They don't cover your expenses, pay is below minimum wage once you do the math, software platforms are horrendous, and overall a far cry from what is promised.
An example of the math: Job - 5 bedroom house / Photos - Floor plan - 360 - Matterport.
Total Pay = £50 - £10.00 travel = £40.00
(note: this isn't taking in to account consumables like batteries for your flash, Insurance, or gear in general like extra battery packs, your phone, computer, tripod etc....all at your cost)
Time taken:
Travel - 1 hour return (No reimbursement in majority of the cases, you need to beg or they'll try sneak ignorance into the invoicing. Approx 40 miles @ AA rate of 25p per mile = -£10. When they do reimburse, they pay a measly 8p per mile, hardly enough to cover fuel, let alone your time and actual cost)
Floor-plans - 1.25 hours (measure up and draft rough sketch)
Photography - 1 hour
360 Vieweet - 45 minutes
Matterport - 1 hour
If all goes well and you don't have too chatty a client, or your Vieweet/Matterport software doesn't glitch, you can be off site and back home in approximately 5 hours, but then the headache work really starts.
Draw official floor-plans - 45 minutes
Upload Photos after sifting your best twenty - 30 minutes
Re-arrange Vieweet links - 1 hour
Tweak and align Matterport - 1 hour
That comes to a total of 8 hours and 15 minutes. Divide that by your extravagant £40 wage and boom = You have just been milked for £4.84 per hour.
You're a photographer right? You're worth more, get yourself onto Freelance sites that are worth their salt, or buddy up with a Designer and create yourself a website offering your services. The review listed "Loyalty is a one-way street" is spot on. I'm glad I'm not alone in feeling a little miffed about the shenanigans of Focal Agent.
