How to prepare a villa for its photo shoot

Your listing photographs are the first viewing most buyers will ever have. Long before anyone books a visit, they have walked through your villa on Idealista, Kyero or an agent’s website and decided how the rooms feel. That makes the day before the photo shoot the most useful few hours you can spend on the sale.

We photograph villas and apartments across Marbella, Benahavís, Estepona and the rest of the Costa del Sol, and the homes that photograph best are rarely the most expensive. They are the ones that were prepared. This checklist covers everything we ask owners to do before a property photo shoot, in the order we suggest doing it.

Start with the light

Open every blind, shutter and curtain before we arrive, and switch on all the lights: ceiling lights, lamps, under-cabinet strips, the extractor hood and the garden lighting. Mixed light is easy to balance in editing; dark corners are not. If any bulbs have gone, replace them before the day, and match the colour of the bulbs already in the room so one lamp doesn’t glow orange next to a cool white ceiling.

Tell us which way the main terrace faces when you book. On the Costa del Sol most sea views face south, so we plan the exterior photographs around where the sun sits on the plot and may suggest a morning or late-afternoon slot. Our guide to the best time of day to photograph a sea-view home explains why.

Clear every surface

A wide-angle lens exaggerates clutter. Anything sitting on a worktop, table or shelf looks twice as busy in a photograph as it does in the room, so work through the house with a box and put the everyday things away. Here is what we look for, room by room.

• Kitchen Kettles, toasters, coffee machines, dish racks, sponges, bins and fridge magnets. Leave a bowl of fruit or a plant at most.
• Bathrooms Toiletries, razors, bath mats, bins and the toilet brush. Close the toilet lid and leave one set of matching white towels.
• Bedrooms Make the beds with plain, pressed linen. Clear the bedside tables apart from a lamp, and put away clothes, shoes and chargers.
• Living areas Remotes, cables, magazines, pet beds and family photographs. Switch off televisions and screens.
• Terraces Uncover the furniture, set out cushions and parasols, and put away hoses, pool cleaners, brooms and ashtrays.
• Outside Move cars off the drive and away from the front of the house, and put the bins out of sight.

Depersonalise, but don’t empty

Buyers find it hard to picture themselves in a room that already belongs to someone else. Family photographs, children’s drawings on the fridge and shelves of personal collections all pull attention away from the space. Put them away for the day.

A room should look lived in, but not lived in by anyone in particular.

That doesn’t mean stripping the house bare. Empty rooms look smaller in photographs and lose their sense of scale. Keep the furniture, a few books, a throw on the sofa and fresh flowers or a plant, and take away anything that belongs to one person.

Pools, gardens and views

Clean the pool the day before, take out the robot cleaner and switch the pump off about an hour before we arrive, so the water settles flat and reflects the house and the sky. Cut the lawn a day or two ahead, sweep the terraces and paths, and clear leaves from the water and the steps.

If the property has a sea or mountain view, clean the windows and glass balustrades inside and out. Smears you never notice in person show up clearly when a photograph looks through the glass, especially in low sun. If we are staying for a twilight shot, check that the pool, garden and facade lights all work.

Apartments and holiday lets

For an apartment, ask the community administrator whether we can photograph the communal pool and gardens, and at what time they are quietest. For a holiday let, put away guest folders, key safes, luggage racks and cleaning trolleys, and remake the beds the way you would for a new guest.

On the day of the shoot

Plan to be out, or keep to a room we have already photographed. Pets are happiest away for the morning. We work through the house in a set order, room by room and then outside, and the time it takes depends on the size of the property and whether drone or video is included.

If something can’t be fixed in time, tell us. We can often frame around a skip or an unfinished room, and we would rather know before we arrive than find out at the door.

Frequently asked questions

How far ahead should I start preparing?

Start about a week before for anything that needs someone else, like replacing bulbs, servicing the pool or trimming hedges. Leave the clutter, the beds and the cushions for the day before.

Do I need to be at home during the shoot?

Only to let us in and show us how the lights, shutters and pool lighting work. After that, the shoot goes faster with nobody in the rooms.

Can you remove things in editing?

We correct colour, exposure and vertical lines, and we can remove small distractions such as a stray cable or a mark on a wall. We don’t remove or change permanent features, because buyers need to see the property as it is when they visit.

When the villa is ready, choose a package and book your shoot. Tell us which way the terrace faces, and we will suggest the best time.