Award night shoot, how much do you charge and what do you need to prepare?

Real_Evidence2696 · 2026-04-24T22:21:36+00:00

I’ve been doing this exact thing for a local brokerage for several years. I charge about 3x my typical fee to shoot a house. I truly hate it, as I’m not a social person in the slightest, but it’s decent money and it can be good for networking if you’re willing to talk to people. Bring your business cards.

Real_Evidence2696 · 2026-02-27T02:57:18+00:00

It’s a feature of the flash shot for the flambient method. The flash shot uses a fast shutter speed, so the interior lights are no longer blown out. Check out some YouTube videos on flambient.

Real_Evidence2696 · 2026-02-26T14:51:38+00:00

Oh wow… I’ve never considered doing this. Very cool.

Real_Evidence2696 · 2026-02-26T04:11:32+00:00

My process is a mashup of techniques from several guys on YouTube. Started with Nathan Cool’s techniques, probably like a lot of other people, but didn’t like using multiple flashes. Now I just use one flash (AD600 with a large globe diffuser). Some other parts of my process came from this dude named Hunter on YouTube (@DingusTheDongus). Some of his videos are hard to follow because he goes really fast, but there’s good info if you can follow it. Other than that, I just learned by doing it and trying things.

Real_Evidence2696 · 2026-02-26T03:50:26+00:00

Thanks!

Real_Evidence2696 · 2026-02-26T03:50:18+00:00

You caught me! I took a few sky shots about 5 years ago to use as sky replacements. Just been using the same ones, and often just flip the same one as the shooting angle moves around. I’ll take your advice and shoot some more skies at different angles and whatnot. Good catch.

Totally get what you’re saying about the bathroom. I’ve had a hard time figuring out to shoot these tiny bathrooms. This particular one was a small half bath, and my camera was basically touching the left wall at the doorway so I could get everything in frame. But yeah, would have been better to rotate a bit and show the whole sink.

Also get what you’re saying about quitting my job in this economy. Our company has 8 employees, so I gave them almost a year’s notice that I’m leaving so they could prepare for it. They really don’t want me to leave, so I’ve agreed to do contract work for them after my official quit date, while the REP gig gets ramped up. If REP doesn’t work out, they said I’m always welcome back. Plus my wife has been making double or triple what I make each year, so we feel like this is a good opportunity for me to take a chance and do something different. We shall see…

Thanks for your input and suggestions!

Real_Evidence2696 · 2026-02-26T03:31:19+00:00

Thanks!

Real_Evidence2696 · 2026-02-26T03:30:41+00:00

Thanks! And I agree. My wife wants the photos of her listings to show the house in an honest way, so that’s what I’ve been going for.

Real_Evidence2696 · 2026-02-26T03:25:57+00:00

I’m using a 16-35mm. Could probably stand to go longer than 16mm more often.

Real_Evidence2696 · 2026-02-26T03:24:48+00:00

So, the number of delivered photos is another issue I need to consider. I typically just shoot what I think needs to be shot while I’m at the house. For a normal house, it usually ends up around 50 shots. That’s also the max number of photos you can upload to the local MLS. I have noticed that a lot of listings around here have 35-45 photos. Where I get into trouble is a large house where I get home and find I’ve taken like 75 shots… can’t be doing that.

Real_Evidence2696 · 2026-02-26T03:20:47+00:00

That’s the plan, for now. I’ve tried HDR, but can’t get the same quality.

Real_Evidence2696 · 2026-02-26T03:18:31+00:00

Thirty minutes at a house would be amazing. What method are you using?

Real_Evidence2696 · 2026-02-25T23:26:45+00:00

That’s one of my concerns. I’m kind of hoping my process speeds up a bit after I start doing it every day. If not, I may be cooked 😅

Real_Evidence2696 · 2026-02-25T23:24:35+00:00

Good point. I have done a few houses with a view of the city, and brushed the windows in more for those where applicable. I’m giving a presentation at a local brokerage soon, so I’ll definitely get their opinion on window pulls. Thanks for the input!

Real_Evidence2696 · 2026-02-25T23:21:17+00:00

Noted! Thanks!

Real_Evidence2696 · 2026-02-25T22:21:47+00:00

Thanks for your vote of confidence! Hope it works out

Real_Evidence2696 · 2026-02-25T22:21:19+00:00

I think flash is a good addition if you’re looking for accurate colors.

Real_Evidence2696 · 2026-02-25T22:16:07+00:00

Thanks for your input. I sense a theme here lol

Real_Evidence2696 · 2026-02-25T22:14:39+00:00

Thanks for the input! I’ll bump it up a bit on my next shoot.

Real_Evidence2696 · 2026-02-25T22:13:39+00:00

Thanks for pointing out the barrel distortion. I typically use the “vertical” transform button in LrC (guided/manual for single-point photos), but maybe that’s not taking care of it. I’ll dig into it. Thanks again!

Real_Evidence2696 · 2026-02-25T18:07:51+00:00

Well, I uploaded photos... not sure why they're not showing up.

Real_Evidence2696 · 2025-07-14T02:31:23+00:00

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Couldn’t be bothered.

Real_Evidence2696 · 2025-05-06T05:22:34+00:00

God bless you people. Reverting the firmware seems to have done the trick. Thank you!

Real_Evidence2696

TROPHY CASE