Do you remember your first home? I know I do! Hopefully your first home holds many special memories of your childhood: laughing, playing, insignificant moments that will forever be imprinted in your mind.

This quaint red home is my first home, but not the first home I lived in. It’s the first home I photographed professionally. In the summer of 2018 I started putting together a real estate photography portfolio. I had a friend who had been in business for about a year, had several realtors he was doing repeat work for, and allowed me to shadow him. #CommunityOverCompetition, right?! I had been working with my DSLR for some time, but was having a hard time pinpointing the type of photography I wanted to specialize in. I had a wide angle lens that I had used for astrophotography adventures, so I popped that on my camera and off to New Hampshire I went.

We had talked a lot about real estate photography before: angles, verticals, composition, lighting, exterior work, working with realtors, and everything else, and now it was time to put theory into practice. This shoot was done with on camera flash, handheld, single exposure. My workflow is a bit different these days; I typically blend a few shots together and add flash pops where necessary, but getting to work side by side with someone who had been in the field for a while was a great experience.

The exterior of the home was a beautiful oasis. There was a koi pond, this adorable wooden shed, an above ground pool, fenced in garden, and expansive green grass in the backyard. The inside was just as welcoming, featuring a sitting room with a wood stove beside the updated kitchen with quartz countertops, wide plank pine floors throughout the first level, and a walk in closet the size of a bedroom. There were so many beautiful features in this home, and I loved the opportunity to photograph it.

I’ll always remember this house. The vibrant red exterior, the warm feeling walking throughout the property, and trying to keep all of my photography rules in my head while shooting! Feel free to share a memory of your first home in the comments!