Why and how do I charge what I do?

 

It’s not just point and shoot like some photographers do. I use multiple exposed photos, some of them with professional lighting, to create the final image in Photoshop. ( the paid version, not a pirate download. ) Images are supplied digitally online in full resolution, as well as resized and optimized for the listing sites.

 

I normally charge per hour, but real estate photography is different. For these I charge a basic fee and then per photo, to give you only what you need. (R350 call-out and R150 per photo, R5/km 20km from Mossel Bay)

To make things easy, I have two basic packages, but can anytime be altered to your requirements.

 

Attention package: R 1,400 - Property shoot with the 7x most essential  images. 

 

Full House package: R2750 - Property shoot with the 16x most essential  images.

 

Discounted rate available for more than one property,  or very large properties.

Besides years of experience, framing the scene correctly, knowing a thing or two about marketing,

here are some factors why you might need me.

 

_1_ The right lens for the job........ Most DSLR consumer cameras come with a kit lens, most of the time an 18-55mm. Most smart phone cameras lens will be equivalent to ---mm.  Without getting too technical here, it just means you are losing some of the image, especially if you are in a small space. You get super wide angle and then even wider, known as a fish-eye lens. Lastly mentioned causes extreme distortion, meaning straight lines may appear bulged. I use a 10-20mm super wide angle lens, that include as much of the room as possible without distortion. For detailed or lifestyle shots I often use a different lens to isolate the subject, rather than to include the whole background.

 

_2_ Multiple exposures........ Our eyes are engineered far superior than any camera. That is why it is difficult to create a photo exactly as we see it in reality. Our eyes can differentiate between light and dark so fast we hardly realize it. Blending differently exposed photos in photo editing software is a timely process. Some of my final images may contain as many as 10 different photos, including a ‘window pop’ that will be explained next.

 

_3_ Flash! And what is known as a window pop...... The transition from bright to dark around the window can be extreme. This is where an off camera flash comes in. Because most rooms are taken from a corner, it will mostly be at an angle to a window. A flash on the camera may throw unsightly shadows. So you need a flash you can move around, and powerful enough to light up the whole window or slide door area with the same intensity than the sunny outside. Even here you may need more than one image as you may be stuck in a corner where glare from the flash in the window is unavoidable.