Frequently asked questions
We're open Monday through Friday, 8:30 - 5:00pm.
Click the “Login” tab (upper right-hand corner) and then select “Create Account”. Enter your email address and a password and click “Register.” This will take you to a page where you can enter your address, phone number and company details. Once the required fields are completed, click “Save” below. You’re now ready to place your first order.
Once you’re logged into your account, you’ll want to click on the property’s address/photo. Above the thumbnail images, to the left-hand side, click “Download Zip of All Photos”. If you receive the prompt “Save” or “Open”, select “Save”. You may need to designate a folder to save the zip file (typically, saving it to the desktop will make locating the file easier).
Once the download has completed, locate the zip file and right click on it. If you are working on a PC, you may need to select “Extract Here” or “Extract All”. If you are prompted at this stage to select a destination folder, selecting your desktop will make locating the images easier. Once the extraction is completed, the photos will be saved in the designated folder.
Our resource page with video tutorials can be found here:
We cover a 35-mile distance from our office in Minneapolis at no charge. We do also have one satellite photographer in St Cloud who covers a 35-mile radius from St Cloud. For properties outside our coverage area, we charge a drive fee for the photographer's additional time and mileage. The drive fee is based on the property’s distance from our office.
An arrival window is a block of time in which the photographer will be arriving at the property. Typically, it is a 1-2 hour time span.
We schedule an arrival window to provide our photographers with some flexibility. [There was a return carriage here previously.} Our photographers shoot up to seven properties a day and can encounter delays from time to time such as issues at a previous shoot or traffic delays.
We’re happy to have the photographer call you when they’re about 30 minutes from the property. If you would like to receive a courtesy call, please submit the name and phone number for the person the photographer should contact in the “Courtesy Call” section of the order.
The photographer will do their best, however, depending on their schedules, it can be very difficult for them to accurately estimate the precise time they’ll be arriving at the property.
You can let us know your request within the “Additional Notes” section when ordering. We will do our best to schedule you with your preferred photographer(s) but cannot guarantee it. Please note, requesting a specific photographer may affect the date and/or time of the appointment.
We do ask that the home be photo-ready when the photographer arrives. To assist with that, we include the Spacecrafting Checklist document with the confirmation email. The checklist has suggestions for getting your home “photo ready." We recommend de-cluttering the home as much as possible.Our downloadable checklist can be found here
We provide next business day processing for photos. For example, if a property is photographed on a Monday, you’ll receive the photos by the end of the business day on Tuesday. We do offer Saturday processing for our Friday shoots. Photos taken on a Saturday or Sunday will be ready by the end of business day on the following Monday.
Our photographers upload all of their properties at the end of the day after they’ve completed their appointments, and the editing staff begins work on the properties the following morning. We will do our best to get the photos to you as quickly as possible, however, we guarantee by the end of the business day.
We do offer same day processing for an additional $100.00. If you opt for same day processing, we’ll need to schedule the appointment earlier in the day so we can have the photographer rush the photos into the office to be edited. The photos will be ready by the end of the business day. Please note, we recently improved our editing process and are excited to now offer enhanced window views on all of our properties. However, for rush orders, we offer standard window views due to the limited editing time.
Our photo count ranges are based on finished square footage for each of our Trademark packages. We also offer a Showcase package for interiors as well as a Lakeshore/Acreage package for exteriors in case more photos are needed than come with the standard package being ordered. For more information on counts and pricing, click here
It is entirely up to you. If you’d like to meet the photographer and provide any instruction, we’d be happy to have the photographer give you a call on their way to the property. If you or the homeowners do not intend to be at the appointment, we are also happy to have the photographer use a lock box or garage code to access the home and work independently. Our photographers do have access to Supra electronic lockboxes.
It may depend on which direction the property faces. Normally, we photograph east-facing properties in the morning so that sunlight is on the front of the home. If the home has a unique backyard or is west-facing, we would recommend scheduling an afternoon shoot. For north-facing properties, we typically try to avoid mid-day since this can cause the entire property to be in shadow. It’s normally best to shoot south-facing properties after 10am for lighting.
There may also be other conditions to consider. For example, a heavily wooded property may be best photographed on an overcast day to avoid harsh shadows and neutralize lighting issues.
When ordering, please select “Exterior City/Suburb” package ($70.00) or the “Exterior Lakeshore/Acreage” package ($120.00) depending on whether or not the property is on more than five or more acres or lakeshore/riverfront.
In order to properly showcase a property that includes waterfront or five or more acres, the photographer will capture additional photos for the Exterior Lakeshore/Acreage package.
More information can be found here
In order to keep the price point of an Exterior City/Suburb or Exterior Lakeshore/Acreage package affordable and allow agents to order them as necessary, we provide the date of the shoot but not an arrival window. This enables our photographers to do their best to work around weather conditions that may occur the day of the appointment and gives them the flexibility to stop at the property when they are in the area and it best fits in their schedule. If requested, we can provide an estimated time (Morning, Mid Day or Afternoon) but not a specific arrival window. The photographer can also give you a call when they are on their way to the property if you like.
We’re happy to see if the photographer has time to take additional photos. Anytime a photographer needs to access a home, we would need to charge an additional fee. To photograph 2-3 small rooms, we would typically charge our Interior Reshoot package ($150.00). For additional/larger areas, we may need to charge the corresponding square footage package.
Yes, you can order a “Exterior City/Suburb” or "Exterior Lakeshore/Acreage" now and when you’d like the interior photographed, order a tour based on the finished square footage. This essentially amounts to an additional $70.00 charge for the extra time and trip.
We do have a large stock of complimentary neighborhood photos and may have previously photographed the location. Because every listing is unique, we have opened up our full library of stock imagery so you can customize your tour to fit your marketing strategy. Once your order has been placed, you are able to log into your Spacecrafting account and begin adding these photos to your tour at no additional cost. If you are not seeing something in our library that you would like included in your tour, please let us know, and we would be happy to see if the photographer has enough time to stop by to take the photos. We’re constantly adding to and updating our library and will do our best to accommodate requests.
Our resource page has a how to video on adding stock photos to your listing. it can be found here
*Please note, we cannot guarantee we will be able to include specific locations.
We request notification of a scheduling change by the end of the preceding business day. We do have a same day cancellation fee of $35.00 or properties up to 4,000 square feet and aerial shoots and $75.00 for properties over 4,000 square feet and night shoots if you need to cancel or reschedule on the day of the shoot.
If it’s raining or snowing and the photographer is unable to shoot the exteriors, we’ll have the photographer stop back in the next few days when the weather has improved. In most cases, we’re still able to photograph the interior of the home. If you prefer to reschedule entirely due to weather, please contact our office.
*Please note, if it’s overcast on the day of the shoot, we always add in a blue sky at no cost.
It depends on the number of orders we have in queue. If there are only a few orders that need to be scheduled, we're happy to hold a spot until the end of the business day.
However, in an effort to be fair, if there are a number of orders that need to be processed, we can collect the information (date, time and location) and contact you once we’re able to provide a specific date and arrival window.
We have standardized pricing based on the finished square footage of the home, which takes into account the cost of an appointment with one of our photographers and the time it takes for our editing team to process the photos.
*Please note, if only a portion of the home is being photographed, we are able to provide a specific quote based on square footage.
We would be happy to add the photos for you if the photos were taken by the seller or agent. However, we are unable to edit them. Photos can be emailed to support@spacecrafting.com. Unfortunately, we’re unable to add photographs taken by other photographers due to copyright issues.
*Please note, we are not able to add aerial photos that have not been taken by Spacecrafting.
All of our aerial photographers are certified with the FAA and follow strict government regulations in capturing our drone photography. As we are unable to verify that those same regulations were followed with aerial photos taken by those outside our company, we are unable to add them to the tour. You can, however, use them on the MLS and other sites as you wish.
To add your information to the branded tour, login to your account and select the property. Click "Branding" on the left side menu and then "Add New Agent."
Once you've entered your information, select "Save New Agent." When you've completed this step, you'll be able to add your branding to new tours by simply clicking "Add Existing Agent" under the branding menu.
Yes, you can delete photos from the tour. When viewing the thumbnail images within a tour, click in the center of the thumbnail, which will enlarge the photo. Select "Delete This Photo" (upper left of the photo). This will remove the photo from your account, however, we do retain copies if you need them at a later date.
If you'd like to "hide" a photo from the non-branded tour, select the photo's center to enlarge it and change "Can this be shown on non-branded tours?" from "Yes" to "No" (below the photo). Then click the “Next” button to move forward to the next photo. This action will hide the photo from the tour without deleting it.
We’re happy to reach out to the previous agent and discuss this option with them. Spacecrafting retains the long-term usage rights to the photos, but we do like to seek the previous agent’s approval. If the previous agent agrees, we provide them a credit for a future shoot. We would charge the new agent the corresponding square footage package.
Drone photography is a new and growing field, and the laws and regulations are constantly changing. We’re working with our aerial team and the FAA to make sure we follow all existing guidelines. Our aerial photographers are certified and our drones licensed with the FAA.
*Please note, we’re unable to fly our drones in certains areas due to their proximity to airports. We use FAA-approved maps to confirm property locations and discern whether restrictions will apply.
We do ask that you order the Lakeshore and Acreage package. Lakeshore properties require multiple resets with the drone in order to fully capture the property. In addition to the extra time it requires, flying over water increases the risk of damage to the drone.
Yes, if a particular shot of the home was requested, we’d be happy to send the photographer back to the property to take the additional photo.
If the request wasn’t noted in the order or articulated to the photographer, we’ll need to charge a $70.00 return trip fee for the photographer to stop back at the property.
We’re happy to remove minor imperfections or blemishes if you’re planning on having the issue corrected. We want to make sure we’re not misrepresenting the property.
For major modifications (i.e. adding grass/new pavement) to multiple photographs, we charge an editing fee of $60.00 an hour depending on the complexity of the edit.
We deliver the photos via your Spacecrafting account because the images are high resolution and are too large to be emailed.
We have two standard video options: Aerial Video and Architectural + Aerial Video. Our aerial videos provide a unique perspective to showcase the property and the surrounding area. They are set to music with a final playing time of about 1 minute. The Architectural + Aerial Video includes the aerial footage but also highlights six essential areas within the home’s interior, as well. Also set to music, these videos run about 1-1:30 minutes.
Our Lifestyle videos tell the story of the home. It’s a cinematic experience that affords potential buyers the opportunity to view what living in the home would be like. We create a customized storyline highlighting the unique attributes of the property and often include live talent to help showcase the home’s features. For example, if the home is on a lake, actors may be brought in to showcase the lake life or recreational activities
Pricing for Lifestyle videos is based on content. Our “Lite” Lifestyle videos, with a few shots of people moving through the home/driving up to the home, cost roughly $1,250.00-$1,500.00. These videos are normally about 1-1:30 minutes in length. For a complete Lifestyle video, the pricing can range from $2,000 to $4,000+. For a specific quote, please contact our office at 612.353.4073.
More information on Real Estate video can be found here
More information on Custom & Commercial video can be found here
For the safety and convenience of our photographers, we request that if no one will be available to supervise the dog that it be placed in a kennel or in an area of the home that will not be photographed.
Once your virtual staging order has been delivered, we allow one courtesy edit request per order. This means if you had 1 or more images virtually staged , as long as the request is done at the same time all changes will be complimentary and changed on all requested images. Any change request beyond the first will incur additional Charges.
For non custom videos expect a 3 day turn around, and up to 2 days for revisions. Some revisions may require an additional charge