This Wasn't worht £1million but it felt like it from the interior...

When I’m not photographing multi-million-pound properties, I shoot in my local area for some amazing agent. I remember pulling up to this property and I think we are vulnerable to thinking URGH! What am I about to walk into. However, the agent I work with always comes through with the good. All the properties I have the opportunity to shoot are always well decorated and well designed.

I Have put some of the photo’s below for you to feast your eyes on.

You can see more on this property over on Lux Homes.

I shot some commercial twilight during December.

Being a professional photographer, it is easy to get caught up in working so much you can lose a bit of passion for your craft. During December I made a promise to my self I would do some personal projects and shoot things I wanted to shoot. I sat down and thought of the thing I would want to shoot. I came to the conclusion that what I would shoot is architecture/building in my area as there are a few stunning buildings. I also want to shoot more twilight’s this year, so I thought whats better than combining the two and just shoot the building I want at the time I want to. I will admit they aren’t the most exciting buildings to look at architecturally. they are one of the best that my area has to offer. I love photography and its time to take back the love I had when I started it. With that being said it’s great to add to my portfolio when I get that money shot, and hopefully, it will also naturally open doors I never thought would open.

With it being winter sunset was around 16:00 which is great because there are minimal people around to cause distraction but enough to include in the shots if I chose to have them in. the first time I went out to shoot I definitely overshot taking over 50 shots I shot all the way through the blue hour to sunset. I decided to start with a restaurant called Brewers Fayre. I scoped out the surroundings to find some angles that worked there wasn't too many angles that caught my eye to I finished up with 2 images for this shoot.

The next opportunity came up when they had built a travel lodge near my gym it's still less than 6 months old so I thought id shoot that too. I didn't have too long to scout for my position but I kind of knew what I wanted based on what they already had. I needed elevation. There is an overpass very close that gave a great view of the building and surrounding areas which I figured people would want to see what the immediate area around the hotel was like.

You can some of the photos below;

Architectural Photography

Architectural Photography

I love architectural photography, it allows you to be creative as you want in order to get the shots you need to show off the design of the building, you get away from the wide-angle 14-20mm real estate shot and you really get to look at angle and light differently. Generally, a longer focal length is more key to shooting architectural shoots. You normally would use somewhere in the region of 24-70mm on interiors if the shoot interior calls for it 19mm.

Light is even more key and timing is crucial as the light would really give the feeling you or the client needs for the room/building you are shooting. either sunset, blue hour or a beautiful blue day really would set the mood. It can make or a photo.

Being a photographer that lives so close to London, the London skyline is on the doorstep for me, I have some of the best architecture in the world right under my nose and I haven’t been taking advantage of it. I always walk past the building I’ve posted below and this time I stopped and took 10mins to shoot it.

Netherstowe House, Netherstowe Lane, Lichfield, Staffs.

This shoot was so different from my usual shoots, meticulous planning in the smallest detail before I had even arrived on site. I knew it was going to be dressed but there was a whole team on hand from handymen, cleaners, manager of the site and the owner of the site. Fantastic each shot I took an average of around 25mins to set up so many options I had to choose from.

There were multiple artworks to choose from to hang on the wall with various colours and patterns. A whole bunch of pillows to choose from, all sorts of props. The idea was to make sure we didn’t over clutter the room and made it feel like you were already there or somebody was staying there.

From the hospitality i received as the photography was anything to go on, the guest will be very happy and it was a very comfortable and relaxing environment. There is a long driveway into the estate which really gives it a prestige luxury country feel. A really special place to pull up to and the service they provide supersedes the awe the driveway will give you.

I’ve included a few photos from the shoot so you can see what I mean about the spaces available.

Estate Agents Drive Me Crazy...

This is going to be a little bit of a rant so bear with me…

I’ve been photography properties for around 5 years now and in the last 2-3, I’ve really found my feet with the style I like to shoot. While I have a style I love to shoot there is a time when certain techniques and the feel of the property doesn’t match the style I shoot. I maintain my style while adapting to the lighting conditions and keeping either the completely ambient and multi-layer flash images within the look I like. There are some properties that have huge window letting in a ton a light so much so that they only have small lamps or reading lights. on the other end, there are places that are basements and have little to no window light which means they (hopefully) have a tonne of daylight balanced LED spotlight and lamps dotted around the apartments.

With that being said I do like to keep my clients happy and if they would like certain images a little brighter than id like it I will happily oblige. However, ( Rant begins :D) I’ve been shown another agent's photos while discussing the shoot with certain agents and they say’I want the images to look like this’. I do my best to politely and discreetly decline to make the photos like the same way and talk about how my photos won't look like that which is a great thing and point out flaws that I personally find within the photo. They tend to then let me get on with it. Until delivery then they start requesting for me to re-edit some shots as they need it to look more like other agents shots. to which I reply with a slightly more confident wording of basically no that what you get when you book me.

I think the worse part of it all is they love my photos when they book me and first see me, they can't give me higher praise and compliments 🤭. It is frustrating because I have no problem is not shooting for people who I don’t click with I learnt this from doing wedding photography, if there spark isn’t there I can't shoot for that person, nothing personal I just can't do the best job I can. Which makes me feel like this agent hired based on my price. I’m very open and honest when talking to new clients about my shooting style an can only assuming because we are talking at this stage that you want the work I’m showing you via my website, www.Garyaskewphotography.com or my Instagram, instagram.com/garyaskewphotography. Unless the client tells me they want a certain look. I’m all for client satisfaction which is why is good for me to decline some agents because I can give them what they want.

I believe that my photos have a different look to 90% of what out there and I believe my work stands out to the typical real estate photographer so please agents when hiring a photographer to accept the style you the photographer you choose has and stand out or blend in by wanting the same thing your competition has!

I’d love to know what from an agents perspective and other real estate photographer thoughts on this.

Has it happened to you?

did a photographer display something different to what they delivered?