Editiorial Property Photography
15 September 2020
Written by Acme Mag
You may not know the name Cheyne Toomey, but you have likely seen his and the team at SpaceCraft’s work, as well as the distinctive style they have brought to Victorian property photography.
As the Director of SpaceCraft, Cheyne works closely alongside Jellis Craig in Melbourne’s Inner North, where the working relationship began as the result of Cheyne being opportunistically introduced by a friend who was exiting the real estate photography game just as Cheyne was looking to increase his presence in that world.
Real estate media in Melbourne is generally standardised by wide angle lens use, over editing and unnatural lighting, a standard approach that Jellis Craig wanted to move away from.
“Jellis Craig were really wanting to elevate their look comparably to their competition,” Cheyne said.
For such an approach, Cheyne saw an opportunity to make architectural and interior photography approachable for the real estate industry, as well as produce assets real estate agents could use to their advantage. This style of photography attracts more editorial attention and provides greater flexibility for agents to be able to use the content across a variety of platforms.
“Architectural & interiors photography outside of real estate (property photography), whether it’s for client folio usage, editorial feature on design blogs, magazines or awards submissions, everything is a lot more considered, there’s a strong emphasis on the use of natural light and everything is that little bit more purposeful,” Cheyne said.
When asked about advice for real estate agents looking to up their marketing game and produce better images for their listings, Cheyne suggests it’s about spending more time on the marketing approach and getting more in-tune with the trends in the architecture & interiors scene to see how property is being marketed to the general public outside of real estate. Following along with publications such as The Local Project, EST Living, The Design Files is considered a great start by Cheyne.
“Get inspired by what’s fresh at the moment in the home renovation and interiors game, go buy a copy of Vogue Living or scroll through The Design Files,” Cheyne said. “This photography style is a total removal from typical real estate style, where everything looks a little too plastic.”
Although it takes time to strive for and perfect such a distinctive photography style, it does provide unexpected benefits as when these images are released online through property listings they become an opportunity for the likes of The Design Files, Hunting for George and realestate.com.au to see and want to showcase.
