Agent Reuses 2020 Photos in 2026 — Are You Charging a License Fee?21655
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 Owner,Managing Editor and Publisher of WGAN Forum and WGAN-TV Podcast Fairfield, California |
TomSparks private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Curious how the group handles this one. A real estate photographer shoots an apartment unit in a downtown condo for an agent back in 2020. Photos delivered, unit rented, everyone's happy. Fast forward to 2026. The agent reaches out — the unit is going back on the market and they can't find the images. Can the photographer send them over? The photographer digs into the archive, pulls the files, and quotes a fee to restore and re-upload them: roughly 75% of the original shoot price. The agent calls back: "Oh, don't worry about it — I actually found them. The unit was listed last week and just got rented yesterday." So the images got used again. Six years later. On a new listing. Zero dollars to the photographer. To also add, this real estate agent has ordered maybe 3 times since 2020, not a regular client or a loyal client. Here's what I'd love to hear from the group: 1. Are you charging a license fee for reuse like this? If so, what are your terms — time-limited license? Single-listing use? Perpetual with the original agent but not transferable? Do you spell it out on the invoice, in a contract, or in your terms of service? 2. If you're not charging, why not? Is it a relationship play? Not worth the friction? Unenforceable in practice? Or do you just deliver files and consider the transaction closed? And a follow-up for anyone who's actually been here: have you ever successfully collected on a reuse? Or does it always end with "well, I already had them on my hard drive"? Interested in how folks structure this — especially anyone with language that's actually held up. |
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 WGAN FanCLUB Member Coeur d'Alene, Idaho |
lilnitsch private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I don’t. Honestly, so much of my business comes from referrals and long-term relationships that I try not to nickel-and-dime clients over things like this. If an agent calls me looking for archived images, I’ll usually just send them over if I still have them. It’s a small gesture that often builds more goodwill than the value of the archive fee. That goodwill has come back to me many times over in the form of repeat business and referrals. Now, if we’re talking about a builder, property manager, vacation rental, commercial client, or someone using the images outside the original purpose, that’s a different conversation. Those situations often have a broader commercial value and warrant a different licensing discussion. For a typical real estate listing, though, I’d rather be remembered as the photographer who made their life easier than the one who sent an unexpected invoice six years later. In my experience, relationships tend to pay better than archive fees. |
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denlee private msg quote post Address this user | |
| In most cases, agents make very little from a rental compared to a sale, so demanding a fee in this case is not smart business. | ||
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Owner, Managing Editor and Publisher of WGAN Forum and WGAN-TV Podcast Fairfield, California |
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| @denlee we're talking in a market that has rents ranging from $3k/month to $35k+ a month. Real Estate Agents commissions for rentals are often half to a full months rent, sometimes 10-15% of the total annual lease value. The photographers fee for storing, finding, reuploading, etc is pennies compared to the agents commission. | ||
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Owner, Managing Editor and Publisher of WGAN Forum and WGAN-TV Podcast Fairfield, California |
TomSparks private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @lilnitsch I see that side of it. I would guess if the agent had been a regular ordering client of the photographer maybe the photographer wouldn't mind.. but if the agent orders less than 1x a year I think its a different conversation to be had. | ||
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WGAN Fan CLUB Member Coeur d'Alene, Idaho |
lilnitsch private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I think it also depends on what segment of real estate you’re working in. Most of my clients are residential listing agents whose primary business is helping sellers market and sell homes—not managing rentals. On occasion, I do photograph long-term rentals or vacation rentals, but those are typically for the property management or rental agency, which is a completely different type of client and business model. For me, a home that comes back on the market years later is usually just another opportunity to reconnect with that agent. I’d rather earn the next full photo shoot than spend time debating an archive or reuse fee. Every business is different, but I’ve found that taking care of my clients has generated far more repeat business and referrals than trying to monetize every reuse of a set of listing photos. |
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denlee private msg quote post Address this user | |
| The current median monthly residential asking rent (all property types combined) in Fairfield, CA is $2,299 per month (May 2026 market data from Realtor.com). Few landlords will pay more than 50% of a month's rent (total) to agents, and that is often split between two agents. Assuming the listing agent does not produce the tenant, and they're on a 75%/25% split with their broker, their net commission at the median rent is half a month's rent divided by two, times 75% = $431. Any agent telling you that they're getting 10-15% of the total annual lease value is full of it. |
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Owner, Managing Editor and Publisher of WGAN Forum and WGAN-TV Podcast Fairfield, California |
TomSparks private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @denlee thanks for the comment but I'm not referring to my market, or even me as the photographer. This was a question that came up that i'd like input from the group on. It's help for others that may not know IF to charge, or how to charge. Tom |
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denlee private msg quote post Address this user | |
| For those wondering how much a typical REALTOR is going to profit from you by re-using photos that they already paid you for on a rental, I created an online calculator, which has been approved by my broker wife, who has been a Texas REALTOR for 29 years. She says this is a good 'rule of thumb' estimate: https://www.3dtourssa.com/rental-commission/ - Enter any monthly rent and click UPDATE |
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Owner, Managing Editor and Publisher of WGAN Forum and WGAN-TV Podcast Fairfield, California |
TomSparks private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @denlee the topic was about license fees, not what we assume a realtor or agent is making on the listing. Look at it this way: if the photographer didn't have the photos, the agent would have to pay for a new shoot. From a business owner's point of view, the photographer is offering a service. They shouldn't feel obligated to adjust their fees based on what the agent is making in commission. And while I appreciate you getting your wife's approval on the calculator you made (I'd probably do the same if my wife was in my line of work), you're in a market where rent is roughly 64% less expensive than the top three highest rental markets. Not really an apples-to-apples comparison. To keep with the original topic of this post, I'd love to hear your thoughts on a couple of things: Are you charging a license fee for reuse like this? If so, what are your terms — time-limited license? Single-listing use? Perpetual with the original agent but not transferable? Do you spell it out on the invoice, in a contract, or in your terms of service? If you're not charging, why not? Is it a relationship play? Not worth the friction? Unenforceable in practice? Or do you just deliver files and consider the transaction closed? And a follow-up for anyone who's actually been here: have you ever successfully collected on a reuse? Or does it always end with "well, I already had them on my hard drive"? |
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WGAN Fan CLUB Member Coeur d'Alene, Idaho |
lilnitsch private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I suppose along a similar line would be "Agent Re-Branding" if/when an agent changes brokerages. This is another service I give my agents though it is as time allows of which my agents have been ok with | ||
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