Real Estate Photography

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

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.

Before Edit

Before Edit

After Edit

After Edit

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. 

Studio

Park

Beach

On Location

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: Michelle Ramirez

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

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.

IMG_3843.JPG

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”

 

Princess Photo Session

I always had a love for photography on both sides of the camera since I was a child. When I decided to start my photography business I did a lot of the same things that other up and coming photographers do. I offered free photo sessions to my closest friends, family, coworkers, and church members.

Prior to anyone taking me up on my free portrait session offer - 2 years ago - I had plans to take my daughter to the park and I had a goal. An entire vision captive in my mind and I wanted to free it by capturing it with my camera for everyone to be in awe including myself. There’s something about having an idea and executing it the way you intended and it rewards you with a feeling of accomplishment like no other. It is so fulfilling. It’s something that only you can feel for yourself. Do it! Set a goal based on a vision and execute it. It is exhilarating.

When shooting these photos I told her imagine you are a princess and you just ran away from somewhere and someone is chasing you through the forest. I told her to have a serious expression and at first she didn’t understand and I told her to trust me. She usually just wants to do her cute little innocent smile but I wanted to introduce her to this variation. She executed perfectly after some direction and encouragement.

I use this photo as my main photo to represent my business. I also printed on a framed canvas I don’t believe I have found a photo that could top everything about it.

What do you think of the session I had with my daughter?