Prepping a Luxury Home for Videography
Capturing a luxury property on video isn’t just about showing off fancy finishes or sweeping drone shots. It’s about creating a feel that invites the viewer to imagine themselves in the space. A good videographer brings the gear and the creative approach, but honestly, the foundation of a luxury video is how well the house is prepped before we even hit ‘record’.
Declutter & De-personalise — Give the Place Some Breathing Room
Even the most stunning home can look cramped if it’s loaded with everyday stuff. Clear out the clutter, stash the family photos, and ditch the knick-knacks. The goal? Make it easy for buyers to picture themselves living there — not remind them someone else already does. Treat shoot day like a cross between a magazine spread and an open home. Clean benches, styled spaces, and a calm atmosphere always look better on camera.
Staging: Don’t Skip the Basics
Some houses need a little more attention than removing a few personal items. Staging a home can be important when furniture items detract from the house; this may be because they are overly expressive, detracting from the views or the natural architecture, or simply from the wrong era. Furniture should be supporting talent to the main show, encouraging the property as it was intended, instead of being a focal element.
Timing Is Everything
Timing is important on a number of levels, starting with time of year. While this is not always something within Your control, the time of year can make a big difference to the property’s greenery and even the arc of the sun. (For example, in winter months, courtyards might never see full sun depending on the height of the walls.)
If the property is coastal, the tides can impact the views and how the waterfront the house is perceived. It can be worth waiting a week for the tides to align with good lighting.
Probably the most important factor is time of day. Every room looks good in different lighting. As a general rule, the hours after sunrise and before sunset are usually the best, but there are so many factors that change the exact lighting that works for a particular room. In order to get the best shot, we want to even the lighting between the room and the outside. This gives you the ability to highlight both the interior design of the room and how it interacts with the outside. Sometimes direct light straight after sunset achieves this, and sometimes a few hours later, when the sun bounces on a 45-degree angle around the room, lighting it evenly.
Lighting: The Silent Dealbreaker
In high-end homes, lighting is a feature to interact with the shape and texture of the building. The downside is that these homes can sometimes have dozens of failed bulbs or missing bulbs that stand out, ones that have a mismatched white balance. A single failed bulb can really detract from the design and is worth checking prior to shoot day.
Final Word: You Can’t Edit Around Bad Prep
Luxury Video is about refinement, rather than over-the-top editing. For this reason, starting with the right ingredients and nailing these basics will make your video and listing stand out.