Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)


Water’s Edge Real Estate and Drone Photography (WERED)

 


Who is WERED? 

Toby Dawson and Stephen Thompson of Water's Edge Digital Photography have joined forces to form Water's Edge Real Estate and Drone Photography. Our key photo and video services include real estate interior and exterior imagery, drone-based aerial construction monitoring, and 2D floor planning. We are in the process of developing other related services as well. 


As seasoned and well-known Galveston area photographers, we are also FAA Part 107 Certified commercial drone pilots. Our combined portfolios include camera and drone imagery of real estate, landscape, portraits, weddings, corporate events, and sports events. And we are quite proud to say our real estate photography is to be published in Papercity, River Oaks/Tanglewood Buzz, and Coast Magazine, among other publications.


Please contact us at watersedge.red@gmail.com. 


What services does WERED offer? 

To summarize, WERED provides high quality and timely real estate and commercial photo and video services to real estate agents in the Galveston-Houston area. 


Our specific services include: Real Estate and Commercial and Aerial Construction Monitoring. Here is a sample of our work.

 

The number of photos and length of the video(s) depends on the selected service and based on discussion with the Customer. WERED’s objective is a satisfied Customer and will accommodate service changes as reasonably possible.  


Does WERED take the pictures and videos or is this work outsourced? 

WERED owners take all photographs and videos – no exceptions. WERED does not outsource any work related to your service except for printing hard cover books.

 

How important is professional real estate photos to selling/leasing property? 

The short answer is VERY!


Here is a 2019 Redfin article on this subject - it is worth the 6 minutes to read it.


Approximately how many photos will be needed? 

The number of camera photos needed per session depends on several factors, including displaying the important selling points of the property, the location, and, most notably, the square footage of the property. The below guide provide an estimation of the number of camera photos based on the square footage. Most properties will need 5 or fewer drone photos. 


  • Up to 1000 SQ FT = 10 or more photos


  • 1001 SQ FT to 2500 SQ F = 20 or more photos


  • 2501 SQ FT to 4000 SQ F = 30 or more photos


  • 4001 SQ FT to 5500 SQ FT = 40 or more photos


  • 5501 SQ FT to 7000 SQ FT = 50 or more photos


  • 7001 SQ FT or more = 60 or more photos


How do we engage WERED to provide services? 

We can be reached at watersedge.red@gmail.com. 


What are the WERED service fees? 

Service fees are found in the WERED Services Price List.


All fees include applicable taxes.  


Unless previously discussed with and agreed to by the Customer, WERED does not charge a travel fee. 

 

How do we pay for WERED services and when? 

Payments are arranged during the service needs discussion process with the Customer. Invoices will be provided.

 

When and how does WERED confirm appointments? 

WERED will confirm appointments as many days in advance of the appointment as reasonably possible. All appointments will be confirmed the prior day at a minimum.

 

While email is our preferred method to confirm appointments, we can also call or text Customers as agreed to by WERED. 


Customers are expected to ensure WERED has accurate and complete contact information, including email addresses and mobile numbers, for all applicable Customer staff. 

 

How much on-site time is needed to provide WERED services? 

Most services will require up to one (1) hour of on-site time. In instances where additional time is required WERED will engage and inform the Customer as soon as possible. 


Pre-visit expectations will be determined during the service needs discission with the Customer. 

 

How and when are the photos and/or videos provided to me? 

If possible, and preferred, WERED will review photos and videos with the Customer at the end of the service appointment to facilitate the selection of photos and/or videos.  


All photos and videos will be provided to the Customer via a clickable link to a secure cloud-based service, such as Microsoft OneDrive or Google Drive, sent via email. WERED will not send photos or videos within an email message due to message size limitations of some Customer email systems. 


Customers will be able to view and select photos and videos to be used by the Customer as per the WERED Service Agreement. The Customer should inform WERED of the selected photos and/or videos via email message as soon as possible after the service appointment. WERED will confirm the selected photos and/or videos back to the Customer by adding “Selected” to the file name on OneDrive or Drive. 


Depending on the selected service and when the photos and/or videos are selected, photos and/or videos will be edited and provided to the Customer as stipulated in the Services Price List.

 

What if I need to re-schedule or cancel my appointment? 

WERED requests as much advance notice as possible if an appointment re-schedule is needed to reduce the impact on WERED business. WERED will accommodate all re-schedule requests as reasonably possible. 


There is no cancellation fee if you notify us at least one (1) day before the shoot. 


The same-day cancellation fees are outlined in the WERED Services Price List.


 

What if there is inclement weather on the service appointment date? 

WERED recommends service appointments are completed with acceptable weather (not overcast or rainy).  


WERED will reschedule the service appointment to the next day with acceptable weather, including the following day, if possible, at no charge. This new service appointment date will be confirmed with the Customer to ensure no schedule conflicts. 


The below list provides specific information on how the inclement weather will affect photo and video services: 

 

[1] Interior Photos with Inclement Weather: While the photos can be taken, the inclement weather (example: grey skies) will be displayed in all windows. The sun’s natural light will not augment internal lighting. 


[2] Exterior Photos with Inclement Weather: Cameras will not be used in rainy or similar weather so this service appointment will need to be rescheduled as indicated above.  


[3] Interior Videos with Inclement Weather: While the videos can be taken, the inclement weather (example: grey skies) will be displayed in all windows as “sky replacement” is not possible in videos. The sun’s natural light will not augment internal lighting. 


[4] Exterior Videos with Inclement Weather: Drones cannot fly in rain or with excessive winds so this service appointment will need to be rescheduled as indicated above. 


[5] Interior 2D Floor Plans with Inclement Weather: The inclement weather will not impact the 2D scanning.  


 

Is the direction the front of the subject property faces important? 

The direction of the front of the subject property is critical as photos and videos are usually best when the sunlight highlights the main entrance of the subject property. Shadows can dramatically negatively impact photos and videos by having “dark” areas so avoiding shadows is very important.  


WERED strongly recommends the times of day based on the direction the front of the subject property is facing as follows: 

  • North – Depends on the amount of sun due to the potential for shadows. Sunrise/sunset (*) are usually good times and full cloudy days are also good.  
  • East – Morning (example: around 9:00 AM CST) is usually best. 
  • West – Afternoon (example: around 3:00 PM CST) is usually best. 
  • South – Similar to North-facing subject properties, sunrise/sunset (*) and cloudy days are preferred. 


(*) Sunrise/sunset service appointments will incur an additional cost as indicated in the WERED Services Price List.