Last call for PMRE: the industry, in one room

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Last week in real estate media... PMRE put out a $100-off "last call" code, long-time Matterport subscribers are unhappy about a camera deal they can't get, Photoshop is now tagging generative edits inside your files, and the Compass fight with the MLSs keeps growing. Here's the rundown.

PMRE 2026 is about three weeks out, and if you haven't registered yet, founder Brandon Cooper is offering $100 off with code LASTCALL. Standard registration drops from $899 to $799, plus a $39.95 fee. Early Bird is sold out, and registrations are non-refundable. As of Oct 26, no end date is posted for the code.

Register: PMRE 2026 registration

If you still need a room, the Palms group-rate booking page now shows reservations as closed. The F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend starts Nov 19, PMRE's last day, so expect Vegas hotels to be busy.

The conference runs Nov 17-19 in the KAOS Showroom at Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas. Optional workshops are Monday, Nov 16, and the pre-registration meetup is Nov 16 at 6:30pm.

What is PMRE? Photo + Media for Real Estate is an annual conference in Las Vegas for real estate photographers and media business owners. This is the 8th year; founder Brandon Cooper has run it since 2019. Alongside the main sessions, the Nov 16 workshops include Real Estate Videography with Brad Ziemer and Dean Christy (waitlist only), Automate Your Real Estate Media Business with Matt Gia of AutoHDR, Capturing Luxury with Wayne Capili, Tony Colangelo and Fraser Almeida, and Real Estate Media, Refined with Gary Kasl and Andrew Bramasco.

Learn more about PMRE and Brandon Cooper in the podcast below.

Details: pmreconference.com | PMRE FAQ

On Oct 8, Matterport narrowed its plans for new customers to Professional and Enterprise. Starter and Business are no longer sold. The new entry point is Professional with 10 spaces at $108/month ($1,080/year). Before the change, according to PricingSaaS, Starter was $14/month for 5 spaces and Professional started at 20 spaces for $69/month.

Existing subscribers keep their plans as "Legacy" at their current price and can move between Legacy plans. Cancel, even for non-payment, and you can't go back to Legacy.

The same day, Matterport launched the Pro3 Plus Package: the Pro3 kit for $1,995 with a 24-month plan of 50+ spaces. That's where the backlash started. In photographer groups, long-time subscribers are frustrated that the deal needs a new subscription, and Matterport's store says Legacy plans can't be upgraded to current plans. At 50 spaces, the two-year commitment comes to $7,875 ($1,995 plus $245 a month for 24 months). For anyone starting over with just a space or two to host, the cheapest current plan is $108 a month, or $1,080 a year, since the Free plan can't host Pro-camera spaces. Some members are looking at other 3D tour options.

Learn more: Matterport | Subscription plan changes | Matterport | Price list | PricingSaaS | Before and after

AutoHDR keeps shipping editing models built on named photographers' styles. October alone brought Luxe (Luca Prodi, Oct 6), True (Brian Cole, Oct 13), Melt (Trevor Melton, Oct 19, the first paired with presets) and Pulse (Brian Kitts, Oct 23). Editorial came before them, on Sep 18.

AutoHDR now lists 13 creator-model engines across nine named families, plus its everyday Iris model, Ember for twilights, and 18 photo presets. The creator models cost more: 2 to 5 credits a photo, versus 1 for Iris. At monthly list prices a credit runs $0.48 to $0.80 depending on plan.

Is that too many? You pick a model per shoot at upload, with separate indoor and outdoor choices and an account default. AutoHDR's own workshop email put it bluntly: "Run the wrong model and the output is terrible." Jonathan Shilton's Oct 21 video runs the same photos through AutoHDR's models, up to the 5-credit creator models, but not Melt or Pulse. It's in Watch & Listen below.

Learn more: AutoHDR | Models | AutoHDR | Pricing

Since August, Adobe automatically attaches C2PA Content Credentials when a generative AI tool changes an image in its apps. In Photoshop that covers Generative Fill, Generative Expand and the Remove tool in generative mode (Lightroom's version is Generative Remove). Adobe's FAQ says the metadata can't be disabled for qualifying content, pointing to new laws like the California AI Transparency Act and the EU AI Act.

For listing photos, that means a quick generative object removal now marks the file as "Edited using Generative AI." Traditional tools don't trigger it: Content-Aware Fill, Spot Healing, Clone Stamp, and the Remove tool with Generative AI turned off.

Adobe adds no visible label, so each platform decides what to show. How Zillow, Realtor.com and MLSs handle them isn't publicly documented.

Learn more: Adobe | AI content labeling FAQ

In a sponsored Inman post, Giraffe360 CEO Mikus Opelts shared 30 days of the company's tour data, about 2.34 million sessions. By its count, 45% of sessions ended on the first scene, 27% went on to open 11 or more scenes, and 67% were on phones.

His advice: choose the opening scene as carefully as a lead photo, and check every tour on a phone before it goes live.

Disclaimer: This is sponsored content on Inman, written by Giraffe360's CEO. The numbers are Giraffe360's own data from tours it hosts.

Read: Inman (sponsored) | Half your virtual tour viewers leave after one room

Fotello has started advertising pay-per-photo editing, with an Instagram ad promising no monthly or recurring cost. It's an added option, not a replacement. Fotello's subscription plans are still on sale.

How it works isn't clear yet. Fotello's support team told us it's $0.80 per photo, and a Fotello team member posted the same price on LinkedIn. But you won't find it on Fotello's pricing page.

What you will find there can be confusing. The $0.50 per photo listed is the charge for extra photos on a paid plan. The "Pay as you go" tab is actually a monthly plan for a single listing, at $28 or $30.

Learn more: Fotello pricing | Fotello on LinkedIn: $0.80 per photo

On Sept 8, Compass sent MLSs demand letters: stop fining agents for publicly marketing office exclusives by Oct 6, or face antitrust suits. CRMLS went to court first, filing in federal court in New York on Oct 5. Compass followed with an antitrust suit against CRMLS in federal court in California on Oct 16. Then six more MLSs (ARMLS, bridgeMLS, Canopy, Doorify, Hive and REcolorado) filed a joint suit against Compass in the same New York court on Oct 21. Unlock MLS and OneKey MLS publicly rejected the demand but, as of Oct 22 reports, hadn't gone to court. Public docket listings we checked on Oct 26 showed no ruling in any of the three cases.

Read more: BAM | Six more MLSs sue Compass (free) | Inman | How Compass' fight with MLSs became a coordinated legal battle (paywalled)

An Oct 12 article in NAR's Real Estate News tells agents to skip vague notices like "AI was used." Instead, say exactly what changed, on or next to the image, and keep the original. Example labels from the article: "Sky digitally replaced" and "Objects digitally removed." NAR re-ran the advice as a daily tip in its Oct 20 SmartBrief.

It's a news article, not formal NAR policy. But it lines up with rules that already exist: Code of Ethics Article 12, which requires REALTORS® to present a "true picture" in their advertising, and MLS Policy Statement 7.93, which lets MLSs require photos that accurately depict the listed property. For photographers, you might start to see agents asking for a per-photo list of what you changed, plus your originals.

Disclaimer: The article features Coraly, Pixlmob and BoxBrownie, all companies from REACH, the NAR-backed tech accelerator run by Second Century Ventures. Pixlmob's disclosure tool is offered through PropMedia, which Pixlmob owns and operates. The disclosure advice comes from Coraly founder Fouad Bekkar.

Read: NAR | Big tech has a fix for keeping altered listing photos more honest

A post calling AI editing a path to photographers' own job loss sparked a lively debate. Many replies said AI is here to stay and worth learning; others said agents pay for service, not just the images.

Read the thread: Real Estate Photography (Facebook group)

A member asked whether phone calls, emails or texts work best for pitching agents, and the group had plenty to say. Most favored meeting agents in person at open houses and brokerage offices, or calling and following up with a text. Several said email rarely works.

Read the thread: Real Estate Photography (Facebook group)

Cooper describes PMRE as a conference for anyone in real estate media who's serious about the industry, and tells how it started in 2019 as a technical conference, then called the PFRE Conference, with 75 early bird tickets.

Listen: Why PMRE Matters: Brandon Cooper on Business & Building Community in the Industry

Shilton runs the same photos through AutoHDR's 2-5 credit creator models and compares them with the 1-credit Iris. His take: save the 5-credit models for higher-paid jobs and stick with Iris for everyday listings.

Note: Shilton's video description includes his AutoHDR affiliate link.

Watch: I Tested Every AutoHDR Model. Is 5 Credits Worth It?

A $2,000 luxury video versus a $480 standard job (photos, a basic reel and a property website), counted by the hour. By his own estimates the luxury job works out to about $148-$211 an hour, against about $240 an hour for the standard job.

Watch: Shooting Luxury Real Estate Video. Is It Actually Worth It?

His rule: if you can't edit better than the outsourcer, you're not ready to outsource. He also expects more pay-per-photo AI editors to show up.

Watch: The Problem With Outsourcing Real Estate Photo Editing

A candid update on sharing customer service and QC staff with four other media companies: eight reps, roughly 50-70 shoots a day with same-day delivery, and the pain of merging five companies' processes. At the top of the episode, host Reed Fish shares a $100-off PMRE registration code, LASTCALL, from PMRE founder Brandon Cooper.

Listen: Ep. 148 - It Ain't Easy

Until next week,
Real Estate Media Weekly