Residential Real Estate Photography Pricing

My real estate photography is NOT your average churn and burn HDR style (in and out in an hour) photography. An average sized home (around 4000 sq ft) will take a minimum of two hours to shoot and even longer to edit. Each image is composed of multiple (sometimes up to 20) frames and then hand blended in Photoshop to maximize the beauty of every image. Whether the house I’m shooting is a modest 1600 sq ft bungalow for $1m or a 8000 sq ft masterpiece in RSF or Del Mar, every image receives this full custom treatment. My job and my expertise is creating images that emphasize the strengths (great views, exquisite design, spacious floorplan, etc) and minimize the weaknesses (powerlines, close neighbors, patchy lawns) and to do so ethically (no photoshopping out powerlines, patchy lawns, etc) and efficiently (people get bored with five angles of the same kids bedroom). My job is to GRAB a potential buyers attention from all the other listings they see on their phone and make them want to see more. More eyeballs means more showings. More showings equals more offers.

I rarely shoot homes that are empty. Frankly, in non-staged, vacant homes, there’s simply very little to light (other than perhaps the kitchen). My specialty is in filling a space with believable, directional light that creates areas of highlights and shadows, which, when done well, allows the image to pull the viewer into the home. Yes, I will photograph an empty house, but you’re probably better off hiring a less expensive photography company. To that end, I HIGHLY recommend that if you want to get top dollar for your property, stage it, stage it, STAGE IT!!! And if you’re looking for the best stager I’ve worked with, her name is Katie Winship of WinshipSD

Option One - Full Premium Package - Everything Included

4000 Square Feet and Under - $750

4000-6000 Square Feet - $1000

Over 6000 Square Feet - $1500

  • Minimum 30 images (usually 35-50) included

  • Drone Photography (minimum 5 images) included

  • Twilight photography (minimum 5 images) included

  • Sky Replacements INCLUDED

  • Realtor MUST select this option before the shoot.

  • At John Riedy’s discretion, interior and twilight exterior may occur during two separate shoots on the same or different days.


Option Two - A la carte - Pay per Image -

To choose this option, you must start our shoot a minimum of four hours prior to sunset (unless you are buying my twilight shoot) to accommodate the coveted twilight timeslot that is included in the Premium Package. You only pay for the images you want to purchase.

4000 Square Feet and Under

  • $20/image - daytime interior and exterior

  • Minimum purchase of 18 images.


4000-6000 Square Feet

  • $25/image - daytime interior and exterior

  • Minimum purchase of 25 images


Over 6000 Square Feet

  • $40/image - daytime interior and exterior

  • Minimum purchase of 30 images.


Add-Ons and Policies

Twilight Shoot

A recent study showed that listings that used a twilight photo as the MAIN image received 76% more views than listings with no twilight images!!! Read the full article about how twilight images will drive more views to your listing here.

  • $100 Twilight fee

  • Images purchased at their normal per image pricing (see above)

Aerial/Drone photography

Drone images put your listing in perspective. Is it close to the beach, to great shopping, to hiking, to the school??? Ground level images can’t always (rarely in fact) show where your listing is relative to the area. DRONE shots can!

  • $100 Drone Fee

  • Images purchased at their normal per image pricing (see above)

  • Stand alone Drone Shoot Fee (no ground photos) $200 plus normal price per photo.

  • NOTE: Drone photos are only available in legal airspace. I will not endanger my drone or the people around me for any photo.

Sky Replacements

We can’t always wait for that PERFECT So Cal sky with Simpsons-like fluffy clouds receding into the horizon (see “June Gloom”). But we CAN add them in later. And the odds of getting that perfect twilight sunset sky are even lower. Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered. I have a full library of gorgeous, BELIEVABLE skies that will match almost any scene.

  • $5/image

Coming Soon Preview Shoot

  • Exterior Daytime - up to five images - $50 plus normal per image price.

  • Exterior Twilight - up to five images - $100 plus normal per image price.

  • Interior - up to three images - $75 plus normal per image price.

Rescheduling and Cancelation

Life is messy. I get it. Selling one’s home is stressful at best (though a good realtor makes it MUCH less so) and sometimes plans need to change. At the same time, our time is precious. When I commit a time and date to you and your client, it means I’ve not only possibly had to say no to other work, but I’ve also maybe had to say no to my family and EVEN, God forbid, Pickleball! As such, I have the following policies for rescheduling and cancelation.

  • Shoots canceled prior to 48 hours before the scheduled shoot - no fee.

  • Shoots canceled less than 48 hours of the scheduled shoot - $50 cancelation fee.

  • Shoots rescheduled prior to 24 hours before the scheduled shoot - no fee

  • Shoots rescheduled within 24 hours or less of the scheduled shoot - $25 fee. This includes rescheduling for weather.

Licensing of images

As the contracted realtor for a listing, YOU (and only you) are licensed to utilize the images you purchase for the duration of your listing. You may not resell them upon the expiration of your contract with the seller. You MAY use purchased images to promote your business for up to two years. Any other contractors (stagers, architects, vendors, etc.) who would like to use the images, must negotiate a separate licensing agreement with me. John Riedy Photography retains all copyright to all images.

Image Delivery

As a matter of policy, images will be delivered within 48 hours of the completion of the shoot. When possible, images will be delivered within 24 hours of the shoot. Same day delivery (within 12 hours of the shoot completion) is available for a 25% rush fee of the final total. Images are delivered via Dropbox in both full resolution (minimum 6000 pixels on the longest end) and web optimized resolution for the MLS (2048 pixels on the longest end). All images are run through our web optimization software to minimize the image size, decreasing the time it takes for images to appear online, while not decreasing image quality.

Travel

Travel for shoots within 30 minutes of my home in south Carlsbad (near La Costa Canyon High School) is included. Travel outside that radius is billed at $100/hour.

House Sold Prior to Listing

If the house is sold prior to listing or delivery of the images, the minimum image purchase shall apply (ie. 18 images for 4000 sq/ft and under, etc.)


Option Three - Payment upon Sale

As a realtor, you take risk that you will only get paid if the property sells.  As your photographer, I am willing to share in that risk and am incentivized to produce images that will help you sell.  With this option, you pay nothing until the house sells.  When the house sells, my fee is 1/10th of 1% of the agreed upon sale price (ie. $1,000,000 selling price = $1000 for photos) regardless of number of photos provided.  Drone photos and video must be paid up front.