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Capturing the essence of a photoshoot location has always been a vital part of the Light Locations online experience, ensuring each property is looking its best through beautifully styled, professional imagery. These images are often the starting point for all shoots, where ideas begin to blossom and production planning really gets going!
This year, as part of our commitment to help clients make as informed choices as possible, we teamed up with Oliver from OJ Film & Media to start adding videography to a select few of our location pages. The results have been beautiful, sweeping views of each property which can make choosing the right location easier than ever before…
Sitting alongside our carefully curated photography, the new addition of videography helps to further illustrate each location’s beauty, opening them up to a fresh perspective. The serene stillness of Clay House is effortlessly captured here in its walkthrough, and it’s clear to see how light pours through the windows onto its soft neutral walls.
The gentle movement of the camera gives a sense of walking through the rooms in person, helping the viewer get a real feel for the space. It also creates more opportunities to notice specific period features or pretty little corners previously gone unnoticed, just waiting to be styled up for the next shot
As stunning as styled imagery can be, it has its limitations. Videography quickly offers a more three dimensional look at the space, giving a more easily perceived sense of scale from the furniture to the doorways.
Layout is always tough to establish through a series of still images, and the moving camera effortlessly remedies this problem by wandering slowly through rooms and showing the flow of each property. Ham House is a prime example of this, with so many gorgeous nooks and crannies, this sweeping shot through the property shows how they all link up in beautiful harmony.
This extra understanding of the space can be invaluable when planning those all-important points such as where to store kit and props, or how to move large set pieces or furniture into the space. Doorways, windows and corridors in between can be quickly noticed and earmarked for the more practical elements of a location shoot day!
Photographers and art directors can quickly look at an image set and see that a beautiful shot can be achieved, however having a variety of different angles can still be incredibly helpful. The wide format of each video allows a little more thought for things like pull back space, where to put the tripod or lighting equipment, and where the natural light might fall throughout the course of the day.
It’s also helpful for clients looking to create video content as it can give an example of what can be achieved in the space, the way the light falls and how a shot might flow when following a moving subject.
Every year gets busier and busier, and sometimes traveling to a location to check it out can be low on a full to-do list. With clear videography answering so many questions of scale, dimensions and facilities, this could allow some clients to no longer need to recce and save themselves valuable time.
Every section of The Rectory is shown in this video, and it’s such a stunning property that it’s no surprise it’s popular. For a southern based client however, a recce up to Lincolnshire ahead of the shoot might be out of the question, making it so much more accessible for clients based all around the UK.
The other benefit is being able to share a walkthrough with other members of the creative team, when usually a recce is only undertaken by one or two people. This means more collaboration, more brainstorming and more wonderful ideas to bring to a shoot day to make it more successful than ever.
Drone footage is brilliant at capturing those birds eye views that a camera and tripod just can’t quite achieve! Not only does this help to show the outdoor areas from a completely new viewpoint, but it’s also helpful in terms of showing access and the surrounding areas, particularly for those larger productions which require a lot of crew members, kit and props.
For the more seasonal shoots, it can also illustrate the surrounding nature and how it will appear from all viewpoints. This aerial view of Cotswold Barn shows the amazing gardens outside the arched windows, as well as the ample driveway which can easily take large vans and lorries. It even shows the countryside beyond, and the greenery which surrounds the property giving it a sense of privacy.
There’s no doubt that videography is a valuable addition to the Light Locations site, and it’s an exciting time ahead with much more lined up. Once the flowers and greenery emerge once again in spring next year, we’ll be back filming more content to show off our stunning properties in another amazing light.
Find out more about how we create our stunning Location Photography with photographer James Gardiner and Light Locations owner Sophie Hitchen.
Or take a look at stylist Hannah Deacon’s words on The Run Up To Shoot Day to see how much really goes into each photoshoot.
For more gorgeous houses, take a look at our Top 5 Photoshoot Locations from last year. As always, you can find locations by type and feature on our Find a Location page.
