Real estate photographer in Madrid

A Madrid listing is read in seconds, and the first thing a buyer checks is whether the flat is exterior or interior, because in this city that word decides the light and a good part of the price. The job of a real estate photographer here is to show what that light actually is at its best, which means booking the visit by orientation rather than by whenever the keys are free. An east-facing exterior flat in Chamberí is at its brightest at ten in the morning; a west-facing one in Salamanca is a different property at five in the afternoon. A flat that looks onto a patio de luces gets its best hour at midday, when the sun reaches furthest down the shaft. The season matters too. In winter the low sun reaches deep into a room; in July the blinds are down from mid-morning and need to go up for the photographs, which is one more thing to arrange with the owner beforehand.

When to book in Madrid

Orientation sets the hour, and the calendar sets how generous that hour is. From November to February the sun is low enough to reach the back of a room even at midday, so almost every flat photographs well between eleven and three. In summer the sun is high and the light inside is flatter; east-facing rooms want nine or ten, west-facing ones five or six, and a terrace looks best in the last hour before a sunset that falls after nine. Avoid the days around a building’s works or a neighbour’s move, and if the property is let, give the tenants a week’s notice to tidy. Listings go up on Idealista and Fotocasa all year, but a property shot in winter light is ready before the spring buyers arrive.