Blogue · 10 octobre 2026 · 5 min de lecture
How to choose a real estate photographer in Montreal: ten checks
Ten checks before booking a real estate photographer in Montreal: published prices, photo count, HDR windows, delivery time, drone authority, travel fees, licence, weather terms, retouching and portfolio.
Montreal has no shortage of people who will photograph a listing. Choosing the right real estate photographer in Montreal is harder than it looks, because most portfolios look similar on a phone and most quotes are compared on a single number. That number is the least telling part. These ten checks take about fifteen minutes before booking, and they separate a photographer who protects your listing from one who merely shows up.
1. Is the price published, or do you have to ask?
A published price list saves a round of emails per listing and lets you give the seller a number on the spot. A photographer who "quotes according to the property" can quote differently next month. Look for a public price list and a calculator that returns a total for a given address. As a reference point, our own list starts at $175 for a condo (25 photos), $200 for a one-storey home (35), $250 for a regular house (40), $325 for a large house (60) and $425 for a prestige property (90), and our price breakdown shows every line.
2. Does the photo count match the property?
A package of "20 photos" for a 2,500 square foot house misses half the rooms. The number of photos should follow the type of property. Ask what is included for a condo, a regular house and a large home, and make sure the count refers to edited photos, not bonus images straight from the camera.
3. How are the windows handled?
This is the quickest portfolio test. Open a photo of a room with a big window. If the window is a white rectangle, the technique is weak. If you can see the yard through it while the room stays bright and natural, exposures were blended properly, typically in HDR on a tripod. Ask whether colour is corrected room by room, and whether lamps and bulbs of mixed colours are handled. Fast flash shots can look harsh and flat, so ask which method was used for the samples you are looking at.
4. What is the delivery time, and is it guaranteed?
"Usually within 48 hours" can become four days in May. Ask for a stated delivery time and an option for urgent listings. Our standard is 24 hours, with same-day delivery available as an exclusive $110 option; how 24-hour delivery works explains what to do while you wait.
5. Who flies the drone, and under what authority?
Drones are regulated by Transport Canada, and airspace around Montreal is restrictive in some sectors. Ask who the pilot is, what certification they hold and how airspace is checked for each address. Ask also what is included: at Dimension 360, ten aerial photos are a $110 extra and never part of a photo package. Our drone certification guide lists the questions to put to any pilot.
6. How is travel charged?
Travel fees can change the invoice more than the package. Ask for a map or a clear rule: a free zone, a fixed supplement, or a per-kilometre rate, and whether the distance is measured one way or both ways. In our case, 39 municipalities are in the free zone, the extended zone is a flat $50 and beyond that it is $1.25 per kilometre. The detail that moves the bill is covered in our travel fees article.
7. What does the licence allow?
You want to use the photos on Centris, social media, brochures and your website for as long as the listing is active, and you do not want a competing broker reusing them. Ask for the licence in writing, and check who owns the images. The rules in Quebec are explained in our copyright guide.
8. What happens with weather, reschedules and unprepared properties?
Rain, a delayed key, a tenant who is not ready: all of these will happen at some point. A professional has written terms for them. Ask what is kept if it rains (interiors usually go ahead), whether the drone is rescheduled without charge when conditions are unsafe, and how tenant access is handled. For an occupied property, reasonable notice is 24 hours, with visits between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m.
9. What about corrections and retouching?
Ask which corrections after delivery are included: a colour tweak, a crop, a missed detail. Then ask how advanced edits are priced. Our extras are published: virtual twilight at $35 per photo, object removal at $35 per photo, virtual staging at $30 per photo. Ask also how significant edits are disclosed. An image that is virtually furnished or heavily retouched needs a clear mention in the listing, in line with the fair representation rules of the OACIQ, and a photographer who does not raise it first is a warning sign.
10. Does the portfolio match your listings, and your language?
A studio that only shoots downtown condos is not necessarily comfortable with a large lot in Mascouche, and the reverse is also true. Ask for samples in your property type and area, and for the sectors the photographer covers. If your clients or colleagues work in English, check that the website, the booking process and the confirmation messages exist in both languages. Ours does: the site and the booking are available in French and in English.
A simple scoring sheet
Print the list, give each check one point for a clear answer and zero for a vague one, and compare two or three photographers side by side. Anything under seven out of ten means you will be making assumptions about something that affects your listing. Do not choose on price alone: a very low price usually means one of the ten has been dropped.
In short
Published prices, a photo count that follows the property, windows handled properly, a stated delivery time, a pilot you can verify, clear travel rules, a written licence, written weather terms, transparent retouching and a portfolio that matches your market. Ten checks, fifteen minutes, and a choice that holds for dozens of listings.
Check our answers against your list. Our prices and rules are laid out in the online estimator, with the exact total for any address.
Dimension 360 — services
Photographie immobilière · Photo et vidéo par drone · Vidéo immobilière · Plan d'étage 2D
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