How to Register a Property as a Photoshoot Location

Choosing to register a property as a location for photoshoots is a fantastic adventure. It’s a great way to earn extra income, and it’s exciting to see your home transformed for a stylish magazine shoot or glossy brochure. If you’ve decided to register your property as a photo shoot location, you might wonder how to go about it.

Location Agencies know the industry inside out, have a raft of clients waiting to use your property, and their job is to make your new life as a location owner a smooth and rewarding experience. And using an agency is the best route to ensure all the legal, marketing and admin aspects are covered. 

If you’ve picked Light Locations as the agency to register with, what happens next?

What’s The First Step?

Before getting in touch with us, it’s worth checking you know what you’re getting into and that your property will be one that clients clamber to book. Spend time familiarising yourself with what agencies are looking for and knowing what’s involved.

What do agencies look for:

• Location. Locations in London or the countryside are both popular but they ideally should not be further than 2.5 hours from London.
• Features. Properties need a range of appealing factors such as period features, good flooring, versatile wall spaces or contemporary materials.
• Light. Plenty of natural light is essential.
• Furniture and décor. Neutral walls with stylish furniture and props always make the most appealing locations. 
• Rooms sizes. The larger the room, the more versatile it is, and every room needs enough space to allow the photographer to pull back. 
• Choice of rooms: The property must have a good selection of suitable rooms. We would normally look for a living room, dining room, kitchen, main bedroom, and bathroom. A good hallway, pretty children’s rooms and great outside space are a bonus.

What is Life as a Location Owner Like?

As well as the perks, you’ll need to go in with your eyes open. Hiring your home out involves hard work and sacrifice. The two main factors to be aware of are wear and tear to your property and the intrusive nature of having shoot crews in your home.

• Wear and tear to your home is a necessary part of life as a location owner. To keep your house marketable, you’ll need to factor in keeping it in shape. Between shoots, you’ll also need to keep your home clean, tidy and as clutter-free as possible.
• It’s intrusive. If you’re a busy location, you’ll have limited time between projects to enjoy your own home. And when shoots are taking place, you’ll need to disappear, which can be a juggle if you have a family or work from home. 

To be fully prepared, download our short guide to understand more about what a shoot involves or find out more about the pros and cons of hiring your home for photoshoots.

Photos, Photos, Photos

Once you’re sure your property would make a great photo shoot location and you are fully prepared for the wear and tear and intrusions, it’s time to register. To begin the process for Light Locations, you’ll need to send plenty of photos for us to decide if your property has what it takes.

Which Photos?

High Quality: Whilst we don’t expect professional photography, you will need to send good quality images. Phone photos are fine as long as they’re of a good standard.

Internal and External Shots: Take plenty of shots of the living room, kitchen, dining room, main bedroom, bathroom, hallway any other suitable rooms. You’ll also need to include an exterior image of the house and garden.

Space and Scope: We need to be able to get a good idea of the space and scope of each room. So, make sure you take photos from lots of angles and images that highlight the potential of a room.

Avoid Distractions: Avoid portrait shots showing details of corners of rooms as these are misleading.

How to Send them? 

Whilst it’s tempting to send us to photos on social media, image sizes are often cropped and it is difficult to get an idea of space from these shots.

The best way to send us your images is via an email transfer system or by uploading to a cloud storage space and emailing a link. Good transfer systems are We Transfer, and cloud storage options include Google Drive or Dropbox.

What Happens Next?

Once we receive your photos, we’ll review them and be in touch with any questions and a decision via email. If your beautiful home joins us as a photo location, we’ll then:

Come and visit to get to know you. Meeting the owners of a property gives valuable insight into the property and helps establish a great relationship from day one. 

Taking promotional shots for the website. A professional photographer will be arranged and will visit with Sophie to shoot the property to ensure we capture your home’s full potential.

Promoting your location. Using our website, newsletters and social media platforms, together with existing relationships in the industry, we’ll promote your property to potential clients.

Ready to Register Your House as a Photoshoot Location?

If you are ready to take the next step and register your property with Light Locations, email Sophie@lightlocations.co.uk with your photos, and let’s begin your location owner journey.