Everything agents ask us before they book.
What it costs, how the day works, what lands in your inbox, and who is allowed to use it. If your question isn't here, email, call, or text us and we'll answer it.
Frequently asked questions
Pricing
What makes one listing cost more than another?
Square footage, and which services you pick. Every package is priced by the size of the home, and you can set the square footage on the services page to see your exact number before you talk to anyone.
Is there a travel fee?
The longest drives carry one, and you'll see it in the quote before you book, so nothing lands on the invoice later. Most of the Bay is a normal drive for us and adds nothing.
When do I pay?
Payment is due when you book the appointment. If you need to push it later, email or text us and we'll work with you. It comes up more than you'd think and it's never been a problem.
Do you have a better rate for agents who shoot with you every month?
We don't run a volume discount, so the price is the same on your fifteenth listing as your first. Repeat clients tend to get more from us anyway: an extra service when a home needs it, and more room to move when something has to change last minute.
Booking
How do I book a shoot?
On the booking portal, in about two minutes. Pick your package, pick a time, and you see the price before you enter anything about yourself.
What days do you shoot, and do weekends cost more?
Sunday through Saturday, all seven. Weekends are the same price as weekdays.
How long will you be at the house?
It depends on the size of the home and what you booked, so there's no single number. When you book, we block the exact amount of time that job needs, so the slot on your calendar already accounts for it.
What if I need to cancel on the day of the shoot?
That's fine, and it costs nothing. Same with moving it, as many times as you need. We'd rather shoot the home when it's actually ready than hold you to a slot.
Before we arrive
Does someone need to let you in?
Your call, and you pick it when you book. Plenty of agents leave a lockbox and never come out, and there's a field in the booking form for the code. If you'd rather be there, be there.
How should the home be ready before you get there?
If you only do three things: match the light bulbs so each room is one color with nothing burnt out, get the home cleaned right before shoot day, and clear the driveway and put the trash bins out of sight. After that, clear the kitchen and bathroom counters down to a few clean pieces, and if someone still lives there, put away family photos, mail, dishes and shoes. We send the full prep guide with your confirmation, and the whole checklist is here on the site if you'd rather forward it to your seller.
What happens if the home isn't ready when you arrive?
We tidy what we can and shoot around the rest. If a contractor is swapping out a light fixture we'll wait the half hour. If it's far enough off that the photos would hurt the listing, usually half-finished staging or a room mid-repaint, we'll say so and reschedule rather than hand you a set you can't use.
What you get back
How many photos do I get?
There's no set number. We shoot until the whole home is covered, and you get everything worth keeping.
Why does video take 72 hours when photos come back the next day?
They get talked about as one service, and the editing behind them works differently. A photo set templates well: there's a target look that gets applied across the batch, and the same few decisions repeat on every frame. The order stays loose too, since you can rearrange the set in the MLS whenever you like. A video gets built from scratch each time. The editor watches the footage, pulls the sections that hold up, then works out what the house looks like start to finish: how it opens, how it moves room to room, where it lands. That order is the product, and it comes out different for every home, because no two walk the same way. Those decisions are the extra two days.
What file sizes do you deliver?
Full resolution, always. The download page also lets you set a specific size on the way out, so if your MLS caps the resolution you can match it there and skip resizing anything yourself.
How long do the files stay available?
Your photos, video and floor plans stay in your account for good. We don't delete them, so a listing you shot two years ago is still sitting there. The 3D tour and the property website are the two that run on a one-year clock.
Do the 3D tour and the property website expire?
Both run for a year. The 3D tour comes down because it takes up room inside our software and we need that room for new listings. The property website runs on the same clock because its web address is something we pay for every year. Your photos, video and floor plans aren't affected by either one. If you want the site back later to show a seller what you do, tell us and we'll renew it and put it online again.
Can you remove something from a photo?
A trash can, a stray cord, a sign, that kind of thing costs nothing. Tell us what's bothering you and it's gone. Clearing out a room full of clutter is a bigger job and gets quoted on its own.
Using the media
Who owns the photos and video, and what can I use them for?
You get a license to market the home and your own brand: MLS, socials, ads, print, all of it. We keep the original copyright, and the license doesn't transfer, so if the listing changes hands, the new agent licenses the media from us rather than inheriting it.
Can my brokerage or a co-listing agent use the photos?
The license is yours, and it doesn't stretch to cover someone else. If more than one party needs to be covered, say so when you book and we'll write it into the quote, so nobody is sorting it out after delivery.
Can I keep using the photos after the home sells?
Yes. The license covers your own marketing, so the set stays yours for your portfolio, your socials and your listing presentations.
Is the video safe to post on the MLS?
Yes. Videos are delivered without branding unless you ask for it, and that clean version is what the MLS wants. Want your name and contact on your copy? Tell us when you book.
What we shoot
Do you shoot Airbnb and short-term rentals?
Yes, and we have packages built for them. A short-term rental is selling a stay rather than a house, so the shot list leans harder on the spaces guests actually book for. Tell us it's a short-term rental when you book and we'll price it on that line.
Do you shoot vacant homes, new construction, or commercial property?
All three. Vacant homes and new construction are routine for us, and virtual staging is there if an empty room needs the help. Commercial is a yes as well, so send the details and we'll tell you what it takes.
What is a Matterport tour and do I need one?
A 3D scan buyers can walk through from their phone, whenever it suits them. On listings with a long drive it filters out the dead showings, and buyers from out of town rely on it. We shoot it in the same visit as photos.
Are you licensed for drone work?
Yes. Our photographers are FAA Part 107 licensed, and the same person who shoots your photos is the one who flies the drone. Flying commercially without that license is an FAA violation, and the agent who booked the shoot can be on the hook too. It's worth asking whoever shoots your aerials.
What is a property website?
A single page for the listing on its own web address, with the photos, video, tour and floor plan in one place. It comes with Gold and up, or $150 on its own, and a year of hosting is included. Most agents use it as the link they text and the one they print.
Working with us
How long have you been shooting listings in the Bay Area?
Since 2023, out of San Jose. 35 listings across 17 Bay Area cities so far.
Do better photos actually help a listing sell?
Across the 35 listings we track, 24 sold over asking and $1.99 million came in above original list. On speed we land about where the market lands, and we're not going to dress that up. We don't claim the photos did any of it. The price, the home and the agent do most of the work. Marketing gets more of the right people through the door, and that part is on us.
Why don't you take every job?
Two people can answer fast and deliver next day, or they can take everything that comes in. We picked the first one, so the roster stays small on purpose. It's also why the same shooter can show up every time.
Ask us before you book, not after.
We answer our own phone. If something here needs a real answer for your listing, tell us the address and the square footage and we'll give you a straight one.