REALTY STUDIOS
Realty Studios › Full-service media company vs solo photographer vs DIY
Three genuinely different ways to get a listing photographed, with genuinely different costs, timelines and failure modes. Here is the honest comparison — including the cases where you should not hire us.
A full-service media company, a solo photographer and doing it yourself are three genuinely different ways to get a listing photographed, and the right one depends on how many services the listing needs and how costly a missed date would be. A full-service company covers photos, floor plans, drone, video and 3D tours from one booking, with more than one photographer behind the calendar. A solo photographer is often excellent and usually the cheapest photos-only option. Doing it yourself costs only your time.
This comparison covers scope, scheduling, cost, consistency and drone rules, including the cases where hiring us is not the right call.
Per shoot, usually yes; per service, usually not. Once a listing needs photos, a floor plan and drone, three separate bookings normally cost more in money, and considerably more in coordination, than one. For a photos-only listing with a flexible date, a solo photographer is often the cheaper choice. Our own prices are on the price sheet.
Yes, nothing here requires an all-or-nothing choice. One practical split is professional stills and a floor plan for the listing itself, with your own phone clips for social media. The listing photos carry the first impression on the MLS and the portals, so that is where paid media is most likely to earn its cost. See our services.
Every listed price is on our price sheet, read live from the same catalogue that generates your invoice. Photography starts at $159.99 before GST and scales with square footage. Services scoped per project, such as headshots, commercial work and rental portfolios, say that they are quoted instead of showing a price. See the price sheet.
Only if you meet Transport Canada's drone rules, which apply to listing photos like any other flight. Drones from 250 g to 25 kg must be registered and flown by a certified pilot, and flights in controlled airspace, such as near Vancouver International Airport, also need NAV CANADA authorization. If in doubt, hire a certified pilot. About our drone work.
Skip it when paid photography will not change the outcome, such as a low-rent unit you can shoot yourself. It is also the wrong call if you already work with a solo photographer you like and only need stills, or if you need photos in the next couple of hours and someone nearby can go now. Otherwise, check our live availability.
Text or call 604-779-4089 · info@realtystudios.ca