Ask the agent

A builder offered me a full-time job. Take it or stay independent?

A salary is one client with a badge

Builders build in cycles. When starts slow, marketing is cut first, and in-house photo is marketing. Pull his permit count this year against last from the county site. That’s his stability, in a number.

Your agents don’t wait. Six months in-house and they have a habit that isn’t you. Agents are loyal to whoever’s reliable right now, and right now you’d be at a desk.

And read the offer for what it is. He’s not offering to make the lumpy months smooth. He’s offering to replace every other client with himself. Lumpy comes from having a handful of clients. One client isn’t smooth. It’s on or off.

The benefits are real. Price them. Whatever health insurance costs you a month, the retainer has to cover it, or it isn’t a counter-offer.

Turn the job into a monthly retainer

Here’s the offer he didn’t make, and it’s the one I’d take.

A fixed monthly fee for a set scope: a set number of model homes, progress shoots, clips, on a calendar. He gets a photographer who shows up, without a W-2 and a desk.

Ownership stays yours. Your name on the work, your editor, your agents on the other days. Same monthly figure as the salary if you like. Different lines about who owns the work.

I was on the other side of this for ten years as an agent, buying photos listing by listing. What I wanted was never a photographer on staff. It was one I didn’t have to think about. A retainer gives the builder exactly that. He doesn’t need you on payroll. He needs you on Tuesdays.

Take the job when you have no business to lose

There is one version where you take the job. Be honest about whether it’s yours.

A handful of shoots a month and none of them repeat: you have a hobby with an income. Take it, keep your weekends, shoot on the side.

Three agents who book you twice each: you have a business. In two years it’s worth more than the salary, and the salary can’t be sold.

Either way, get the job description in writing. If it says "and social media, and the website," it’s two jobs at one salary.

The 90-day term is the point. It gives him the stability he asked for and gives you the exit you’d never get from a resignation. If it works, renew it. If his starts slow, you still have your agents.

Straight answers

Should a real estate photographer take an in-house job with a builder?

Only if you have no business to lose: a few shoots a month and none repeating. If three agents book you twice each, you have a business, and a retainer beats the salary.

What is a photography retainer for a builder?

A fixed monthly fee for a set scope, model homes, progress shoots, clips, on a calendar, usually on a 90-day term. You keep your name on the work, your editor and your agents.

How do I counter a full-time job offer with a retainer?

One page: the scope, the monthly number, the term. Say you can’t take the job but can give him what he’s after, send it, and stop talking.

Related questions

• How do I set up a retainer for an agent who lists ten homes a month?
• When is it safe to go full time as a real estate photographer?
• Should I shoot exclusively for one real estate agent?

Julian Lundgren sold real estate for ten years before he shot a listing for money. He runs Cineminn, a Minneapolis real estate photography studio, and writes these answers from the agent’s side of the table. Send a question to info@cineminn.com.