“From sight love is born”, says an old Spanish proverb. This is especially true with your Airbnb photos!
And if you have any doubts, some surveys show that consumers are 60% more likely to consider a brand that shows quality photos in local search results. Even Airbnb encourages its hosts to display professional photos in their listing, as people tend to choose those properties with images that invite bookings, helping to increase profits up to 40% more.
It is for all of the above that today we want to share some tips so that you can get the most out of your property with professional photos.
1. Set the stage
Inspect each of your rooms before you start taking photos of your Airbnb to make sure they are prepped and ready. Check that the curtains or blinds in the living room are fully open and that the coffee table has a magazine or two on it for a special touch.
For the bathroom, make sure the tub, shower, and sink have all been thoroughly cleaned. You can add some candles around it and folded towels for a more luxurious feel. Make sure all kitchen surfaces are sparkling clean and pots, pans, and utensils are in order.
Once the rental is set up for the photo shoot, you’re ready to go! But first, remember the main goal, your Airbnb photos should be a visual display of your rental property and should stand out at its best.
2. Get the most out of daytime lighting
Having great lighting in your Airbnb photos will make them look more professional. Natural light helps to enhance the contrast, depth and colors of your property. To do this, when you take photos for your Airbnb listing, first open the blinds and curtains to let in as much natural light as possible.
One thing photographers can overlook is that you should always turn on all the lights before you shoot. Turning on interior lights will remove dark corners from your Airbnb photos. It also gives potential guests a clear view of what your place has to offer.
This is useful and highly recommended when taking professional photos of a kitchen or bathroom where there may not be as much natural light as in the rest of the house. Turning on the lights will also help guests see how clean your property is.
3. Shoot from different angles.
Make sure to show as many details of your accommodation as possible. Shoot from the corners of rooms to add more space and depth. And try different angles to capture the entire environment of the spaces.
Focus on a point in the middle of the room to get the optimal depth of field. This will give your guests an idea of the size of the rooms.
Fisheye or extra wide-angle lenses are not recommended because they are misleading – Your image should be as realistic as possible.
To change the perspective and better capture the essence of the room, we recommend that you squat or lie down. By changing the perspective you will also add more dimensions to your images and dynamism to your ad.
4. Create the perfect image with excellent composition.
As in other areas of photography, composition is critical to getting the picture right. Use the rule of thirds or the golden ratio to create aesthetic results.
Make sure the horizontal and vertical lines are straight on your camera. Use the windows and walls for reference. If the doors or shelves lean in the photo, it can give an unrealistic impression of the dimensions and spaces. Use symmetry when you can.
Try to engage viewers and tell a story, even if it’s about the house they just rented for a few days. The more the image speaks to the viewer, the more likely they are to make a connection and book your property.
5. Show off a lifestyle in your photos.
While some guests appreciate more practical photos, most choose a property based on the lifestyle it offers. Use your Airbnb’s professional photo collection to show what kind of lifestyle guests might enjoy staying at your place.
If your property offers rustic living, you could include a kettle with a copper stove and a cheese board. If you are a chic urban pad, you can add luxury toiletries to the bathroom, for a glamorous touch. If guests enjoy the outdoors, show them where to store outdoor gear and so on.
These types of photos will help attract specific types of guests to your property. You are likely to earn more from certain demographics than others, so try to cater to your ideal guests in your photos.
6. Take photos of the neighbourhood and its surroundings.
People love to see where you live as much as the property they’ll be staying at. So be sure to get some photos of nearby restaurants and local attractions.
Don’t just take a picture and leave it at that. Spend some time capturing the essence of your neighbourhood in photos. If you’re in the middle of the city, capture a few shots of the nearby hustle and bustle. If you’re in a lovely, quiet neighbourhood, take photos of the local park or bridge.
7. Highlight the most attractive elements of your property.
Your first image is by far the most important, because it is the one that will appear as the featured image of your Airbnb advert. It should therefore be the image that best describes the style of your accommodation and what makes it unique and different.
This means that if your first photo doesn’t look attractive, very few potential guests will be able to see your ad. Yes, that’s right, if your first image doesn’t look attractive, all your efforts to create the rest of your ad will be in vain.
That is why to make the selection of your first image, we recommend that you put yourself in the place of your guests and think for a few minutes how they would choose the perfect accommodation.
To do this, first show your best photos, as well as the different spaces that your home offers. This way, instead of showing five photos of your living room first, it shows the best photo of each room in your house, as well as the best photo of the outside area and the neighborhood. This way the viewer has a quick idea of what you have to offer.
The rest of your photos can be displayed grouped by space or category, e.g. living room, bedroom one, bedroom two, etc. The purpose of these photos is to provide more details of the spaces to your next guests.
Guests can use your TV as a media centre to Browse the Internet, Play games, Check news, see the weather, check social networks, video calles play videos from USB and a whole host of other features!
Summary
- A good time to take photos is midday as this is when the sunlight is at its strongest and the lighting is uniform.
- If there is another time that gives a certain warmth to the photo (such as a sunset) feel free to include these too, especially if your property caters to the outdoors.
- Take advantage of using the photo captions whenever possible, this will help guide the traveller through your accommodation.
- The horizontal format is still the best for showing interior spaces.
- If you decide to take photos in vertical format, make sure you are consistent with your photos as it can be annoying for the user to have to turn and turn the cell phone or mobile to see photos that were taken in different positions.
- Two more “details”: 1. Keep the toilet lid lowered and no photos directly in front of a mirror! Especially at the same time!
Guests can listen to media of their choice (or watch with Google Nest) and link their Alexa / Google Home account to the speaker.
Conclusion
Creating gorgeous and engaging photos to add to your Airbnb listing is a sure way to ensure more enquiries and of course more bookings for your accommodation.
If you hire a photography professional it’s much better for your listing and the initial outlay will no doubt pay for itself in no time.
