When viewings aren't possible

It goes without saying that, right now, marketing properties is neither essential nor an emergency. The property market is largely at a standstill due to the government lockdown, and the war against the uncompromising and deadly Coronavirus.

However, where possible, work to showcase homes can continue. If a property is vacant and sensible precautions are taken, we can capture it! The 3D Walkthrough tour is becoming a popular way to view a home without making an appointment to see it. Through the comfort of your own home, you can navigate around like you are actually standing in it. And with a VR headset you can really immerse yourself!!

Like this new build house, for example, that we captured last week for Savills in Victoria Park, London.

Kenninghall Rd, Clapton, London E5 8BS, UK.

Savills are now able to show people what they are selling in full detail. Their customers are free to ‘wander’ around the house like they were there to see it. It may not beat feeling the carpet beneath your feet, but in rather challenging times, this could prove to be a vital tool for many.

Deserted London - Shots of the Eerily Empty City

It’s a tough time to be a photographer, when everyone is supposed to be staying inside. We at Pixangle have temporarily suspended our face to face operations to avoid visiting clients and going into people’s homes. We’re carrying on with all virtual and digital work - CGIs, Virtual Staging, Lease Plans etc - but we do miss being out and about with our cameras, especially at such a time when London is virtually deserted and providing such incredible photographic opportunities!

Fortunately for all of us, urban photographer London Munchies has a day job with essential worker status, and he has taken the opportunity while out and about on his business in London to grab some shots. Behold, the eerie beauty of the deserted capital city!

London Bridge Station - Tooley Street Entrance

Leading straight up to London Bridge itself, Tooley Street is usually packed with commuters

Inside London Bridge Station

The 2017 stats had 131,000 passing through London Bridge station every day.

From London Bridge Underground To Overground

Massive amounts of development have taken place on London Bridge Station in recent years, and this tunnel linking the Underground and Overground stations still feels very shiny and new.

Hay's Galleria

Hay’s Galleria, just off Tooley Street, serves as tourist attraction, shopping centre, office space and a handy link through to the river walk. It’s usually bustling with activity throughout the day.

More London

More London is a development along the river, housing City Hall, The Scoop amphitheatre, many restaurants and shops and, of course, fantastic views across the Thames and of Tower Bridge.

The Scoop and The Shard

The Scoop puts on many performances for free throughout the year, attracting huge audiences, and the Shard is one of the premiere tourist sites in London, with up to 6000 people visiting every day, not counting tenants.

London City Hall

As of 2017 nearly a thousand people worked in London City Hall for the Greater London Authority, not including contractors.

Tower Bridge

It’s not every day you get a shot of London’s most photographed bridge with so little traffic

Shad Thames

Picturesque and partially cobbled Shad Thames is a photographer’s delight

Borough Market

You’d never know it from today’s shot, but 16 million people visit Borough Market every year. It’s both a wholesale and a retail market, and you can buy almost every kind of food you can imagine there.

Leadenhall Market

Leadenhall Market has a Harry Potter vibe at the best of times, but emptied out of all its people it looks more like a film set than ever.

The Bank of England

The buses are still running through the City and the Bank of England but is anyone on them?

Gants Hill Station

Gants Hill Station, in all its Charles Holden-designed, barrel-vaulted ceilings, is at its most impressive when empy

Gants Hill Station

Oh the symmetry.

Waterloo Station

Terry and Julie meet every Friday night… but not this Friday, with apologies to The Kinks. Under normal circumstances there are nearly 100 million exits and entries into Waterloo station every year, as one of London’s busiest rail stations.

Waterloo Bridge

Waterloo Bridge, devoid of traffic, heads over the river to The Strand, with Somerset House looming majestically on the right.

South Bank

Usually the runners have to duck and dodge the crowds on this stretch of the Thames - today they have a bit more freedom of movement!

Queen Elizabeth Hall, South Bank

What a perfect day for a glass of wine on the rooftop bar of the Queen Elizabeth Hall of the Southbank Centre. Alas, it is not to be.

South Bank

On the one hand, the pigeons are free to land and hang out for once. On the other, what will they eat with no tourists dropping food around?!

The London Eye

More than 3 million people go on the London Eye each year, and it is one of the UK’s most visited attractions.

Banks of River Thames

Westminster Bridge and County Hall

Empty roads, perfectly framed.

City of London Dragon Boundary Mark

These guys mark the boundary of the City of London, and bear the City’s coat of arms.

Police doing their best

Trafalgar Square

Fountains off, pigeons gone, and Nelson watches over the silence.

The National Gallery

2018 saw 1.5 million visitors to the National Gallery, which by the way is free and amazing, and everyone should go once it’s open again.

Leicester Square

No people, and no street entertainment and no pickpockets.

Chinatown

And, lastly, the closed shops and empty streets of Chinatown still manage to be pretty.

London Munchies travels the world in search of abandoned beauty and delicious local food. You can (and should) follow him on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/londonmunchies/?hl=en

Lighting - Shooting For Success

As we move our way through the winter months, the emphasis on good lighting becomes even more important for property photographers.

Often we find ourselves employing all the tricks of the trade to try and create well lit internal images that still look natural and balanced externals that look sunny and inviting despite the plunging temperatures.

When done well, lighting conveys a desirable atmosphere and sets the tone of the property while drawing out the best features for marketing.

Now, as much as we love lighting for interior photography, not all lights are created equal. Many overhead pendant lights or corner lamps can introduce the wrong kinds of colours or unsightly pooling of light. This needs to be balanced by the photographer at the shooting stage so it can be easily dealt with when we take the images into post production.

Not all rooms are lucky enough to have large floor to ceiling windows or glass doors that bring in bursts of natural light so for situations like this an external flash light is used. However too much light (from either the flash or the sun outside) can overexpose the view through the window or blow out certain features on the walls and ceiling.

This becomes a delicate balancing act between the light, the photographer and the camera to ensure we have all different aspects of the scene correctly lit in different shots that can be combined digitally after the shoot.

There are pros and cons to relying on both natural and artificial lighting as a property photographer. Mostly this comes down to your ability to control the different sources efficiently. While some situations are beyond our control, it is important to plan accordingly where possible. The time of day and time of year both play a large role in how light influences a photo.

As we begin to lose the light earlier in the day, the temperature of the natural light can not only appear cooler as it enters through the windows, but it can also contrast wildly with the warm temperatures of the interior lighting. This results in some (admittedly cinematic, yet) wildly unhelpful blue and yellow tones.

We use different methods of shooting to avoid this when at the property, then retouch digitally to give your spaces the most harmonious, natural feel possible.

The flash can be helpful when used in the right way and in the right situations. Sometimes, unfortunately, it can end up doing more harm than good. Not only can it overpower the image - losing key details in over-brightened areas - but the harsh dark shadows it creates can often be challenging to remove digitally. The more clutter a room has, the more chance there is that unsightly shadows will be created. Striking a balance between natural light, artificial light and the amount of objects in the room helps avoid unnecessary amounts of work in post-production.

Different methods of lighting aside, the most versatile tool in the photographer’s kit is adaptability. Knowing how and when to employ different tricks at different times of the day and throughout the changing seasons is what gives professional property photography the edge over DIY options.

Feature Property: Bathurst Gardens for Short Term Lettings

With the world of Airbnb flourishing, and the short-term lettings market constantly stepping up its game, we were delighted to shoot a beautiful property managed by Air Peace of Mind, a London-based short-term lettings property management company who look after very nice properties indeed.

There’s a wide range of short-term lettings options, from those just casually letting out a room in their house from landlords who make a business out of it - there’s definitely something for everyone! But we love properties like Bathurst Gardens, which are managed and maintained to a toweringly high standard, but nevertheless retain a sense of home and a great deal of character. Just what you need when you’re seeking a special stay!

Without further ado, here are some of the shots we got at Buthurst Gardens in North London.

Almington Street - Shooting Landscaped Gardens

It’s definitely nice to expand our comfort zone!

As part of shooting homes, property and architecture, we are frequently required to shoot some truly delightful gardens. But last week we focused specifically on garden design when we did a shoot in Finsbury Park for garden and landscape designers Acacia Gardens.

Owner and Managing Director Herman Probati was looking to capture a couple of Acacia’s recently completed projects, and generally speaking it’s the perfect time of year for it. However, you may remember that last week was the week of long-lasting torrential downpours, and the one thing you absolutely cannot do without for landscape and garden shoots is a dry day. Fortunately, the weather forecast was unusually accurate and the shoot went ahead.

We even managed to squeeze in a few profile pictures for the Acacia Gardens website!

The layout and balance of this garden design really shows what you can do with a normal-sized London garden - it proves you don’t need acres to perfect a garden. Check out some of our photos from the shoot below!