How much to pay a photographer for pics of apt?

If you go on Craig's List and post your request under talent gigs, you can get an excellent photog for $100-$200. At least I've done it. Not under $100--less than that and you might as well do it yourself. Could be someone who is a photog employee somewhere who is looking for a little side income. Wedding photgs can be great at this too, they have to shoot a lot of rooms, actually.

There are companies that specialize in apts but they get hired by the big real estate agencies and they charge a bundle, or they have ongoing contracts. Still, in this economy, you might find one.

Of course you must see sample shots (ask for portfolio). All the lights in the apt need to be turned on, and daylight hours only, or the place might look smaller and drabber. (There are rare exceptions but never mind.)

I avoid big wide angle lenses, I think shots look phony when you got a toilet that's 4 feet wide in the bathroom. A person would fall in.

Easy on the retouching, baby. I don't do that, can't imagine why you would want to. If you got holes in the walls or need painting, fix it before you show it.

{Manhattan real estate agent. 917. 365. 0876}

"Easy on the retouching, baby. I don't do that, can't imagine why you would want to. If you got holes in the walls or need painting, fix it before you show it."

I wholeheartedly agree with Fluter. You want buyers walking in finding what they expected or better than expected.
When an apt doesn't match pics, it's like a cold shower.
Total frame of mind killer.
You can explain that the toilet produces gold bricks and it will go in one ear and out the other.

I'm guessing that this is usually done by the seller's broker at no additional cost.

"I think shots look phony when you got a toilet that's 4 feet wide in the bathroom. A person would fall in."

Obviously you haven't seen my ex-mother-in-law's ass...she'd be fine, trust me.

Good pix involve a tripod, good use of wide angle lens (keep it level is the real key), declutter the place leaving almost nothing on any surfaces or personal items in view (pix, grooming supplies, etc), and lighting it well with no 'hot-spots'. Photos must have good white balance and not appear yellow or blue.

If your broker can achieve this, then use the broker. If you can achieve this, that's fine, too. Photography is a hobby and I've done my own apartments and friends with very good results. There isn't magic to this if you have any sense of what you are doing and have an SLR camera (if you don't know what an SLR is, you shouldn't try this).

In any event, the broker ought to know who to hire for this. Prices will vary greatly. If the photographer has to bring in lighting equipment and do the staging, it'll be a lot more than if they just show up and shoot the place with someone else having done the prep work.

splot - my cousin photographs apartments for a living for some of the major real estate firms and would be happy to work with you. please send me your e-mail address and I will have her contact you - she is fabulous

Not sure how to email you. Can you just post her website address.
Thanks.

We charge ~150 - 200 to shoot an apartment. Thats gets you an hour with one of our photographers on site, some lite staging and a deliverable of 6 images. We do a moderate amount of post production to handle color correction, lighting conditions, etc.

Generally, we are hired by the sellers broker, and in most cases, if that broker works for one of the larger agencies, the fees are covered by the agents advertising budget.

- Gotham Photo Company