Real Estate Photography

March 3, 2019

When I started photography, I wanted to be diverse and who doesn’t want to be the best at what they love to do? I know I do.

Like many photographers, I offer my services to a wide variety of clients. I just began to share some of my real estate photography on my platforms but they don’t necessarily meet the cut for my portfolio, as it is not my typical client.

While I specialize in events and portraits, real estate photography is still offered as a service I provide. Fill out a contact form or call me directly to hear about my real estate prices (photography or commercial).

Uploaded by Karli Santana on 2019-03-03.

Photography Styles

March 1, 2019

Photography styles vary among photographers. The ultimate goal is to produce an image that is high quality that our client will love. While this is every photographer's goal, not every photographer will be the right fit for you depending on to their style and what you're looking for.

TO EDIT OR NOT TO EDIT?

Some photographers edit in-post the amount of photographers that use editing software has increased over the last ten years. Light room, Photoshop, or other editing software is used to enhance the photos before showing the finished product. Seeing before and after edits can usually show the photographer's style.
Some are light and airy, others are sharp and edgy, it all depends on what kind of pictures you need. Viewing the photographer's portfolio and seeing their photos will help you determine which photographer to hire.

STUDIO OR OUTDOOR

Do you need studio portraits or outdoor portraits? Are you using them for business cards? Do you want to print on canvas or a large sized portrait? Or do you only need them for social media and sending to family electronically?

Some photographers only offer outdoor sessions. Others have studio gear that they can travel with or they have it set up at their home (like me). The veteran photographers might have a commercial space that they rent as their studio. I don't know any personally. Having the studio in a commercial space says a lot about credibility, the owners are well-established, and they are committed to their trade.

That's not to take away from the photographers that don't have a commercial space. It's possible they do this as a hobby and they do not charge, or they charge a very low rate. There's plenty of photographers like myself who are full-time without the commercial space. Despite not having a commercial space rented studio, they do well and are well known.

Make sure that you know what kind of pictures you're looking for. Telling the photographer at a park, beach, or studio, helps them narrow down which setting you desire most for your session.

PHOTOGRAPHY STYLES VS PHOTOGRAPHER'S STYLE
There's so many different styles to photography. Portrait, Aerial, Fine-Art, Glamour, Nature, Documentary, Fashion, Landscape, etc. There's just too many for us to cover in this blog post.

Photography styles are the type of photography services you need. For example, if you said you need family portraits to a mainly aerial photographer they may not be able to help you. Or model portraits, to a nature photographer - you may not get scheduled. Different photographers choose different styles. I, myself, shoot all different styles. I love nature photography, but I also love working with people to give them the photos they need. I have done model, business, family, maternity, lifestyle, children, toddlers, products, landscape, nature, etc. I don't like to limit myself.

Photographer's style is how the portrait looks when the photographer delivers the shots. Here's an example below. I'm going to take another photographer's portrait and put it beside my own and you can see how our styles differ. Some's opinion may be that the other photographer's style is better than my own, that is okay for them to feel this way. That's why there's so many photographers out there so that people can choose who they would like to work with.

The two portraits below have different styles. One is light and airy. The other is dark and soft. Since I am comparing someone else's photo to my own I feel not one is better than the other they are just different. Different styles, different subjects, different locations, different edits, etc. Both of our clients are happy with the photos I'm sure. High quality photos are the end goal here.

Photo Credit: Yours Truly (Karli Santana)

YOU DECIDE

Only you know what style you truly want for your photos. Find a photographer that has the style that you want for your photos. Don't hire the wrong photographer that has a style that differs from the style you are looking for. The client and photographer want the same result and that is for the client to love the photos.

I hope you enjoyed this blog post. Let me know about the style you like the most in the comments section below. I look forward to hearing from you.

Photo Editing and Originals

February 21, 2019

Many people who seek photography services do not quite understand why all of the photos are so exclusive. Yes you’re hiring a photographer to do a photo session for you but all photos they capture still belong to the photographer even when they share the photos with you by sending you the file. The photos still belong to the photographer unless you sign to have all rights to each photo which can be very expensive.

It is common for photographers to offer photos individually, charging per image. You hire your photographer for your event or photo session and the photographer takes 100 photos. If you schedule with Photos by Karli, the package you purchased includes only 10 photos. Additional images are available for $20 each (prices vary depending on the photographer you hire). To purchase the full gallery with supreme edits is $250 in addition to the session fee.

To see more information on my pricing click here.

Since these are my prices I can tell you I’m on the lower end of the scale because I like to remain affordable. Another way to get more photos from me is to purchase a photo album. The photos will be available to you displayed in a high quality hard-back photo album where you will have most photos. They will not be available as a digital file unless you purchase per photo or purchase the full gallery.

Why are you met with ‘NO’ when you ask your photographer for the RAW unedited files of your session?

I’ve had a few customers request the RAW files that are straight out of the camera. This leaves me with the impression that they want to edit the photo themselves or have someone (friend of theirs) edit on their behalf. I am uncomfortable with this. Every photographer has a style that is only completed at the end of the editing process. Before hiring someone be sure that you like their style otherwise you’ll be asking for the RAW files and you will be charged a lot for this. Most photographers don’t even offer this as an option.

Most photographers don’t want to give the RAW unedited files because it will no longer reflect the photographer’s work. If you were to edit them yourself and then mention the photographer who shot the photo, giving them credit for taking the photo, what if the editing is not their style at all?

Many photographers feel that their job is simply not done if they didn’t edit the photos and deliver them edited. Photographers want to send their best work that displays their talent. Sending unedited photos, the customer may post them unedited or attempt to edit themselves. At this point you don’t know what the end product will be and it will no longer be a professional photographer’s work.

Here is an example of before and after editing.

Here you can see that the work just simply isn’t done. I’m thankful for the chance to display my style in post editing. I’m sure other photographers take pride in this as well.

I really hope I explained this in a way that everyone can understand and respect a photographer’s decision to not share their unedited, RAW images. You most likely will hear a polite ‘no’.

What do you think about paying per photo after the session fee?

See my blog post titled “A Photographer’s Goal”

Professional Photography is a Luxury

January 1, 2019

How many people want a photo session but feel they can’t afford it?

Let’s face the facts. Everyone has a cell phone these days. Some cell phones take decent pictures. Everyone feels like they have the potential to be a photographer now that they can shoot photos on-the-go with their portable devices. Some people don’t need high quality photos to be happy and satisfied.

On the other hand, our children are growing older every day. In reality, having updated photos on a semi annual basis is a luxury. We don’t need it to survive. It’s not the same as a light bill or food. We will be fine without professional photos.

Many photographers are in your area, waiting to be hired for your next event or photo session. This is what they do for a living and most of them love doing it. This is the income they use to feed their families.

As a photographer with my own business, I’ve gotten invited to events where the host only wanted me to take photos. The hosts assumed I would come and take photos without a formal arrangement. What’s worse is they didn’t offer any compensation as if I should do their session/event for free.

Taking photos at events and photo sessions isn’t as easy as it appears. We take high quality photos at optimal angles with our trained eyes, using our expensive equipment. We then take the photos home and upload them to a computer for post-processing using a software that is not free. There is a lot of time and effort put into delivering high quality photos. Some photographers even after all of that time invested into a session, they still stress about their work and even convince themselves that their photos aren’t good enough for their clients.

Here are 4 reasons why you should hire a photographer to have that photo session that you’ve been dreaming of:

We love what we do.
- Photographers love to take photos. Most of them started their profession because of their love for photography. Who wouldn’t want to make a living doing what they love:?
We are the experts
- When you hire a photographer you are guaranteed to have high quality photos that will capture memories that will last forever. We will do our best to make sure you are satisfied with your pictures and that you get what it is you want out of each session. Photographers know how to pose their subjects, what the best angles are, everyone can be in the photo. Before delivering the photos to you photographers edit the photos and this enhances the portraits.
Affordable
- There are many photographers that work with you, have payment plan options, and some that charge fairly while delivering a set amount of photos. For example, $150 for the session and 10 premium edited photos are included. If you only need one or two photos there are photographers that charge a low session fee and who allow you to choose from the photos that were taken and charge by photo.
A Fun and Awesome Experience
- Everyone that I work with tells me that they hate taking pictures usually, but our session was fun for the entire family. It is something that helps a family bond or a couple become more intimate. It is something that helps a model or actor get more gigs. If you haven’t had a professional photographer take your photos, you will definitely have a great time. I have countless clients talk about how fun it was and how they loved everything about the session and the experience.

Don’t wait until your children are all grown up, you’ll miss capturing their cute little freckles and missing teeth. Create the memories of your lives over time with all of your loved ones by using a professional photographer. My clients leave their sessions super happy with their purchase because a photo session with your family and friends is more than just taking pictures it’s an experience where you make memories. With the right photographer it is money well spent and it’s all worth it.