top of page

FAQ

  • Why should I use a professional photographer?
    Professional photos are beneficial to homes and projects of all sizes and scopes. A large, opulent home needs to be professionally showcased, and a small, dilapidated home needs all of the help it can get. Regardless, exceptional photos help homes sell for much more than it costs to procure them. We save you time and make you money not just now, but forever. With our photos in your portfolio, future clients know that you only use the best.
  • Why choose That One Summer?
    Our overarching philosophy is to deliver a set of photos that are both practical and beautiful, where they fit on a listing website as well as a magazine spread. All for a reasonable price. We deeply care about the accuracy, consistency, and style of our photos, and we hope you see that in our work. In addition, we respect your schedule and that of your clients; we highly value punctuality and reliability.
  • How many pictures do you deliver?
    There is no predetermined amount of photos, unless requested. We capture, edit, and deliver as many as are necessary.
  • What all is included?
    All of the following at no extra cost: Every shoot includes a shareable webpage ("Tour") that includes all of the media we produced, as well as property and agent information, which you can fill out. Minor photo touchups and video edits. Videos include carefully selected aerial clips. Aerial photos can have pins, outlines, and points of interest added. Floorplans include measurements, fixed furniture, separate plans for each floor as well as one combined plan.
  • What is your turnaround time?
    We are constantly working to reduce our turnaround time, and often deliver before our deadline, but quality takes time. Photos are delivered by the morning two days after the photo shoot. For example, a Tuesday photo shoot will have its photos delivered by 10:00am Thursday morning. Exceptions are weekends, where a Friday photo shoot has a delivery by Monday morning, and holidays, where the delivery time is extended by the length of the holiday. Videos are delivered within 48 hours of the appointment.
  • How do I set up an appointment?
    You can request an appointment through the Book Now link. If you don’t have an account, you can create one. In your request, you can give a specific date and / or time for the shoot, or leave that part blank. Any notes, such as access information, can be put in the “Shoot Notes” field. You may also contact our scheduler, Christy Meyer, to set up a shoot: chris@thatonesummer.com 314-384-9997 (call or text)
  • Does anyone need to be there for the photoshoot?
    We actually prefer if no one else is there! The fewer people and cars that need to be shuffled around, the better. However, it is not necessary that the home be vacated, and we understand that that is not always possible.
  • Do you have Supra access?
    Yes!
  • How should a home be prepared?
    Generally, less is more. Keep as few things on your surfaces as possible. That includes the floor, the counters (kitchen and bathroom), desk tops, etc. Think of your house as a showroom. Closets, unfinished areas, and the garage are great places to hide things. Those areas won’t be photographed unless requested. Check out our Home Prep Checklist.
  • How should a home be prepared for twilight photos?
    Please note that we recommend twilight photos for homes with plenty of exterior lighting. Your money may be better spent elsewhere if it only has lights by entryways and other typical placements. The home MUST be prepared by time of sunset, which varies by time of year and by daylight savings time. A quick internet search will give you today’s sunset time. A home is prepared by having all exterior lights turned on, as well as all interior lights in rooms with a window. We do not want any dark windows. Don’t forget that this may include the garage and closets, which sometimes have windows. Blinds and drapes need to be opened so that light can be seen from the outside. At about 15 minutes after sunset, we will photograph the front and back of the house, so please make sure the back of the house is prepared, as well. Don’t forget the pool light! The exact time we begin photographing varies based on the sky/light. If a home is vacant or unoccupied, we can arrive early to turn on the lights ourselves. However, we must be informed of this before the appointment — otherwise we may not have enough time. Access can be granted by Supra, lockbox, or other method.
  • Can we move things around during the shoot?
    For normal photography, if you can’t find enough storage to hide things, you can move items to rooms that aren’t currently being photographed. Keep in mind that the photographer’s time is limited and that we may have to move pretty quickly. For video capture, things will need to be well-hidden to stay out of sight of a moving camera, as opposed to a still camera. If you want videography, please be sure to have the home as clutter-free as possible. For aerial photos/video, the whole exterior of the house needs to be photo-worthy. That is, no moving of items will be possible once the UAV (drone) is in the air.
  • Does this decoration look better than that one? Should this room have/lack a certain item?
    We cannot say one way or the other with any authority. We have seen thousands and thousands of homes, many staged by professionals with contradictory styles. If you think it looks good, go with it.
  • How long does a photo shoot take?
    About 40-60 minutes for the average home. Larger homes require more time, of course. We work under the assumption that the house is ready to be photographed in the state it is in when the photographer arrives for the shoot.
  • How are photos/videos delivered?
    Through your account here. Photos: an automated email from noreply@viewshoot.com will be sent to you once your photos are completed and uploaded. If you have paid for the photo shoot, that email will also contain download links and web page tour links. If you have not yet paid, the email will have a link you can follow to pay online. Once payment is made, you will receive the email that has download links. Videos: same as above, except, in addition to having a link to download the video, we will also include a link to the video on YouTube.
  • What should we do about less-than-ideal weather?
    Ultimately, that’s up to you. Gray skies can be alleviated by “sky replacement”. Rain does not show up in photos except as wetness on the ground (unless it’s raining very hard). Video is more affected by those two problems. Snow cover is problematic, but if a listing needs to get on the market, there’s little we can do at the time. Often, when the weather is better, we are asked to set up another appointment for fresh, unclouded exterior photos.
  • Are there any caveats for aerial photography / video?
    Yes. Inclement weather is more of a factor here. Any precipitation will cancel an aerial photography appointment, as will very high winds. There are also possible restrictions if a home is very close to an airport. This is something we will need to evaluate on a case-by-case basis.
  • How can I use the photos / videos?
    By paying for our services, That One Summer LLC and Tom Chlebowski extend a license to you to use the resulting material only for the purpose of 1.) selling / leasing / renting the property photographed / captured and 2.) promoting your products and services related to the selling / leasing / renting of real property in both electronic and physical media. This license does not have a time limit. This license does NOT include the ability to use our material as part of another work for sale or other form of profit. You may NOT share the media with any third party business that may use the media for any commercial purpose. If you have a question concerning what you may use our material for, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

© That One Summer LLC

bottom of page