Blogue · 26 septembre 2026 · 5 min de lecture
Real estate photographer travel fees: the detail that changes the invoice (one way or round trip?)
Every real estate photographer charges for travel, but not the same way. Free zone, flat fee, per kilometre one way or round trip: how to read a price grid and avoid the surprise on the invoice.
"Travel is extra." That sentence sits in the terms of almost every real estate photographer in Greater Montreal, and it hides very different realities. Two studios advertising "$1 per kilometre" can bill double for the same address. Here is how to read a travel grid, the detail that matters, and how Dimension 360 calculates its own.
Why travel fees exist
A photo session in Rosemont and a session in Saint-Lin–Laurentides take the same work on site. But the second one takes two hours on the road, and those two hours cannot be billed to another client. Travel is therefore working time, and every studio that does not bill it one way or another recovers it elsewhere: in the package price, or by simply refusing distant mandates.
The problem is not that these fees exist. It is that they are rarely clear before the invoice.
The four ways to bill travel
1. The free zone. The studio serves a territory at no charge. It is the simplest model for the broker, provided you know where the line runs. Some studios say "Montreal and surroundings", which means nothing; others publish a list of cities or a map.
2. The flat fee by zone. Beyond the free zone, a fixed amount ($25, $50, $75) by distance ring. Predictable, but sometimes unfair: the first street of the paid zone costs as much as the last.
3. Per kilometre. A rate multiplied by distance. It looks the fairest. But two questions change everything: the distance is measured from where, and in one direction or both?
4. Travel hidden in the package. No advertised fee, but a higher package for everyone. The broker on the Plateau pays for the one in Mirabel.
The detail that doubles the invoice: one way or round trip
This is the point few brokers check. A studio billing "$1 per kilometre" for a property 60 km away can mean $60 (one way) or $120 (round trip). Both exist, and the second is common in Greater Montreal: the photographer counts that they have to come back.
At the same advertised rate, round-trip billing therefore costs exactly double. A rate of $0.75 per kilometre round trip ends up more expensive than a rate of $1.25 one way, as soon as the property is more than a few kilometres away. It is the question to ask before comparing two studios: "your per-kilometre rate, is it one way or round trip?"
The other question: the starting point. A studio that measures from downtown and another that measures from Laval do not reach the same number for Terrebonne.
How Dimension 360 calculates travel
Our grid rests on three tiers, all shown in the estimator before you confirm:
- Yellow zone: free. 39 municipalities, from Montreal to Saint-Jérôme and from Longueuil to Repentigny, with no fee at all, whatever the number of services. Our city pages show the zone of each municipality, and the interactive map on the site shows the exact outline of each.
- Red zone: flat $50. A slightly farther ring, at a single amount, whatever the number of services ordered. A photo, video, drone and 2D plan session in that zone costs $50 in travel, not four times $50.
- Per kilometre, one way: $1.25 per kilometre. Beyond the two zones, the road distance is calculated from our starting point in eastern Montreal (Anjou area), for the outbound trip only. The return is never billed.
The amount shows in the estimator, on the "Travel" line, before confirmation. It is part of the total you see and can show your seller. No recalculation afterwards, no surprise line on the invoice.
A concrete example
A property in Saint-Sauveur, in the Laurentians, outside both zones. Road distance from our starting point: about 75 km.
- At Dimension 360: 75 km × $1.25 = $93.75, one way.
- At a studio charging $1 per kilometre round trip: 150 km × $1 = $150.
- At a studio charging $0.80 per kilometre round trip from downtown (about 85 km): 170 km × $0.80 = $136.
The lowest advertised rate is not the cheapest travel. What counts is the calculation method.
What travel fees never change
Our packages are the same everywhere. A condo in Saint-Jérôme is photographed for $175 like a condo in Griffintown; a regular house in Lavaltrie costs $250 like in Laval. Distance changes the "Travel" line, never the price of the service. Some studios do the opposite, with a higher "regional rate": that is a travel fee that does not say its name. The full grid is in our article on prices.
Three reflexes for a broker
- Group your mandates. Two properties in the same area on the same day is a single trip. Mention it at booking and travel is billed once.
- Check the zone before promising a price to the seller. The estimator gives the amount in thirty seconds; it is more reliable than an estimate from memory.
- Ask for the calculation method from any studio you compare: starting point, one way or round trip, and whether the amount is flat or per service.
Why we bill only the outbound trip
Because the return is not lost time for the client: it is when the selection and processing of the photos begin, and it is also often the drive to the next session. Billing the round trip is billing the same time twice. It remains our choice, and it is written in our terms and conditions.
A mandate off the island? The online estimator shows the "Travel" line before confirmation, for any address in Quebec.
Dimension 360 — services
Photographie immobilière · Photo et vidéo par drone · Vidéo immobilière · Plan d'étage 2D
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