- Most people aren’t familiar with the Google policies and legal requirements for photo submissions, and violating one of the rules can cause trouble ranging from removal of an offending image to lawsuits.
- User-contributed panoramas are normally limited to single photospheres. The ability to link panoramas together with navigation arrows requires access to special software and services (which cost money).
A qualified photographer can overcome all these problems and deliver high quality imagery that will showcase your business to prospective customers, but doing so requires a significant investment in time and money. Time to develop the photographic skills and learn the ins and outs of the Google Street View platform. Money to buy specialized equipment and software, and to pay for publishing services, insurance, and other expenses. It’s a professional service, delivered by an independent business owner who deserves to get a return on that investment in the form of fair compensation for the service.
Basically, charging for photography is how I pay for groceries and rent. And Google isn’t paying me.
POI is the acronym for Point Of Interest. That’s Google’s term for standard still photo images of a business and is used to distinguish those images from the panoramas of a virtual tour. POIs are uploaded to Google’s servers along with your Street View tour and appear in the image carousel at the bottom of the screen that shows the details of your business on Google Search and Maps.
Google has a list of POIs that they want to see, such as the building facade, signage, and wide-angle shots of the interior. Any additional POIs are up to you, and can include things like close-ups of products or displays, and rooms that aren’t part of the main tour.
Our “local” area is Metro Louisville-Jefferson County and portions of the adjacent counties in Kentucky and Indiana. We can also service most any location within a few hours driving time of Louisville, but we do charge for travel time and mileage outside the local area.
Here’s a more detailed description of our primary service area:
- All of Louisville-Jefferson County Metro
- Bullitt county along and east of I-65 from the Jefferson county line to the Clermont exit
- All of Spencer county
- Shelby county, excluding the north-east corner above Bagdad
- Oldham county along and south of I-71
- Clark and Floyd counties along and inside of I-265 (Toll charges may apply.)
We charge a small flat fee for the following areas:
- Portions of Bullitt, Shelby, and Oldman counties excluded above
- Henry county in the vicinity of the Pendleton exit
- Portions of Clark and Floyd counties excluded above (Toll charges may also apply.)
- Nelson county north of the Bluegrass Parkway
Travel to locations outside of those areas will be charged mileage for the round trip from our home office to the location and back. We charge $1.00 per mile, which covers both time and gas/vehicle reimbursement costs. The distance will be calculated by using the fastest route supplied by Google Maps. Toll charges (if any) will be added.
HDR is an acronym for High Dynamic Range. Camera sensors can’t resolve detail in as wide a range of brightness as the human eye, which leads to things like interior photos where the windows are just blobs of white. To combat this, we use computer algorithms to blend over-exposed and under-exposed images with a normal image to bring out more detail across a much wider range of brightness than a single exposure can record. Depending on the settings used, the result can be a very natural looking image or a surreal exaggeration. The technique requires multiple exposures of an identical scene, so it works well for static subjects, like landscapes and architecture, but not for a scene that contains people and other moving things.
Real Estate
Real Estate Photography FAQ
Not at this time. You will need to make arrangements for us to access the property by meeting us there, providing codes for an electronic lock or a key in a combination lockbox , or some other means.
Initially, Udar Photo was an affiliate member of Greater Louisville Association of REALTORS and subscriber to SupraKey. However, between homeowners and Realtors preferring to meet us at the property, the growing popularity of electronic door locks, and the seasonal/sporadic nature of the business, we very seldom used SupraKey to access a listing, Therefore, it just didn’t make sense to continue to maintain those memberships/subscriptions year-round.
If you are a Realtor/agency and SupraKey access by your photographer is important to you, then please get in touch with us. We’ll consider re-instating our GLAR/SupraKey membership if there is enough demand.
Yes, we can! In fact, we’ve invested a lot of time researching and testing techniques to do just that.
HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography was developed to compensate for the fact that even the best camera sensors resolve detail over a much smaller brightness range than the human eye. In a photograph of a typical home interior, the camera sees the window as a big white blob and the shadow areas as dense black, with only the mid-tones having good detail. HDR photography uses special software to blend normal, under-exposed, and over-exposed images to compress the tonal range of those separate images into a single image with greater detail in highlights, mid-tones, and shadows. It’s a great tool.
The problem with HDR is that the process tends to exaggerate contrast and produce garish colors that look unnatural. Many photographers like the surreal look because it makes their images more vivid than real life, and the default settings for most HDR software cater to that taste.
However, it doesn’t have to be that way. After digging deep into the settings of several HDR solutions, and experimenting with other options, we’ve perfected post-processing techniques that enable us to capture scenes with huge dynamic range while maintaining natural colors and contrast. The result is an image that looks like what you saw with your eye. No surrealistic effects!
P.S. If you happen to like the HDR look, just let us know. We can do that too.
Nope. We don’t just take pictures, we make them. Clicking the shutter on the camera is just the start of the process we use to produce quality images.
First of all, the image files from our cameras aren’t in a file format you can use. We shoot in Camera RAW rather than the more common JPG or TIFF file formats. The advantage of RAW is that it retains much more of the detail in the original scene, but it requires post-processing on a computer to extract that detail and record it in a usable file format. Color correction, exposure compensation, and straightening verticals are just part of the processing that every image receives.
Most of the finished images we deliver are actually composites built from multiple individual image files. We shoot multiple images of each scene using different exposure settings and lighting. Then we might blend together the mid-tones from one image, the darker areas from a different image, the bright windows from another image, and perhaps an image shot with flash. The computer software, the specialized techniques, and the skills we use in post-processing actually have more impact on the quality of the finished images than the cameras and lenses we bring to the photo shoot. The camera is vitally important — the processing, even more so.
So, asking for the raw images from the camera would be like going to a fine restaurant and asking for a plate full of raw ingredients, when it’s the chef’s expert preparation that transforms those ingredients into a delicious dish.
We process every image to bring out the full detail of the original scene, and we do what we reasonably can to make the property look its best. That might include enhancements to the featured exterior shot that make the sky a deeper shade of blue and the grass a little greener (like after it rains).
However, we do not “Photoshop” images to remove flaws or do anything that would be construed as misrepresenting the condition of the property. For example, a worn spot in the carpet will have to stay. We try not to exaggerate flaws, but we don’t remove them from the images. On the other hand, if there are underground utility marker flags in the lawn, we can remove those (upon request) since they are only temporary and are likely to be gone before prospective buyers arrive for a showing.
When it’s appropriate and circumstances allow, we can do more extensive retouching that substantially alters an image. For example, we could remove a neighbor’s car or garbage can from the street in front of a house. We can simulate a twilight effect on an exterior shot taken during the day. (It works well on some images, others not so much.) We can even arrange for some “virtual staging” of an empty room to help prospective buyers visualize how it might look with furniture in place.
Image post-processing and minor touch-ups are included in our standard pricing. Virtual Staging and other more extensive retouching are extra-cost items that also add to the turnaround time for the images.
As long as we can access the property for photography, no one else needs to be there.
However, our preference is for the agent or homeowner to be at the property during the shoot, even if they can’t stay the entire time. It really helps to have someone present to point out special features that might not be obvious to us, and maybe even move a lamp or piece of furniture. Also, you might want to review the images as we shoot. Just be prepared to “dance” around the house to stay out of the shots as we move from room to room.
If it’s not practical for the agent or homeowner to be onsite, we’ll use our best judgement to take the photographs that best showcase the property to potential buyers. If there is anything specific you want to feature, tell us ahead of time so we can make sure to include it.
Note that we photograph the property the way we find it, so it should be staged and ready before we arrive. We do not clean, declutter, tidy up, rearrange furniture, hide wires, or move personal items. We try to touch only door knobs and light switches. We might also adjust blinds and drapes if doing so will improve the lighting in a room, but only if they are easily accessible without risk of bumping into something and possibly breaking it. After all, that lamp or figurine on the table in front of a window might be a family heirloom that has special meaning to the homeowner.
Yes, it does!
Although it’s possible to shoot most interior photographs regardless of the weather. exteriors are a different story entirely. We don’t shoot outside in rain or snow! Sure, we could take steps to waterproof ourselves and our camera gear, but the resulting pictures would be too gloomy and dull to be acceptable. Even if it’s not actually raining, forbidding dark skies can look bad in the photos. After all, you want to sell a bright cheery home, not give it the moody look of a haunted house. Interior rooms with views to the outside are also affected by the weather.
So how do we deal with the weather-dependent aspects of photography?
First of all, we consult with you about the priorities for a particular property. Is it worth waiting for beautiful sunny skies in order to get the best possible photographs, or are dark clouds preferable to a delay?
Next, we peruse weather forecasts before scheduling (or confirming) the shoot date. The goal is to not only avoid inclement weather but to also plan the shoot for the time of day with the best sun angles (whenever practical).
If, despite the best planning, we encounter bad weather at the scheduled time of the shoot, we’ll be in touch to reschedule. You always know what’s going on! In some cases, we may be able to proceed with the interior photography and return later for exteriors. (There is no cancellation fee for weather-related rescheduling.)
Finally, if it’s necessary to shoot in less than ideal conditions, we can do some Photoshop magic to improve the photos. The result will never achieve the sparkle of natural sunlight, but we can at least brighten things up a bit to lift some of the depressing funk.
We have many years of experience photographing real estate, but have only recently begun offering our services to REALTORS and homeowners in the residential real estate market. That may sound confusing or contradictory, but it really does make sense.
As commercial photographers with decades of experience, we’ve photographed everything from food and small products (like jewelry), to room sets, locations, and large commercial and industrial facilities. A good portion of those photography assignments were architectural subjects, such as retail businesses, restaurants, entertainment venues, office buildings, hotels, apartments, and yes, homes. However, our past clients have been business owners, architects, designers, contractors, and home builders rather than REALTORS.
When we entered the housing market ourselves, selling our own home and buying new property, we spent a lot of time studying real estate listing photos. As photographers, we noticed that, although some of the photography was great, most was mediocre (at best), and a shockingly high percentage was poor to awful. Obviously, there is an unmet need for quality real estate listing photography in this market. We knew we had the necessary skills and did the photography for our own house and some others, with great success.
That prompted a deep study of the real estate photography market, which we found to be a great fit. Commercial photographers create images that sell a product, which requires not only the technical expertise to produce high quality images, but also an understanding of potential buyers and what will appeal to them. That experience transfers nicely to real estate. Commercial photography is often deadline-driven, like real estate photography, so that fits too. And we’ve got lots of experience dealing with the unique requirements of photographing buildings. As a bonus, real estate photography doesn’t require the overhead of maintaining a studio, which appeals to a semi-retired lead photographer looking to scale things back while staying active in the photography business.
So here we are: A photographic resource for REALTORS in the Louisville Metro area. New to this market segment, but with deep experience photographing the your subjects (homes) and creating images that SELL.
Our “Value Meal” package allows you to order a specific number of photos. You can either supply us with a shot list of exactly what rooms and features you want included in those photos, or we’ll use our judgement to pick the best shots.
For our “Chef’s Special” and “Feast” packages, you get as many photos as it takes to show and sell the property.
We always start by shooting front and rear exteriors, the front door/entry, and at least one view of each room. So, unless it’s a “tiny house”, that’s a base shot list of about 8 images for a one-bedroom, one-bath; and 12+ for a 3-bed, 2-bath. However, we don’t stop there. If there are more rooms or spaces, we photograph all of them. If we see more than one good view of a room, we shoot those views. If there are special features and finishes, we photograph those. If the exterior has nice landscaping or views, we photograph those too. The bigger the property, the more shots we take.
The Special and Feast packages are priced to adjust for the fact that larger/higher-priced properties usually have more rooms, more features, more up-scale finishes, more land, more outbuildings, and just more photo opportunities that you’ll want to show prospective buyers.
We normally photograph only the subject property itself. However, if the neighborhood is an important asset, let us know, and we can arrange to shoot additional views of the street, the subdivision entrance, community amenities, etc.
Our standard-of-service for still photography is to deliver image files in less than 48 hours from the end of the photo shoot, and our goal is to turn around most jobs within 24 hours. Video production, panoramas, and virtual tours may take a bit longer, but we always strive to deliver as soon as possible, even if it means some late nights working on the computer.
Note that exterior photography is weather-dependent (especially twilight shots), so inclement weather can sometimes cause unavoidable delays in capturing all the images for some properties. We’ll keep you informed of the situation, and you can rest assured that we’ll do everything we can to complete your project as soon as possible.
Absolutely! We have multiple image finishing options for a variety of tastes.
Our standard processing produces good detail in highlights, mid-tones, and shadows; windows that are bright, but with a hint of the outside view; and images that are tastefully enhanced with a slight bump in color saturation and contrast for a little extra punch without looking over-done.
Optionally, we can dial back the enhancements for a neutral representation of the scene; or we can apply a bright and crisp look; or soft and light with open shadows; or go a tad darker for a cozy look with luxurious rich color. Windows can be bright light sources or enriched to show the full range of colors in the outside view.
The choice is yours, and we consult with you before our first shoot to determine your preferences. And you can change those preferences any time you want. For example, you might want a bright and crisp look for an ultra-modern house, and richer tones for a log home.
Of course, you can always leave the choice to our judgement if you don’t want to get bogged down with those details.
Not really. Some cellphone cameras can do HDR based on the same basic concept we use. However, the HDR software in a cellphone is very limited compared to the much more sophisticated dedicated programs we use. A professional-quality HDR image starts with higher quality images than your cellphone is capable of, and then goes through several steps: pre-processing the source images, blending those images with different settings to find the best combination, and then tweaking the final result. In many cases, additional Photoshop retouching is needed to achieve the desired result.
Elevated Views are when we raise the camera significantly above normal eye level by mounting the camera on a long pole or mast. (We have one that will reach nearly 20ft.) On a level lot, Elevated Views can simulate a low-flying drone, giving us much better camera angles on things like pools and patios that don’t show well from ground level. They are also very useful for getting above fences and bushes that would otherwise block a view. In addition, Elevated Views enable us to get the camera up on the level of the house even though the yard slopes down sharply, thus avoiding the looking-up-at-the-house perspective.
Our “local” area is Metro Louisville-Jefferson County and portions of the adjacent counties in Kentucky and Indiana. We can also service most any location within a few hours driving time of Louisville, but we do charge for travel time and mileage outside the local area.
Here’s a more detailed description of our primary service area:
- All of Louisville-Jefferson County Metro
- Bullitt county along and east of I-65 from the Jefferson county line to the Clermont exit
- All of Spencer county
- Shelby county, excluding the north-east corner above Bagdad
- Oldham county along and south of I-71
- Clark and Floyd counties along and inside of I-265 (Toll charges may apply.)
We charge a small flat fee for the following areas:
- Portions of Bullitt, Shelby, and Oldman counties excluded above
- Henry county in the vicinity of the Pendleton exit
- Portions of Clark and Floyd counties excluded above (Toll charges may also apply.)
- Nelson county north of the Bluegrass Parkway
Travel to locations outside of those areas will be charged mileage for the round trip from our home office to the location and back. We charge $1.00 per mile, which covers both time and gas/vehicle reimbursement costs. The distance will be calculated by using the fastest route supplied by Google Maps. Toll charges (if any) will be added.
Expanded Natural Lighting is the name we came up with for the approach and techniques we developed for photographing real estate listings and other architectural interiors. It’s a combination of shooting techniques and extensive post processing that enable us to deal with interior scenes that include bright light from windows and lamps, and the pools of darkness in between, and produce finished images that look totally natural and evenly lit.
When photographing a property, we shoot multiple exposures of each scene, using different camera settings, and adding flash to some of them. Then we blend those exposures together in post processing to produce a single finished image. We won’t go into all the details, not because it’s a super secret process, but because it’s far too complicated to explain briefly. All most clients want to know is that it works.
However, for those who are interested, here are a few of the highlights:
Yes, we use HDR (High Dynamic Range) techniques, but with our own custom settings and refinements to control the garish colors and hyper-contrast that are the often unwanted hallmarks of the HDR look.
Yes, we use flash to add light to the room, fill in shadows, and help with color fidelity, but we don’t rely on flash as the primary lighting because it’s too harsh and unnatural (even when the flash is bounced off the ceiling for a softer effect).
Yes, we use something conceptually similar to the “Flambient” (flash plus ambient) technique, but again, with our own custom-developed refinements. In fact, we turn Flambient upside down, so maybe we should call our version “Ambilash”.
There’s more to the process, including luminosity masking, layer blending, custom camera and lens profiles, local adjustments, and a lot of other stuff.
It’s complicated, but we’ve perfected a set of presets, actions, and procedures that automate enough of the steps to enable us to deliver quality images relatively quickly. (It’s still a lot of work though.)
The cost varies depending on the size of the property and the services requested. Prices start at just $200 with typical listings costing $200 – $300 or so.
Let’s face it, all properties are NOT the same, they don’t all need the same number and kind of photographs, and so a flat-rate photography fee simply won’t fit every listing. If we set our fee high enough to be fair compensation for fully covering the biggest and grandest property, it would be grossly overpriced for the average listing; and setting a flat rate appropriate for smaller properties would mean that we couldn’t afford to spend the time needed to do a larger listing justice.
Ideally, we would quote each project individually, providing the right combination of services to fit the unique marketing needs of each listing. However, we realize that there isn’t always time to discuss your needs in detail and to get a custom quote. Therefore, we offer multiple service packages to make estimating costs quick and easy for most listings.
- Our “Value Meal” package is priced by the number of photos. The cost is $200 for the first 15 photos and $10 for each additional image. This is the budget-minded option for basic coverage with a limited number of images.
- Our “Chef’s Special” package is priced by the square foot, which automatically creates a sliding scale that allows for larger homes to get more photos of additional rooms. The cost is $1.00 per 100 square feet with a minimum of $200. This is best for a typical mid-range listing.
- Our “Feast” package is based on the listing price (0.1% with a minimum of $200). This is usually the best way to price photography of properties that have significant interior or exterior features that are out of proportion to the physical size of the house, such as a house on a large property with outbuildings, or an upscale condo that needs to feature photos of views, amenities, and high-end finishes.
In addition to the still photographs, you can order twilight shots, videos, panoramas, etc. at an additional cost. Call for pricing.
Commercial properties and architectural projects will be quoted individually.
HDR is an acronym for High Dynamic Range. Camera sensors can’t resolve detail in as wide a range of brightness as the human eye, which leads to things like interior photos where the windows are just blobs of white. To combat this, we use computer algorithms to blend over-exposed and under-exposed images with a normal image to bring out more detail across a much wider range of brightness than a single exposure can record. Depending on the settings used, the result can be a very natural looking image or a surreal exaggeration. The technique requires multiple exposures of an identical scene, so it works well for static subjects, like landscapes and architecture, but not for a scene that contains people and other moving things.
Basically, you need to stage the property for its first, and possibly most important, showing.
Click here for our checklist of suggestions for getting ready for the photography session.
A Walkthru Video is just what it sounds like. We walk through the property with a stabilized video camera following the path that a potential buyer would traverse during a showing. We trim out the hallways, back-tracking, and may even skip less interesting rooms to keep the video short. A Walkthru is a brief, objective view of the property.
A Cinematic Video is a short movie designed to capture the “feel” of the property and help potential buyers visualize the experience of living there. The video incorporates cinematic camera moves and other techniques to add interest and visual appeal as it reveals rooms and features of the property. It may also include clips showing the location, the surrounding neighborhood, and the lifestyle afforded by the property. It’s a way to “sell the sizzle, not just the steak”.
It’s best to keep most videos short — a minute or so for a Walkthru, two to three minutes for a Cinematic Video. Therefore, you’ll probably want us to stick to the main rooms of the house rather than attempting to enter and show every room. After all, the goal is to entice potential buyers to schedule a showing, not to show every detail of the property in the video.
The third video option is a complete Online Showing. We take the camera through every room and show all the key features as the agent narrates. This is a longer video that far exceeds the attention span of the typical online viewer, but it might be appropriate when marketing to a select clientele of out-of-town buyers who aren’t available for an in-person showing.
Although we understand that rescheduling/cancelling an appointment is sometimes unavoidable, we do charge a fee of $75 if you cancel a scheduled photo shoot with less than 24hrs notice. After all, that time was reserved exclusively for your project, and if you cancel on short notice, we don’t have the opportunity to book other work into that time slot.
The cancellation fee also applies if we can’t access the property at the scheduled time. That might happen if the agent or homeowner doesn’t show up to let us in, the lockbox key isn’t available, the dog is loose inside, or the property just isn’t ready for photography. Occasionally, we may have the flexibility to wait around for the situation to be rectified, but we can’t let the delay affect our next appointment.
Weather delays do NOT incur a cancellation fee. That’s totally beyond your control and ours. We try to schedule appointments to coincide with favorable weather forecasts, but sometimes those predictions are wrong and we all get surprised.
You get full use of the images to market the listing (or your agency), but technically, UdarPhoto “owns” the images,
By law, every photograph is protected by copyright from the instant it is taken, and the photographer owns that copyright unless the rights are transferred to another party by contract. That means the photographer controls how the images can be used. Usage is controlled by the terms of a license granted by the copyright owner to someone wanting to use the copyrighted work for a specific and limited purpose.
The license you will get from UdarPhoto is very broad. You can put the images on your web site, submit them to MLS, post them to social media, print flyers and sales sheets, and pretty much anything else you might want to do to promote the listing, yourself, or your agency. About the only thing you aren’t allowed to do is sell or transfer the images to someone else. For example, if a homeowner decides to switch agents, you’re not allowed to forward the images we took to the new agent. It would be a copyright violation for the new agent to use those images. The new agent must get their own photography done, or contact us to purchase their own license to use our images. (Usage by other agents within your agency/team is allowed.)
Note: I’ve heard that MLS and some other online sites may claim that, by submitting images to their site, you are giving them the copyright. According to sources that I believe are trustworthy, that claim has been deemed invalid. What they are entitled to is a limited license to display the images while the property is listed for sale, and our license to you specifically allows that.
UdarPhoto does reserve the right to use the images ourselves and to license them to others. For example, some of the images might find their way into our portfolio, and we might sell a license to the interior designer who decorated the home.
If you require outright ownership of the images, we can arrange a copyright buyout for an appropriate additional fee.
In a word, QUALITY.
Like many products and services, you can choose to get photography done FAST, CHEAP, or GOOD. Pick two of those factors, but be prepared to compromise on the third. We emphasize quality, delivered in the fast turnaround that REALTORS need. It takes a lot of effort and experience to produce the quality that we deliver, and doing that at a bargain basement price simply isn’t a sustainable business model.
Our prices may not be the lowest, but they still represent a good VALUE, and are an affordable portion of the marketing budget for most properties. Remember that today’s buyer almost always starts their search online and their first impression of a property is formed from viewing the photographs. Higher quality images create a subliminal expectation that the property is also higher quality, which has been shown to lead to faster sales at higher prices. Consequently, spending more on quality photography can yield an excellent return on that investment.
Based on the listing photos we see, some other photographers must be prioritizing fast and cheap, and letting quality suffer. Their quality may be better than what an agent can do with a cell phone camera, but it’s nowhere near what it could be.
Ask yourself if “better than bad” or “just good enough” is really good enough for your client and the property you’re selling? If your goal is to deliver quality service to your client, you need quality photography.