Frequently Asked Questions

Unlike many photographers, we don’t sell packages of prints.

We normally deliver a set of high-resolution image files at the completion of each project, along with a license that gives you specific rights to use those images. In most cases, the license includes the right to make prints for your own use (but not resell them). You can get the prints made where ever you want. You do NOT need to order prints through us.

If you would like us to assist you in getting prints made, we’ll be happy to do so. Just ask.

We can arrange for a professional photo lab or commercial printer to make prints for you; and we can create additional image files that are custom tailored to the needs of a particular printing process. We don’t add a mark-up to the cost of prints — we charge only a small fee for the service we provide by handling the printing order for you.

We charge by the project, not by the hour. We don’t publish rate sheets because each project is unique and gets a custom price quote. The exception is real estate photography — you can see our price guide for that service here.

Before we begin a project, we work with you to discover your needs and define the scope of your project. Then we quote a price for producing the agreed-upon results. That way, you know, up front, what your project will cost.

The main factor in determining the cost of a project is the amount of time we expect to spend on it — time preparing for the project, time shooting the photos, and time processing the images. Depending on the project, there may be numerous other factors to consider as well, but time is usually the big one. It’s our responsibility to get that time estimate right before we give you a quote. Once quoted, the price doesn’t change because it ended up taking somewhat longer than expected. (If that happens, we consider it a learning experience and try to do a better job of estimating future projects.)

The quoted price remains fixed as long as the scope of the project remains the same. However, projects can, and often do, change between initial planning and the final implementation, so our pricing must be able to adapt.

The quoted price is tied to a defined scope of work. If you change the scope of the project, the price changes accordingly. Examples of a scope change for a product photography project: changing the number or kind of products to be shot, requiring a different background for each individual product when the quote was for shooting all products on the same background, separating the products to be shot into batches when the quote was for shooting them all at the same time, and so on. You get the idea. Sometimes, a small change can be absorbed with no impact on the price, but any significant change will change the quoted price. We’ll always inform you of the impact your scope change will have on the price and get your approval before proceeding.

Most projects are quoted at one fixed price for the entire project, but we occasionally do quotes with built-in flexibility when we know in advance that it will be needed. For example, we might quote a base price for X number of products, and a price-per-piece for each additional similar product up to a maximum of Y total products.

We don’t keep formal “office hours”. We meet with clients by appointment only, at your business, home, or other mutually convenient location. Our schedule is very flexible, often including evenings and weekends, and it varies depending on the demands of current projects. That said, we’re generally available between 10am and 6pm most weekdays.

We don’t publish hourly rates. That’s mostly because we charge by the project, not by the hour.

We’ll give you a quoted price for your project before we begin, and the price remains firm regardless of the time it takes to complete the defined scope of work. In other words, you pay for defined results, not a potentially variable number of hours.

We do things this way because there are significant problems with pricing photography services based on an hourly rate.

• A photographer and client may agree on an hourly rate, but have very different expectations of how long the project will take and thus what the final cost will be.
• Hourly billing creates an incentive for the photographer to take as much time as possible in order to increase total billing for the project. Knowing this, the client feels compelled to monitor and micro-manage the photographer in order to reduce costs. As a result, conflict is built into the relationship and quality can suffer. Removing the relentless “time is money” pressure makes it easier to concentrate on producing quality work.
• The time spent with camera in hand shooting photographs is just the “tip of the iceburg”. Producing quality images requires a significant amount of time spent processing image files and other behind-the-scenes tasks that are invisible to the client. Billing for this hidden time is problematic. If the photographer charges only for shooting time, the rate must be inflated to compensate for the other, un-billed time spent on the project, but when the client only sees the shooting time, they often feel like they are being grossly overcharged for something that didn’t appear to take very long. If the photographer bills separately for shooting and processing time, that can give the client a better sense of the total time spent, but they may be feel suspicious about whether they are getting a fair accounting for the invisible time that they can’t observe directly. Charging a fixed amount for clearly defined results instead of time-based billing helps everyone to feel like they got a fair deal without obsessing over watching the clock.
• Clients often use hourly rate for “comparison shopping” in an effort to ensure that they are getting the best value. It might work if all photographers were similarly skilled and productive, but that’s not the case. A $50-per-hour photographer might look like a better value than a $100-per-hour photographer, but not if the photographer with the lower rate takes four times longer to get the job done. (That’s not an unrealistically exaggerated example. We’ve seen far more extreme examples.) Value is in the total cost for the project, not the lowest hourly rate.
• Clients sometimes use a photographer’s hourly rate as a measure of quality, but that doesn’t really work either. It’s true that an unusually low hourly rate is often a “red flag” indicating an inexperienced beginner photographer who may be unable to reliably deliver quality images, but there are exceptions to the “low price = low quality” general rule. Conversely, a much higher-than-normal hourly rate doesn’t necessarily guarantee correspondingly higher quality images. There may be some validity to the presumption that a high-priced photographer “must be doing something right” to be able to command a premium hourly rate, but that “something” may have more to do with their sales and marketing skills than their photographic talents. If you want to compare the quality of different photographers, look at their portfolio images, not their rates.

Yes, there are.

As Trusted Independent Photographers, we must follow Google’s privacy and appropriate content guidelines. The content guidelines are seldom an issue since they primarily restrict things like defamation and adult content. Google’s privacy guidelines, on the other hand, include a stipulation that the POIs we submit must not include recognizable people, and that is sometimes an issue. For example, if we’re shooting a POI of a showroom or restaurant, we must clear the area before we shoot. We can get away with showing the back of a head, but faces are a no-no.

A photo of the business owner or staff is a commonly requested POI. Unfortunately, Google’s privacy restrictions on Trusted Independent Photographers prohibits us from submitting POI images of people.

But there is a work-around.

The guidelines for image submissions by business owners are more relaxed. So, if you really want staff photos, we can take them and give the image files to you. You can then upload those images to your Google Business page yourself. However, if you do that, you are responsible for getting permission to publish images of anyone in those photos.

Note: The need to get their permission before publishing an image of a person is a legal requirement, not just a Google rule. Technically, that permission should be in writing. If you publish someone’s image without permission, you may never be challenged, but if you are, it can be a big deal.

The key word in the “Trusted Independent Photographer” title is “Independent”. We are NOT Google employees, partners, or contractors. We are local commercial photographers who are part of a network of Google contributors. Our lead photographer, Mike O’Mara, received training from Google and has been granted access to some tools that are reserved for members of the Google Street View Trusted program. The “Trusted” part means that Google trusts us to submit quality imagery that follows Google’s content and privacy guidelines.

We don’t work for Google — we work for YOU, to help you promote your business on Google.

Not really. Some cellphone cameras can do HDR based on the same basic concept we use. However, the HDR software in a cellphone is very limited compared to the much more sophisticated dedicated programs we use. A professional-quality HDR image starts with higher quality images than your cellphone is capable of, and then goes through several steps: pre-processing the source images, blending those images with different settings to find the best combination, and then tweaking the final result. In many cases, additional Photoshop retouching is needed to achieve the desired result.

The short answer is that Google Maps and Street View are free, but photography inside a business isn’t (unless you do it yourself).

Google Maps is free to use, and Google cars capture exterior imagery for Street View on public thoroughfares. In addition, Google sends its own team to capture interior and off-road images at a limited number of public places, such as major parks, museums, and landmarks. That part is all free.

Google would love to “map the world” inside and out. However, Google can’t legally photograph on, or inside of, private property, such as most businesses. They can’t walk into every storefront on Main Street USA and take photographs of the interior without permission from each and every business owner, which would never happen. Plus, the task of photographing the inside of every business is too big — even for Google. So, Google isn’t coming to photograph inside your business.

What Google has done instead is open their Street View platform for contributors to submit images of places the Google cars can’t go, such as inside businesses. A contributor might be a customer, a Local Guide (an independent Google user who voluntarily contributes content), the business owner, or a photographer contracted by the business owner. Google doesn’t charge for hosting the imagery from contributors or linking the images so that they show up when searching for the related business.

Yes, you read that right. You (or your customers) can submit images to Google for free. That includes both flat images and 360-degree panoramas.

But, there are problems with most user-contributed images — especially panoramas.

1. The image quality probably isn’t going to make a great impression on viewers. Sure, today’s cell phones are capable of taking some pretty good flat images under the right conditions, but most people don’t know how to take full advantage of the technology and their results are often dark and fuzzy. Taking a decent 360-degree panorama is even harder. It requires taking a series of overlapping images and then using an app on the phone to stitch them together into a panorama. If even one of the component images is out of alignment, you get broken lines in the panorama, and there are often problems with light and dark areas in the same panorama.
2. Most people aren’t familiar with the Google policies and legal requirements for photo submissions, and violating one of the rules can cause trouble ranging from removal of an offending image to lawsuits.
3. User-contributed panoramas are normally limited to single photospheres. The ability to link panoramas together with navigation arrows requires access to special software and services (which cost money).

A qualified photographer can overcome all these problems and deliver high quality imagery that will showcase your business to prospective customers, but doing so requires a significant investment in time and money. Time to develop the photographic skills and learn the ins and outs of the Google Street View platform. Money to buy specialized equipment and software, and to pay for publishing services, insurance, and other expenses. It’s a professional service, delivered by an independent business owner who deserves to get a return on that investment in the form of fair compensation for the service.

Basically, charging for photography is how I pay for groceries and rent. And Google isn’t paying me.

POI is the acronym for Point Of Interest. That’s Google’s term for standard still photo images of a business and is used to distinguish those images from the panoramas of a virtual tour. POIs are uploaded to Google’s servers along with your Street View tour and appear in the image carousel at the bottom of the screen that shows the details of your business on Google Search and Maps.

Google has a list of POIs that they want to see, such as the building facade, signage, and wide-angle shots of the interior. Any additional POIs are up to you, and can include things like close-ups of products or displays, and rooms that aren’t part of the main tour.

Our “local” area is Metro Louisville-Jefferson County and the adjacent counties in Kentucky and Indiana. We can also service most any location within a few hours driving time of Louisville, but we do charge for travel time and mileage outside the local area.

Here’s a more detailed description of our primary service area:

• All of Louisville-Jefferson County Metro
• Bullitt county, excluding the Fort Knox Reservation
• Spencer county
• Shelby county
• Oldham county
• Toll charges apply for trips into Clark and Floyd counties in Indiana

Travel to locations outside of those areas will be charged mileage for the round trip from our home office to the location and back. We charge $1.00 per mile, which covers both time and gas/vehicle reimbursement costs. The distance will be calculated by using the fastest route supplied by Google Maps. Toll charges (if any) will be added.

HDR is an acronym for High Dynamic Range. Camera sensors can’t resolve detail in as wide a range of brightness as the human eye, which leads to things like interior photos where the windows are just blobs of white. To combat this, we use computer algorithms to blend over-exposed and under-exposed images with a normal image to bring out more detail across a much wider range of brightness than a single exposure can record. Depending on the settings used, the result can be a very natural looking image or a surreal exaggeration. The technique requires multiple exposures of an identical scene, so it works well for static subjects, like landscapes and architecture, but not for a scene that contains people and other moving things.

Not at this time. You will need to make arrangements for us to access the property by meeting us there, providing codes for an electronic lock, a key in a combination lockbox, or some other means.

Initially, Udar Photo was a SupraKey subscriber. However, between homeowners and Realtors preferring to meet us at the property, and the growing popularity of electronic door locks, we very seldom used SupraKey to access a listing, Therefore, it just didn’t make sense to continue to maintain those memberships/subscriptions.

If SupraKey access by your photographer is important to you, then please get in touch with us. We’ll consider re-instating our GLAR/SupraKey membership if there is enough demand.

Yes, we can! In fact, we’ve invested a lot of time researching and testing techniques to do just that.

HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography was developed to compensate for the fact that even the best camera sensors resolve detail over a much smaller brightness range than the human eye. In a photograph of a typical home interior, the camera sees the window as a big white blob and the shadow areas as dense black, with only the mid-tones having good detail. HDR photography uses special software to blend normal, under-exposed, and over-exposed images to compress the tonal range of those separate images into a single image with greater detail in highlights, mid-tones, and shadows. It’s a great tool.

The problem with HDR is that the process tends to exaggerate contrast and produce garish colors that look unnatural. Many photographers like the surreal look because it makes their images more vivid than real life, and the default settings for most HDR software cater to that taste.

However, it doesn’t have to be that way. After digging deep into the settings of several HDR solutions, and experimenting with other options, we’ve perfected post-processing techniques that enable us to capture scenes with huge dynamic range while maintaining natural colors and contrast. The result is an image that looks like what you saw with your eye. No surrealistic effects!

P.S. If you happen to like the HDR look, just let us know. We can do that too.

Nope. We don’t just take pictures, we make them. Clicking the shutter on the camera is just the start of the process we use to produce quality images.

First of all, the image files from our cameras aren’t in a file format you can use. We shoot in Camera RAW rather than the more common JPG or TIFF file formats. The advantage of RAW is that it retains much more of the detail in the original scene, but it requires post-processing on a computer to extract that detail and record it in a usable file format. Color correction, exposure compensation, and straightening verticals are just part of the processing that every image receives.

Most of the finished images we deliver are actually composites built from multiple individual image files. We shoot multiple images of each scene using different exposure settings and lighting. Then we might blend together the mid-tones from one image, the darker areas from a different image, the bright windows from another image, and perhaps an image shot with flash. The computer software, the specialized techniques, and the skills we use in post-processing actually have more impact on the quality of the finished images than the cameras and lenses we bring to the photo shoot. The camera is vitally important — the processing, even more so.

So, asking for the raw images from the camera would be like going to a fine restaurant and asking for a plate full of raw ingredients, when it’s the chef’s expert preparation that transforms those ingredients into a delicious dish.

We professionally process every image to highlight the full detail of the scene and present the property at its best. That can include enhancements like deepening blue skies or enriching green grass for a polished, vibrant look.

We maintain high ethical standards and do not alter images in ways that misrepresent the property’s condition. Permanent features—such as wear or blemishes—remain visible. However, we’re happy to remove temporary items (like utility flags) upon request.

When appropriate, we also offer advanced retouching options, such as removing distractions (like a neighbor’s car), creating a twilight effect, or providing virtual staging to help buyers visualize an empty space.

Standard post-processing and minor touch-ups are included in our pricing. Virtual staging and more extensive edits are available for an additional fee and may extend turnaround time.

As long as we can access the property for photography, no one else needs to be there.

However, our preference is for the agent or homeowner to be at the property when we arrive, even if they can’t stay the entire time. It really helps to have someone point out special features that might not be obvious to us, and maybe even move a lamp or piece of furniture. Just be prepared to “dance” around the house as we move from room to room, and our wide angle lens often sees into adjacent rooms, so it can be a challenge to stay out of all the shots. Most homeowners find it easier to treat the shoot like a showing and vacate the premises.

If it’s not practical for the agent or homeowner to be onsite, we’ll use our best judgement to take the photographs that best showcase the property to potential buyers. If there is anything specific you want to feature, tell us ahead of time so we can make sure to include it.

Note that we photograph the property the way we find it, so it should be staged and ready before we arrive. We do not clean, declutter, tidy up, rearrange furniture, hide wires, or move personal items. We try to  touch only door knobs and light switches. We might also adjust blinds and drapes if doing so will improve the lighting in a room, but only if they are easily accessible without risk of bumping into something.

Yes—weather absolutely impacts photography.

Interior images can usually be captured in most conditions, but exteriors require dry weather and bright skies. We don’t photograph homes in rain or snow, and dark, overcast skies can make a property look dull rather than bright and inviting. Weather also affects rooms with outdoor views.

Here’s how we handle it:

• We plan ahead. Before scheduling (or confirming) the shoot day and time, we review forecasts and aim for the best possible conditions and sun angles. We ask whether you have time to wait for optimum conditions or if dreary skies are preferable to a delay.
• We communicate. If weather becomes an issue, we’ll contact you right away to reschedule. There’s no fee for weather-related changes.
• We stay flexible. When appropriate, we’ll photograph interiors as planned and return later for exteriors.
• We enhance when needed. If conditions aren’t perfect, we can professionally enhance images to brighten the final result.

Our goal is simple: showcase every property at its absolute best.

We have decades of experience photographing real estate—though offering our services directly to REALTORS and homeowners is a newer development. That may sound contradictory, but it actually makes perfect sense.

As commercial photographers, we’ve photographed everything from food and jewelry to room sets, locations, and large commercial and industrial facilities. Many of those assignments involved architectural subjects, including retail spaces, restaurants, entertainment venues, office buildings, hotels, apartments, and homes. Our clients have typically been business owners, architects, designers, contractors, and home builders rather than REALTORS.

When we recently sold our own home and purchased another, we reviewed countless real estate listings. While some photography was excellent, much of it was mediocre—and a surprising amount was poor. It was clear that there is a real need for higher-quality listing photography. We photographed our own home and a few others with great success, which led us to explore the real estate photography market more closely.

Commercial photography is about creating images that sell a product. It requires technical expertise, an understanding of buyers, and the ability to highlight what makes something appealing. Those skills translate perfectly to real estate. Our work has always been deadline-driven, and we have extensive experience photographing buildings and interiors.

Real estate photography also allows a semi-retired lead photographer to scale back from maintaining a full studio while staying active in the profession.

So here we are: a photographic resource for REALTORS in the Louisville Metro area—new to this specific market, but backed by decades of experience photographing homes and creating images that SELL.

We don’t normally shoot to a fixed number of images. Instead, we aim to shoot “enough” images to showcase each property and its features, without unnecessary redundancy.

We always start by shooting front and rear exteriors, the front door/entry, and at least one view of each room. So, unless it’s a “tiny house”, that’s a base shot list of about 8 images for a one-bedroom, one-bath; and 12+ for a 3-bed, 2-bath. However, we don’t stop there. If there are more rooms, we photograph them. (We generally skip closets, utility rooms, basements, and garages unless there’s something special about them.) If we see more than one good view of a room, we shoot those views. If there are special features and finishes, we photograph those. If the exterior has nice landscaping or views, we photograph those too. Larger properties usually have more rooms, more features, more up-scale finishes, and just more photo opportunities, so our price structure is linked to property size.

We normally photograph only the subject property itself. However, if the neighborhood is an important asset, you can request us to shoot additional views of the street, the subdivision entrance, community amenities, etc. You can also order additional photos for any listing to cover those situations where a property includes extras such as a pool house, gazebo, carriage house, barn, stable, or shop.

Our standard-of-service for regular still photography is to deliver image files within about 24 hours from the end of the photo shoot. Virtual staging, video production, virtual tours, special image editing, and other additional services may take a bit longer, but we always strive to deliver as soon as possible, even if it means some late nights working on the computer.

Note that exterior photography is weather-dependent (especially twilight shots), so inclement weather can sometimes cause unavoidable delays in capturing all the images for some properties. We’ll keep you informed of the situation, and you can rest assured that we’ll do everything we can to complete your project as soon as possible.

Absolutely! We have multiple image finishing options for a variety of tastes.

Our standard processing produces good detail in highlights, mid-tones, and shadows; windows that are bright, but with a hint of the outside view; and images that are tastefully enhanced with a slight bump in color saturation and contrast for a little extra punch without looking over-done.

Optionally, we can dial back the enhancements for a neutral representation of the scene; or we can apply a bright and crisp look; or soft and light with open shadows; or go a tad darker for a cozy look with luxurious rich color. Windows can be bright light sources or enriched to show the full range of colors in the outside view.

The choice is yours, and we consult with you before our first shoot to determine your preferences. And you can change those preferences any time you want. For example, you might want a bright and crisp look for an ultra-modern house, and richer tones for a log home.

Of course, you can always leave the choice to our judgement if you don’t want to get bogged down with those details.

Not really. Some cellphone cameras can do HDR based on the same basic concept we use. However, the HDR software in a cellphone is very limited compared to the much more sophisticated dedicated programs we use. A professional-quality HDR image starts with higher quality images than your cellphone is capable of, and then goes through several steps: pre-processing the source images, blending those images with different settings to find the best combination, and then tweaking the final result. In many cases, additional Photoshop retouching is needed to achieve the desired result.

Elevated Views are when we raise the camera significantly above normal eye level by mounting the camera on a long pole or mast. (We have one that will reach nearly 20ft.)  On a level lot, Elevated Views can simulate a low-flying drone, giving us much better camera angles on things like pools and patios that don’t show well from ground level. They are also very useful for getting above fences and bushes that would otherwise block a view. In addition, Elevated Views enable us to get the camera up on the level of the house even though the yard slopes down sharply, thus avoiding the looking-up-at-the-house perspective.

Interactive virtual tours fall into two major groups. First, there are the panorama-based tours (often called 3D tours), where the viewer can navigate from one location to another and then pan around in a panorama image at each spot.

• A Panorama Virtual Tour is photographed and assembled using the same technology we use for Google Street View for Business tours that we shoot for commercial clients and appear on their Google Maps listings. It’s time-consuming to shoot and process the panorama images using a DSLR and panorama rig, but the quality is outstanding. The navigation between panoramas is the same as in Google Street View.
• A 360 Virtual Tour is photographed with a dedicated camera that takes a 360-degree panorama in one snap. It’s much faster to shoot a tour with this camera, which means less time spent on site and lower cost. Image quality is good, but not up to the Panorama Tour standard.
• A Matterport Virtual Tour is photographed with our 360-degree panorama camera, then the processing and conversion into a tour goes through the Matterport system. The advantage is that you can get the Matterport “dollhouse” navigation and a Matterport floorplan. (Note: Floorplan measurements are not as precise as those created by the proprietary Matterport camera with Lidar.) Also note that Matterport tours no longer appear on Zillow.
• A Zillow 3D Tour is also photographed with our 360-degree panorama camera, but this one gets submitted to Zillow. If you’re a Zillow Showcase subscriber, you know the drill.
• iGUIDE and Giraffe360 Virtual Tours and floorplans are NOT offered at this time. We’ll consider adding them if there is enough demand.

In addition to the panorama tours, we offer another interactive image product.

• A Hotspot Floorplan consists of a floorplan displayed with an image viewer beside it. The user clicks a hotspot marked on the floorplan to see the still photo image taken at that location. It’s fast and easy for the viewer to use, and it doesn’t require any additional time on site to shoot panorama images.

Our “local” area is Metro Louisville-Jefferson County and the adjacent counties in Kentucky and Indiana. We can also service most any location within a few hours driving time of Louisville, but we do charge for travel time and mileage outside the local area.

Here’s a more detailed description of our primary service area:

• All of Louisville-Jefferson County Metro
• Bullitt county, excluding the Fort Knox Reservation
• Spencer county
• Shelby county
• Oldham county
• Toll charges apply for trips into Clark and Floyd counties in Indiana

Travel to locations outside of those areas will be charged mileage for the round trip from our home office to the location and back. We charge $1.00 per mile, which covers both time and gas/vehicle reimbursement costs. The distance will be calculated by using the fastest route supplied by Google Maps. Toll charges (if any) will be added.

The cost varies depending on the size of the property and the services requested. Prices start at just $200.

Let’s face it, all properties are NOT the same, so a flat-rate fee simply won’t fit every listing. Ideally, we would quote each project, providing the right combination of services to fit the unique marketing needs of each listing. However, there isn’t always time for a custom quote. Therefore, we offer online ordering (https://udarphoto.hd.pics/order) with a full listing of our standard services and their prices. In addition to the still photographs, you can order twilight shots, videos, floorplans, virtual tours, and more. There are packages of bundled services to make ordering fast and easy.

• Our “Value Meal” package is the budget-minded option for basic still photography with the most common image enhancements.
• Our “Favorites” package adds a floorplan and virtual tour to the still photography. It’s a good choice for a typical mid-range listing.
• Our “Chef’s Special” package bumps things up to our premium LumiBlend photography, includes a longer video, and adds the popular marketing kit. A great value.
• Our “Feast” package is the “almost everything” bundle, with extra photos. This is usually the best choice for luxury listings or properties that have significant interior or exterior features that are out of proportion to the physical size of the house, such as a house on a large property with outbuildings, or an upscale condo that needs to feature photos of views, amenities, and high-end finishes.

Commercial properties and architectural projects will be quoted individually.

LumiBlend Lighting is our name for the approach and techniques we developed for photographing real estate listings and other architectural interiors. It’s a combination of shooting techniques and extensive post processing that enable us to deal with interior scenes that include bright light from windows and lamps, and the pools of darkness in between. LumiBlend is a premium process which produces finished images that look totally natural and evenly lit.

When photographing a property, we shoot multiple exposures of each scene, using different camera settings, and adding flash to some of them. Then we blend those exposures together in post processing to produce a single finished image. The details are far too complicated to explain briefly. All most clients want to know is that it works.

However, for those who are interested, here are a few of the highlights:

• We start by pre-visualizing the scene, and then shoot a series of individual exposures tailored to the needs of our post processing workflow.
• HDR (High Dynamic Range) techniques are part of our process, but with our own custom settings and refinements to control the garish colors and hyper-contrast that are the often unwanted hallmarks of the HDR look.
• We use flash to add light to the room and help with color fidelity, but we don’t rely on flash as the primary lighting because it’s too harsh and unnatural.
• We employ a technique similar to “Flambient” (flash plus ambient), but again, with our own custom-developed refinements. In fact, we turn Flambient upside down, so maybe we should call our version “Ambilash”.
• The post processing edits include luminosity masking, layer blending, local adjustments, and more. We’ve perfected a set of presets, actions, and procedures that automate enough of the steps to enable us to deliver quality images relatively quickly.

HDR is an acronym for High Dynamic Range. Camera sensors can’t resolve detail in as wide a range of brightness as the human eye, which leads to things like interior photos where the windows are just blobs of white. To combat this, we use computer algorithms to blend over-exposed and under-exposed images with a normal image to bring out more detail across a much wider range of brightness than a single exposure can record. Depending on the settings used, the result can be a very natural looking image or a surreal exaggeration. The technique requires multiple exposures of an identical scene, so it works well for static subjects, like landscapes and architecture, but not for a scene that contains people and other moving things.

Basically, you need to stage the property for its first, and possibly most important, showing.

Click here for our checklist of suggestions for getting ready for the photography session.

A Social Media Reel is a fast paced “teaser” video comprised of quick clips that give a glimpse of the features of the property. It’s short (less than a minute) and shot in vertical format to be posted on various social media platforms such as TikTok and YouTube Shorts.

A Walkthru Video is just what it sounds like. We walk through the property with a stabilized video camera following the path that a potential buyer would traverse during a showing. We trim out the hallways, back-tracking, and may even skip less interesting rooms to keep the video short. A Walkthru is a brief, objective view of the property.

A Cinematic Video is a short movie designed to capture the “feel” of the property and help potential buyers visualize the experience of living there. The video incorporates cinematic camera moves and other techniques to add interest and visual appeal. We sometime call the cinematic video an “Agent Video” since it can include an on-camera introduction by the agent and/or some voice-over narration. It may also include clips showing the location, neighborhood, and the lifestyle afforded by the property. It’s a way to “sell the sizzle, not just the steak”.

It’s best to keep most videos short — a minute for a Walkthru, and maybe two minutes for a Cinematic Video. Therefore, you’ll probably want us to stick to the main rooms of the house rather than attempting to enter and show every room. After all, the goal is to entice potential buyers to schedule a showing, not to show every detail of the property in the video.

Another video option is a complete Online Showing. We take the camera through every room and show all the key features as the agent narrates. This is a longer video that far exceeds the attention span of the typical online viewer, but it might be appropriate when marketing to a select clientele of out-of-town buyers who aren’t available for an in-person showing.

If there’s no time or budget to actually shoot video, we can simulate some of the video feel with a Montage Video — a slide show of still images, animated with pans, zooms, and transitions.

Although we understand that rescheduling/cancelling an appointment is sometimes unavoidable, we do charge a fee of $75 if you cancel a scheduled photo shoot with less than 24hrs notice. After all, that time was reserved exclusively for your project, and if you cancel on short notice, we don’t have the opportunity to book other work into that time slot.

The cancellation fee also applies if we can’t access the property at the scheduled time. That might happen if the agent or homeowner doesn’t show up to let us in, the lockbox key isn’t available, the dog is loose inside, or the property just isn’t ready for photography. Occasionally, we may have the flexibility to wait around for the situation to be rectified, but we can’t let the delay affect our next appointment.

Weather delays do NOT incur a cancellation fee. That’s totally beyond your control and ours. We try to schedule appointments to coincide with favorable weather forecasts, but sometimes those predictions are wrong and we all get surprised.

You get full use of the images to market the listing (or your agency), but technically, UdarPhoto “owns” the images,

By law, every photograph is protected by copyright from the instant it is taken, and the photographer owns that copyright unless the rights are transferred to another party by contract. That means the photographer controls how the images can be used. Usage is controlled by the terms of a license granted by the copyright owner to someone wanting to use the copyrighted work for a specific and limited purpose.

The license you will get from UdarPhoto is very broad. You can put the images on your web site, submit them to MLS, post them to social media, print flyers and sales sheets, and pretty much anything else you might want to do to promote the listing, yourself, or your agency. About the only thing you aren’t allowed to do is sell or transfer the images to someone else. For example, if a homeowner decides to switch agents, you’re not allowed to forward the images we took to the new agent. It would be a copyright violation for the new agent to use those images. The new agent must get their own photography done, or contact us to purchase their own license to use our images. (Usage by other agents within your agency/team is allowed.)

The standard term of the license is for the time that the property is listed for sale, which is normally a matter of weeks or months. If you need to market a property for a longer period (i.e. Airbnb, Vrbo, model homes, rental property), you can extend the license term by paying a modest fee.

Note: I’ve heard that MLS and some other online sites may claim that, by submitting images to their site, you are giving them the copyright. According to sources that I believe are trustworthy, that claim has been deemed invalid. What they are entitled to is a limited license to display the images while the property is listed for sale, and our license to you specifically allows that.

UdarPhoto does reserve the right to use the images ourselves and to license them to others. For example, some of the images might find their way into our portfolio, and we might sell a license to the interior designer who decorated the home.

If you require outright ownership of the images, we can arrange a copyright buyout for an appropriate additional fee.

Our pricing reflects one thing above all: quality.

In photography—like most services—you can usually choose between fast, cheap, or great. We focus on delivering outstanding quality with the quick turnaround REALTORS need. Producing consistently high-level results takes skill, experience, and time, and that simply can’t be done at bargain-basement rates.

While we may not be the lowest-priced option, we offer strong VALUE and remain an affordable part of most marketing budgets. Since today’s buyers almost always begin their search online, listing photos create the crucial first impression. High-quality images elevate a property’s perceived value, helping homes sell faster and often at stronger prices—making professional photography a smart investment.

If your goal is to provide exceptional service and achieve the best possible outcome for your client, professional-quality photography makes all the difference.