Stephen Shefrin here. I just wrapped a full listing shoot for Lisa Roberts of Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty on a McDowell Ranchos home in Scottsdale, and it’s the kind of property that makes the job easy: Spanish tile and stone on the outside, vaulted beamed ceilings on the inside, and just over an acre out back with a pool, spa, pickleball court, bocce court and covered outdoor kitchen.
This one got the full package: daylight and twilight exteriors, interiors, and drone. We started with the twilight front elevation, which is where a Spanish-style home with warm interior light really earns it. The sky cooperated, which is one of the perks of shooting real estate in Scottsdale this time of year.
Inside, the great room is the showpiece. The beamed vaulted ceiling is painted out white and the whole space is flooded with natural light, which sounds easy to photograph and isn’t: the job is keeping the whites clean and the beams crisp without blowing out the windows. The kitchen has a waterfall island and warm wood cabinetry, and the dining room chandelier needed its own lighting pass so it read as a fixture and not a hot spot.
The primary suite has a fireplace, a velvet headboard wall and a bathroom with a freestanding tub and a walk-in glass shower. Bathrooms are where straight verticals and balanced light matter most, because buyers notice every tile line.
The backyard is what sells this house, and it’s the reason drone photography was a must. From the ground you get the pool, the spa and the patio. From the air you get the whole picture: the pickleball court, the bocce court, the outdoor kitchen, and how it all sits on the lot. We shot the amenities in daylight so buyers can read the layout, then stayed for twilight so the pool and the sky could do the rest.
If you’re a Scottsdale, Paradise Valley or Phoenix agent with a listing coming up, I’d like to shoot it. I offer daylight and twilight photography, drone aerials, video tours, Matterport 3D and floor plans, with magazine-quality editing and a quick turnaround. Take a look at my real estate photography pricing or get in touch to book. You can also follow along on Instagram.