Educating Realtors about Virtual Tours

Jake
With the slow down in real estate work, I've been working on other revenue sources and have found the approach that seems to be working well;

I'm calling the unique (non-franchise), local restaurants and pitching what I call a Feature Page on VirtualAlbuquerque.com for $395. That's a 4 scene tour, a still photo and downloadable pdf menues, setup and hosting for a year. The second year of hosting is $120

I had it in my head that my pricing might be high, but did a comparison of other advertising that businesses that would fit with VirtualAlbuquerque had available. Like the New Mexico Magazine, Albuquerque the Magazine and Official Albuquerque Visitors Guide. A sixth page ad is $750-$800 for one issue!!

What's helped is that the Scalo Northern Italian Grille I added in October is kind of a high profile restaurant and the other restauranteurs pay attention to what he does.

Scalo is getting an average of 273 Feature page Views per month and each of his 3 menus are getting 25-39 downloads per month. The owner interpreted those downloaded menus as really interested potential customers.

I'm pointing that out to the other restaurants and one is going ahead with a Feature Page and no one else has said no, just holding off right now.

I'm also getting back to places I added when we first started the site. I didn't really have a business plan for VirtualAlbuquerque.com then and I've never charged most of them for being on the site. Now I'm working on getting them setup paying the Annual Hosting Fee and, again, its easier than I thought i would be.

The comment the owner of Scalo made really got me thinking differently. He said "We're (meaning independent restaurants) all looking for affordable ways to advertise."

I've finally got it into my head that compared to magazines, $395 for a the whole first year and $120 for the second is a bargain.

And after making $100 profit on a 4 scene real estate tour for a couple years, charging $395 for those same 4 scenes feels great. I just need to kepp selling more of them.

Douglas Aurand
Albuquerque, NM

Jake
iPIX doesn't have a "Full Screen" option, but I probably won't be using it after September.

Its just easy to use the webpage template on that link by coverting the TIFF Equirectangular Projections to the iPIX file type

But there's little difference in the processing time to produce 2 difference version of the same image. Just a few clicks in iPIX Interactive Studio. I like to make a small version of a scene for Dial-Up users and the large version for broadband.

I think there's still a lot more dial-up users than the "surveys" say. On my website I have some streaming video and offer dial-up and broadband versions. The dial-up versions get viewed 2 to 3 times more than the broadband versions. Even the surveys suggest 20-25% of US Internet users still have dial-up.

Which image(s) did you see the "twinkling" in?

I think maybe its a matter of just a little too much sharpening. When I composite my source images using HDR or Enfuse, they get just a little soft on the edges. I just discovered Unsharp Mask a few weeks ago and have tried to use it lightly, but maybe I applied a little too much.

Douglas Aurand
Albuquerque, NM

Robert
You're comparing apples and oranges

The recording artist created the work on their own, they weren't hired to to produce it.

When I produce photos without an order or request from a customer they're mine and I retain all copyrights. I've licensed a few to be used on Realtor websites to show scenes of Albuquerque, making it clear, in writing, that thet's all they can use them for.

But if a Realtor or, recently, a Restaurant hires me to photograph their listing or restaurant, they own the copyright. For the restaurant I used a simple agreement that puts this in writing

Under US copyright & patent law there is a principle call "Work for Hire." Unless you have a contract to the contrary, when you are "hired" to do work, the employer owns the copyright.

Since I would never have photographed a specific home unless the Realtor hired me, I treat them as the owners of the work.

If I shoot homes in a neighborhood for my own purposes (I'm working on a website thats a tour of Albuqerque's Neighborhoods), obviously the work belongs to me.

Douglas Aurand
Albuquerque, NM

I can see your point Robert.

I think that when a record label contracts the musician to create the musical asset, the record label then owns the music (with whatever contract stipulations they both agree on).

In my case, the Okanagan real estate agent contracts me (Willis eTech Ltd) to photograph a property and they own the asset under whatever stipulations we agree on. The agreement i make is that although i shot the images, the Vernon, Kelowna, Penticton or Osoyoos real estate agent can use them as they wish.

With an asset that has such longevity as music, the contract agreement must protect both parties perpetuallly, and it must be very complicated. I feel it's best not to complicate the agreement or relationship with my clients here in the Okanagan Valley. It's bad for business as i see it and the images really have a short shelf life anyway. They are not art pieces that will increase in value when i kick the bucket...

Jake
John Willis
Willis eTech Ltd.

Robert
That's why commercial photographers can't get any work from Realtors, even for million dollar homes when the higher quality photography and price is justified

Here's a real life situation; my biggest Realtor customer spent $8000 with me last year.

Like most Realtors, she doesn't get all her listings sold. Most high volume agents have about a 50% sucess rate.

Occasionally the new listing agents want to use the photos and virtual tour I made for my big customer who paid for them in the first place.

I have 2 choices;
1. take the approach that I own the work and am only licensing it to my big customer and sell it again to an agent who rarely if ever uses me for their listings, or

2. tell the rare customer they have to buy the photos & tour from my big customer and whatever price they work out and I will charge $20 to change the agent names & photos, repost to Realtor.com, make new CDs and print thumbnails on glossy photo paper.

Result;
Choice #1 will make my big customer furious and she'll never order any work from me again.

Choice #2 both my big customer and rare customer, realize I won't sell work they paid for out from under them.

You're comparing apples & oranges. If I photograph something for my own use, of course I own it and sometimes license photos to people, but if I get hired to photograph something, unless I have a contract to the contrary, they own the work under the "Work for Hire" pinciple of the US copyright and patent laws.

I've just didn't have the balls to tell a restaurant company that paid me well to do stills and virtual tours of 2 of their restaurants, they they wouldn't own the stills or 360° images

Douglas Aurand
Albuquerque, NM