Villa Pastorale

The brief

I photographed Villa Pastorale in Paros, in the Cyclades, Greece, for Sotheby’s Greece. The villa brings together white architectural volumes, curved outdoor spaces and a pool overlooking the sea. Inside, built-in shelves and sculpted partitions continue the language of the exterior, with timber, woven furniture and blue accents adding warmth to the white rooms. The commission called for a collection that described the architecture and interiors clearly while conveying the residence’s relationship with the island landscape. My aim was to connect the broad views with the quieter details that give each space its character.

The photographic challenge

The contrast between white surfaces, stone paving and blue water is central to the property. Strong daylight can flatten the facades or draw attention away from their shape, so the photographs needed to retain the depth of recesses, curved walls and shaded areas. Around the pool, the changing curves and submerged stepping stones required careful viewpoints to make the arrangement of water, terraces and seating easy to follow. The sea also had to remain part of the setting without overwhelming the architecture.

Indoors, generous window light meets white walls, pale floors and upholstered furniture. I needed to preserve the differences between these surfaces while balancing the views through the openings. Recessed shelving, reflective glass tables and the bedroom’s stepped partitions called for precise framing, with a consistent treatment of perspective and colour across the collection.

My approach

I opened the sequence with the view across the pool towards the villa. It brings the white facade, sun loungers and shaded outdoor spaces into one composition. An elevated view then places the building within the hillside landscape, while the wider pool panorama describes its relationship with the surrounding coast and islands. Closer pool photographs follow the curve of the water and the line of stepping stones, with a terracotta jar providing a quieter foreground detail.

The courtyard changes the pace. Here, the shade sail, curved seating alcove and irregular stone paving introduce a more enclosed outdoor space. An overhead composition concentrates on the built-in benches and stone table, showing the relationship between materials, geometry and the shadows cast by the stair railing.

Inside, I used the living-room view to connect the white beamed ceiling, fireplace and arrangement of chairs with the pool beyond the French doors. The dining-room photograph follows this connection through another opening towards the courtyard. In the bedrooms, wider views explain the platform bed, built-in shelving and sculpted walls, while blue textiles and woven furniture distinguish the rooms without interrupting the restrained palette. I closed the collection with the outdoor bench, allowing a simple composition of cushions, white plaster and sky to return attention to the smaller details.

The result

The 13-photograph collection presents Villa Pastorale through its architecture, interiors and outdoor spaces. It creates a coherent visual presentation for Sotheby’s Greece, balancing the openness of the island setting with the more intimate character of the rooms and courtyard. Accurate geometry, controlled perspective and natural colour keep attention on the property, with a sequence that makes both its spatial arrangement and atmosphere clear.