How to prepare a villa for a photo shoot: a 12-point checklist for owners and agents

A south-facing terrace is bright all day. East-facing rooms get the morning sun and west-facing ones the afternoon. Tell me which way the main rooms, the terrace and the pool face. I build the order of the day on it, and your answer can change what I shoot first. A rough answer is enough: "the pool faces west" will do.

The schedule follows the light, so a shoot moved by two hours is a different shoot. Plan the day around the hour in the shot plan, and tell me early if access will not be possible then. If a gardener or a delivery is due at that hour, move that, not the shoot.

Kitchen counters, bathroom shelves, desks and bedside tables: leave one or two objects at most. Remove post, keys, documents, family photographs and anything with a name or address on it. A cleared surface looks larger and calmer than a crowded one.

Windows, sliding doors, glass balustrades and mirrors catch every mark in a low sun. Clean them the day before, inside and out. Check the pool fence and the shower screens too. Smears that are invisible indoors show up against a bright sea view.

Skim the surface, vacuum the floor, take off the cover and put the robot away. Run the filtration the day before, then switch pumps and jets off during the shoot so the surface is still. If the plan includes a dusk frame, test the pool lights.

Sweep leaves, trim the edges and water the plants the day before so they look fresh. Line up the furniture, put cushions out and remove toys, hoses, buckets and barbecue tools. Dry leaves photograph as dull, so a quick rinse helps.

Cars out of the drive, bins out of sight, gas bottles and washing lines out of the frame. Check the street side of the house too: that is the first image a buyer sees. If a neighbour parks in front of the house, it costs nothing to ask them to move.

Open blinds and curtains fully unless the plan says otherwise. Replace blown bulbs, and keep the bulbs in one room the same warm colour. Switch on lamps only when I ask, because the plan decides which ones help.

Make the beds tight with clean linen. Put out fresh towels, folded. Remove toiletries, chargers, cables, bins and the television remote.

Dogs and cats are lovely and will be in every frame. Arrange for them to be elsewhere for the shoot, and remove bowls, beds and litter trays. Make sure no gate they can open is left open.

Gates, codes, keys, alarm, parking and the community pool gate: sort them in advance. Make sure electricity and water are on. For a drone flight, tell me about any community rules, and tell neighbours if a flight will pass close.

Agree a spare day. If rain or wind arrives, the date moves and the plan stays. Some interior frames can be shot in poor weather, and the plan says which. If the date moves, prepare the pool and garden again.

Send this list to the owner when the date is confirmed, not the night before. Two or three points, usually the pool, the cars and the access, decide most of the difference. In the brief, tell me if the owner will not be there, who holds the keys, and whether the villa is occupied or let to guests on the day.