Photography
Photography that shows the knot.
A rug shot badly looks like a rug from anywhere. Shot properly, the weave, the lustre, the abrash and the hand of it come through, and the piece sells for what it is worth.
Photography
A rug shot badly looks like a rug from anywhere. Shot properly, the weave, the lustre, the abrash and the hand of it come through, and the piece sells for what it is worth.
The problem
Fine silk, dark grounds, oversize room sizes and long runners are exactly the pieces a showroom cannot shoot well, and exactly the pieces that carry the most margin.
We send someone with the right kit to your floor, and you keep selling while they work.
The standard
This is the same capture set Rug Vault requires for certification, so photography and listing are one job instead of two.
Full field, corrected for perspective, colour referenced so the palette is true on a buyer's screen.
The single most important frame. Knot structure, foundation and construction are all readable here.
Original, trimmed, re wrapped or replaced. Buyers and appraisers both look here first.
Edge finishing and any repair, shot along the length so the whole side is visible.
Proves pile depth and shows front and back in one frame, which no single flat shot can do.
Close enough to count knots and see fiber. This is where silk stops pretending to be silk.
Pricing for dealers
Billed to your showroom. The photographer is paid by us on contract, so you never negotiate a rate, chase a freelancer or argue about usage rights.
| Volume in one visit | Per rug, six angle set | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 7 rugs | $55 | Minimum booking $285. |
| 8 to 19 rugs | $38 | The usual first booking for an independent showroom. |
| 20 to 49 rugs | $28 | Most efficient bracket. One long day on your floor. |
| 50 rugs or more | $22 | Multi day. Scheduled around your open hours. |
| Full day rate, up to 40 rugs | $850 | Alternative to per rug when sizes vary wildly. |
| Add on | Price | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Cut out transparent background | $12 per rug | Clean catalog and web presentation, no floor, no shadow. |
| Augmented reality asset | $25 per rug | Customer places the rug in their own room from a phone. |
| Room scale render | $30 per rug | Shows the rug at true scale in a furnished room. |
| Oversize handling, 12 ft or more | $18 per rug | Requires two people and overhead rigging. |
| Travel beyond 50 miles | $0.70 per mile | Round trip from the photographer's base city. |
| Rush delivery, 48 hours | plus 35% | Standard turnaround is 5 business days. |
| Tag transcription and data entry | $4 per rug | We read the physical tag and hand you clean structured data. |
The part that changes the economics
Photographers who complete our inspector training carry the bench kit: microscope, calipers, tape and burn test. They can verify construction on your floor, which means a rug can be Vault Certified without ever shipping to us.
Certifying on your floor removes the entire inbound shipment. No packing, no measuring, no weighing, no insuring, so your biggest rugs become sellable online instead of stuck in the showroom.
$185 per visit plus $45 per additional rug inspected, waived above eight rugs in one visit. Bundled free with your first photography booking as a founding dealer.
A numbered certificate, a permanent record page per rug, and a listing that ships once, straight from your floor to the buyer.
For dealers and showrooms
Tell us where you are and how many rugs. We match you with a contracted photographer in your metro and come back with a date and a total.
For photographers
We have dealers who need photography in cities where we have nobody. If you can light a flat object properly and you own a tripod, the rest we train.
Day rates and per rug rates, paid by World of Oriental Rugs on contract. You never invoice the dealer or chase payment.
We teach the six angle capture set, colour referencing and how to handle silk. It is a repeatable process, not an art project.
Complete inspector training and you carry the bench kit, perform Certify in Place visits, and bill at a higher rate.