This is going to be a little bit of a rant so bear with me…
I’ve been photography properties for around 5 years now and in the last 2-3, I’ve really found my feet with the style I like to shoot. While I have a style I love to shoot there is a time when certain techniques and the feel of the property doesn’t match the style I shoot. I maintain my style while adapting to the lighting conditions and keeping either the completely ambient and multi-layer flash images within the look I like. There are some properties that have huge window letting in a ton a light so much so that they only have small lamps or reading lights. on the other end, there are places that are basements and have little to no window light which means they (hopefully) have a tonne of daylight balanced LED spotlight and lamps dotted around the apartments.
With that being said I do like to keep my clients happy and if they would like certain images a little brighter than id like it I will happily oblige. However, ( Rant begins :D) I’ve been shown another agent's photos while discussing the shoot with certain agents and they say’I want the images to look like this’. I do my best to politely and discreetly decline to make the photos like the same way and talk about how my photos won't look like that which is a great thing and point out flaws that I personally find within the photo. They tend to then let me get on with it. Until delivery then they start requesting for me to re-edit some shots as they need it to look more like other agents shots. to which I reply with a slightly more confident wording of basically no that what you get when you book me.
I think the worse part of it all is they love my photos when they book me and first see me, they can't give me higher praise and compliments 🤭. It is frustrating because I have no problem is not shooting for people who I don’t click with I learnt this from doing wedding photography, if there spark isn’t there I can't shoot for that person, nothing personal I just can't do the best job I can. Which makes me feel like this agent hired based on my price. I’m very open and honest when talking to new clients about my shooting style an can only assuming because we are talking at this stage that you want the work I’m showing you via my website, www.Garyaskewphotography.com or my Instagram, instagram.com/garyaskewphotography. Unless the client tells me they want a certain look. I’m all for client satisfaction which is why is good for me to decline some agents because I can give them what they want.
I believe that my photos have a different look to 90% of what out there and I believe my work stands out to the typical real estate photographer so please agents when hiring a photographer to accept the style you the photographer you choose has and stand out or blend in by wanting the same thing your competition has!
I’d love to know what from an agents perspective and other real estate photographer thoughts on this.
Has it happened to you?
did a photographer display something different to what they delivered?