TOP 10 Questions #10. How Much Is This Going to Cost?

If photography was an off-the-shelf commodity, this would be an easy question to answer. There would be one flat rate no matter what it takes to create the image. Well, in the big box portrait studios, that's easy to do. The customer sits down in nearly the exact same position and exact same pose as the 1,000 people before him/her. The photo is taken with the exact same camera, the exact same lens, at the exact same height, with the exact same lighting.

Don't you deserve better than mere snap shots that look like everyone else's? You want to capture the essence of the design! How can you do that with a cookie cutter? What great creative solution did you apply in your project? What "side" of your project is most photogenic? You don't want a "mug shot" of your design. Commercial photography is about capturing your vision with the creativity and talent of your photographer.

There are so many factors that contribute to beautiful architectural photography, lighting, time of day, angle, lens, composition, arrangements, and the tiniest details all together make a the image one that moves the viewer to stop and look closer at the soul of your design. All these factors can play a part in determining the cost of your photography project.

Whether you were there or not, and whether we are your photographer on a project or not, if you have any questions or comments about commissioning architectural photography, please feel free to drop us a line anytime. We'd be happy to help!

Kimberly Blom-Roemer
Photographer
R2 Photography, LLC
r2-photography.com
866-722-9506

TOP 10 Questions #9. I Paid You To Take The Photos… What Do You Mean I Don’t Own Them?

This can be a touchy subject with some photographers, and their clients. Just like when you rent a car, you don't own that car. The same is true when you license images from a photographer. The costs of creating your images are probably broken down into three categories, Creative Fee, Usage Fee, and Expenses

Creative Fee is exactly that, the creativity and talent required to capture your vision of a subject by the photographer.

Expenses are self explanatory, these are the actual expenses such as travel, equipment rental, props, etc.

Usage is, to put it as simplistically as possible, is your rental fee to use the images created. Your photographer should be clearly illustrating those terms in their Estimate and invoice. Two years exclusive use for all marketing efforts with the exception of paid advertising. One year, non-exclusive use, etc. If you don't see these "rental" terms on your estimate, be sure to ask the photographer what they are, AND, be sure they are part of the final estimate you sign. This will save you form misunderstandings in the long run.

Whether you were there or not, and whether we are your photographer on a project or not, if you have any questions or comments about commissioning architectural photography, please feel free to drop us a line anytime. We'd be happy to help!

Kimberly Blom-Roemer
Photographer
R2 Photography, LLC
r2-photography.com
866-722-9506