preparing your home for brand SHOOTS: essential tips for success

Opening your home for brand photoshoots and filming productions can be an exciting and rewarding opportunity. It’s a unique way to showcase your property, while earning an extra income. To ensure a smooth and successful shoot day for both yourself and the brand creatives hiring out your home, preparation is key. 

At Pure Locations, we work closely to ensure our homeowners are fully prepared leading into shoot day to set you up for success. Whether it’s your first shoot or you’re a seasoned professional, these essential tips will help you deliver an exceptional experience for every brand that walks through your door.

In the days leading up to your shoot or event, it is important to prepare your home and ensure it is “shoot ready”. What does this mean? Shoot ready means that your home is clean, tidy and in a camera-ready state. When a brand creative books your location, they do so based on how your home is presented in the website listing. Therefore, it is important to prepare your home to reflect this as best as possible. “Shoot-ready” is not just about tidiness. It is creating a polished, professional environment that requires no additional prep from the crew. We ask that you please remove personal items (such as family photos), declutter surfaces and store any sentimental items away safely to avoid accidental damage. It’s also a wise idea to give attention to forgotten spaces. For instance, under furniture. If the crew need to move a piece of furniture during the shoot (with prior permission), uncleaned areas can result in unpleasant surprises, additional time spent cleaning and the client running behind schedule.  It is also important to designate and prepare one bathroom for crew use. Please ensure it’s clean and well-stocked with essentials such as hand soap, towels, and toilet paper.

If your booking includes access to outdoor areas like a pool, gardens, lawns, or courtyards, these should be presented with the same level of care as your interiors. Be sure to mow the lawn, sweep paths, remove pet waste, and tidy up outdoor furniture. If you have a pool, make sure it’s free of leaves and debris, the pool cleaner is removed, tiles or pavers have been power washed and glass fencing is clean and streak-free.

Depending on the nature of the production, some brands will require a closed set. This means that access to the hired spaces within your home will be restricted for the duration of the shoot. Closed sets are typically required when the production involves recording audio, to accommodate large crews or to maintain talent confidentiality. If a closed set is requested by the client, we will always discuss this with you prior to confirming a booking. We understand that in some instances, you may not be able to offer a fully-closed set due to family or work from home needs. In this case, we will discuss this with yourself and the brand client upon enquiry.  

A closed-set will require arrangements to be made ahead of time. For example, if children are returning home from school during shoot hours, they will be unable to enter your home if a closed-set is in place. 

It’s important to remember that when a brand books your home for a production, it then becomes a functioning workplace for the day. When a closed set is in place, it’s essential to respect the conditions and minimise distractions to maintain a professional environment.

If you need to work from home on the day of your shoot, it’s vital that this is discussed with your Account Manager prior to shoot day. If this is the case, please keep in mind that your access to shoot areas within your home may be restricted depending on the production. We will always discuss any restrictions with you before shoot day, however the general rule of thumb if working from home is to prepare yourself for the work day ahead of time. Ensure you’re set up with everything you need in your work zone, so you can settle in comfortably and help keep distractions to a minimum for the crew.

If you have made any changes to your home that are not reflected in the current listing, including furniture and styling updates, it’s important to keep our team informed. Quite often, brand clients will plan their shoot around the specific furniture pieces or styling elements they see in photos, so keeping us up to date with any changes is key to ensure a smooth shoot day with no surprises. We ask that you please send through updated photos to our Registrations Team so that they can update your website listing. If you have any shoots already booked in, please also contact your relevant Account Manager to flag the changes. 

We’re always here to support you, and are only just a phone call away. For each booking, you will have a designated Account Manager who will be your go-to contact to answer absolutely any questions or clarify important information so that you feel completely prepared.

Taking time to plan ahead and ensure either yourself (or your chosen representative) are available on shoot day is incredibly important. Occasionally, questions or unexpected issues can arise on the day of your shoot, and having someone our team can contact quickly makes all the difference in ensuring things run smoothly. We also ask that you conduct a 15 minute walk through pre and post-shoot to welcome the client, show them through the designated areas of use (including hair/makeup zones, toilet and refreshment areas), flag fragile items, and note any pre-existing damage within the home.

With absolutely everything you need for a successful journey as a Pure Locations homeowner, our mobile app is a must-have. With a personalised dashboard that features your location booking calendar, contact details for our Account Managers, helpful resources and more, we highly recommend you download and utilise this powerful tool. To learn more about the Pure Locations mobile app, read our essential guide here.

Welcoming brand creatives into your home can be a truly rewarding experience. With the right preparation, you’ll not only help ensure a smooth and successful shoot day but increase your chances of repeat bookings and long-term opportunities. At Pure Locations, we’re here to support you every step of the way, making sure you feel confident and ready. By following these essential tips, you’ll be well on your way to providing an exceptional experience for every production team that chooses your home.