The first in our new series of “A Day in the Life” features highlights a day in the life of Michelle Milnes, Senior Photographer at McEwan Fraser Legal. Michelle is in charge of the unit that photographs client properties in advance of them going to market, one of the many valuable services provided by McEwan Fraser Legal for their clients.
Background – South African Michelle has a diploma in Photography and Visual Communications and a degree in Journalism, majoring in Photo Journalism. For several years she worked in South Africa as the news editor for a community newspaper and then as a crime reporter for South Africa’s biggest newspaper, Beeld. Before coming to Scotland, Michelle worked as the Marketing and Communications Manager for a musical theatre company, a job that she loved. Michelle leads a team of 8 staff in the Photography and Production Department at McEwan Fraser Legal.
Morning – Up at 7am, the day starts with a coffee and cigarette in the garden of her recently restored 1806 Georgian House in Bonnington, Edinburgh, before taking Rufos the wire-haired fox terrier for his morning walk to the local park. Having checked the time and place of her day’s shooting the night before, Michelle returns home with Rufos and makes sure her camera gear and batteries are charged and ready to go. Knowing how much natural light is likely to prevail is valuable information, so after a final weather check she fills in her loyal Tom Tom on where she wants to go today.
Her first shoot of the day isn’t until late morning, so it gives Michelle extra time to head in to the office and ensure that everything is set up to run smoothly for the day with her production team. Delegating the day’s workloads, approving the editing and selecting photos from previous shoots are all on the morning agenda, as well as scheduling more photo shoots for the week ahead. There are a couple of clients who want to chat about how to prepare their property for forthcoming photo shoots, so these calls are made and any queries are dealt with. A quick call around her other photographers who are out on shoots, and then Michelle is in the car and on her way to her first photo shoot at a 19th-century farmhouse in East Lothian.
Late morning/early afternoon – Arriving at her shoot the client welcomes Michelle and offers her a cuppa. Michelle loves meeting the people at the properties she photographs, and enjoys the challenge of exceeding clients expectations with beautiful photographs. This process starts with a chance to sit down with the client and make them feel at ease. There’s very often a few ornaments that need moved, a bed sheet that needs straightened or curtains that need pulled back to maximise natural light. As the client shows Michelle around, they agree which rooms to photograph and also which external features are worth capturing for the schedule too. It’s then time for the client to relax as Michelle scoots around capturing the best wide-angled shots, the best areas of natural light and the best features of the property.
Once the photos are complete, it’s time to use the laser tool to accurately measure the rooms and draw up a draft blueprint of the floor plan for the production team. Before taking the exterior photos, Michelle chats again with the client and explains what to expect over the next 5 working days. It will take 24 hours to get the photos in the hands of the production team, then 24 hours for the production team to blow them up on screen and carry out any necessary alterations, cropping or editing and drawing up floor plans to scale. Next it will take 24 hours for the layout artist to match up all the wording (previously received from the surveyor) with photos and floor plans, then another 24 hours for quality control check before being sent to to the client for approval. On day 5 the property can go live on the market (as long as the seller has a published home report).
The rain has stayed off and Michelle manages to get some great external shots and countryside views before gathering up her gear and heading off to her next house. But first, a sandwich in the car and a brief stop to answer emails and return a few calls.
At property number two the client is very chatty and explains to Michelle how sad she is to be leaving the property. She’s an elderly widowed lady who has raised her children in this home, but it is now too big for her to live in on her own. Michelle appreciates that a person’s home really is where the heart is so when they let you in to photograph their home you need to respect that gesture. This client has a lot of sentimental ties to her property so Michelle takes her time, pays particular attention to any special features that the client points out, and reassures her that she will capture some lovely photos so she can always have them to look back on.
It’s a large house and the photo shoot lasts around two hours. Michelle leaves armed with some homemade cake that her client baked. It’s become part and parcel of Michelle’s job to get to know some clients and hear all sorts of interesting stories about the history of the property and the lives of the people who live there. She’s been offered everything from gin and tonic at 11am, to home-grown fruit, salmon sandwiches, books and even a beautiful piece of Victorian furniture that was headed to the skip.
Michelle heads off for her final photo shoot of the day before returning to the office. It’s a one-bedroom flat close to the City Centre and the young couple who live there are hoping to move up the property ladder and find somewhere with a garden to and a bit more room in time for the arrival of their new baby.
Back at the office it’s time to go over the day’s events with the production team and check in with Greig as to which schedules have been checked and given the go ahead to go live on the market, all while the photos from the day upload. The professional photography and production department operates like a meticulous processing plant for top quality, eye-catching schedules. The last week has been a record breaking week for the company with 22 homes going under offer and even more new homes going live on the market.
After Work – Michelle finally gets away from the office at around 7pm and arranges to share a well earned glass of wine with some friends at the pub (red wine is her favourite, and she’s actually just bought her first wine-making kit) before heading home to cook a favourite pasta dinner with her husband Tim and take Rufos for his evening walk.
Fun Michelle Facts
- She loves to relax by creating ceramics and can spin a potter’s wheel, fire and paint her creations.
- She has amazing ‘circus’ talents and can juggle multiple balls and throw devil sticks.
- She’s hoping to sell her recently restored Georgian home and move to the countryside – where she can hopefully turn a property into her dream home!
- Is thinking about stretching it out in a yoga class!
- Thinks that an awareness of light and space, having a fresh eye for looking at property and an appreciation for architecture are the specific skills required for any photographer thinking about doing the job (as well as having patience for and empathy with people).
