Where is the sun?
“What a beautiful day” is a phrase I rarely utter before embarking on a full day of shooting and editing property. It seems that the last four weeks has been the most miserable I’ve ever suffered in terms of weather conditions while working - a mixture of misty grey skies and persistent rain resulting in waterlogged gardens, rain-soaked external walls, and a necessity for extra post-production at the end of the day.
In that time, I’ve had two days of relatively sunny conditions to work with, so the forthcoming spring and summer will definitely be something to look forward to.
Unfortunately, a side-effect of the appalling conditions are the demands of a growing section of homeowners who insist on shoots only being conducted in perfect, sunny conditions. In the perfect world I’d sit in the house with a list of a few jobs per month - waiting for the beautiful weather before heading out, and being paid handsomely for each individual job. Oh what a life. In reality, I cover a territory of 8800 sq km, and can shoot around 20 homes a week in any part of that territory. This means working 7 long days a week, almost every week, and driving 3000 miles a month routinely for significantly less than the “average UK wage”. It’s simply not possible to cater to the desires of everyone who insists on a non-negotiable position.
My current compromise is to shoot interiors at a pre-determined time, capture draft exteriors, and return at some point in the future (at my own cost and in my own time obviously - why would my life ever be taken into consideration?). This has to change as it’s adding days and days to my monthly working hours, and simply isn’t neither fair or sustainable.
I sit here writing this post with a bit of a pissed-off demeanour as my morning job postponed because the sun wasn’t out. This has just kicked the can down the road, delayed their property listing, and probably resulted in yet another weekend day involving me being apart from my family (who now are used to my lack of presence whenever they need me). The brutal imposition on every morsel of free time I may have is the one thing that would force me to ditch this career in the last few years of my working life.
