Property photography in Woolwich, Sydney: a renovated home shot for its design details

Property photography doesn't have to mean a wide shot of every room. For this renovated family home in Woolwich, Sydney, I took a more stylised approach. The photos were for a real estate campaign, but I made them to work just as well for Airbnb and holiday rental listings, for interior and property stylers, and for plenty of other uses.

The brief: show off the renovation

This was a lived-in family home that had been renovated. The rooms are big, and the interiors are full of good materials: sandstone, timber, tiles, glass and metal. The owner wanted a set of photos that showed off the work that went into the renovation.

Interior design photography, not a room-by-room record

Typical real estate photos stand in the corner of each room and try to fit in as much floor as possible. That has its place. Here I wanted to show the design of the building instead: the details, the materials, the features and the views.

So many of the photos are close or angled. A long metal handle on a timber front door. A sandstone feature wall behind the kitchen bench. Three black pendants over a white island. A green chandelier above the dining table. Each one tells a buyer or a guest something about how the house was put together.

Outside: the pool terrace and the water views

I photographed the house in bright daylight under a clear blue sky. That suits a home built around its outdoor spaces. There's a pool with a glass fence and sun lounges, a long dining table under a vine-covered pergola, a pizza oven set against a sandstone wall, and a covered deck that looks out over the water to moored boats.

I shot the pergola dining area from above and at table height. The view from above shows the layout. The lower view shows what it's like to sit there for a long lunch.

Inside: kitchen, living, bedrooms and bathrooms

Inside, I worked through the kitchen, two living areas, two dining areas, the study, the bedrooms and the bathrooms. In the bedrooms, the details did most of the work: gold cushions in front of a window over the water, and a black headboard with two wall lamps on a timber wall.

The bathrooms have tiled walls, dark vanities and warm strip lighting under the mirrors. With the lighting on, the tiles and the fittings glow rather than looking flat.

One set of photos, many uses

Because the photos focus on design rather than square metres, they aren't tied to one sale. The same set can work for a real estate campaign, an Airbnb or holiday rental listing, or a stylist's portfolio. Detail shots also give you plenty to post on social media without repeating the same wide room.

A shot list for property and Airbnb photography

If you're getting a home ready for sale or for guests, this is where I'd start:

Shoot in good light, clear away anything personal you don't want online, and let the details tell people what kind of place it is.

Property and holiday rental photography in Sydney

Holiday rental shoots within 15 km of Epping start from $195 inc GST for the Basic package, with at least 10 daytime photos. The Premium package is $295 inc GST, with at least 20 day, twilight and evening photos plus lifestyle photos. Further afield, I'll give you a quote. See destination and venue photography for what's included.