The hour
On this coast, light is the first piece of furniture. Between eight and ten in the morning it comes in low and warm through east-facing windows; late in the afternoon it crosses west-facing rooms and gilds the walls. The rest of the day it flattens. A house photographed at noon looks flat and white; the same house at nine has shadows, volumes and the air of being lived in.
So we ask for the hour before we ask for the camera. And we wait, if we must, for the following day: a veiled sky gives softer interiors than full sun, and the sea stays blue regardless.
The wide angle lies
A wide-angle lens makes a twenty-five-square-metre studio look like a loft, and the disappointment begins at the door. Guests do not complain about a small room; they complain about a room smaller than in the photograph. We use focal lengths close to the eye, step back when we can, and write the floor area in the listing.
The same rule holds for retouching: straightening the verticals, yes; saturating the sky or inventing a sunset, no. The image must look like the arrival.
What to leave out of the frame
An honest photograph is not a cluttered one. One takes out of the frame what does not belong to the stay: personal belongings, cables, the drying rack on the balcony, the magnets on the fridge. One leaves what speaks of the house: the books, the wood of the table, the taut linen, a window open onto the pines.
And one frames at human height. Downward views from a corner of the ceiling make catalogue images; at eye level, one sees what the guest will see on walking in.
The sea view, honestly
“Sea view” is the most worn expression on the Côte d’Azur. There is the sea one sees from the bed, the one glimpsed by leaning out from the balcony, and the one two streets away. All three exist; it is enough to photograph the real one, from where one actually stands, and then to write “sea glimpse from the terrace” if that is what it is. The guest who was told is grateful. The guest who was misled writes.
The photograph that tells the truth brings people back
A flattering listing converts quickly, the first season. Then come the reviews, and the ranking follows. A true listing converts a little slower and lets a little better, because it attracts the guests the house suits, and those come back. On a coast where one can return ten summers in a row, it is the only strategy we know.
Further reading: preparing the home before the photo shoot · staging and photography · preparing a residence in Villeneuve-Loubet.
The photographs on this site are atmosphere images; those of the residences will be taken, at the right hour, for each house.