Photography for your Airbnb
High quality photography is CRITICAL as every guest will be making their entire purchasing decision based on what you're showing them in your photos. If your budget allows for it, I strongly recommend hiring a professional photographer who has experience with real estate photography (important because not all photographers know how to shoot real estate and there are nuances) to take the photos. It will likely be very much worth the investment when you think about how many bookings it will attract thereafter. Scroll down to see my recommendations for how to find a good local real estate photographer.
If the option of hiring a professional photographer is not available to you at this time, I recommend using a smartphone or camera that has a wide-angle lens feature (so you can fit more of the space within the frame). Hold your phone horizontally while shooting, and take pictures from multiple perspectives of each room. You only need to show the areas of the home that the guest will have access to. You don’t need to show hallways or doors with empty walls. You also don’t need to show the inside of your drawers, closets, and cabinets (although you can if you want to). Just show enough to give a good idea of every space the guest will be renting.
Be sure to tidy up and remove unnecessary clutter before the photographer arrives, or before you take your photos! The space should look exactly like what the guests will see when they check in.
For privacy and security reasons, many hosts choose not to show the front of their house or any numbers or signs that show the property address. However, if your place is really unique-looking and looks great photographed from the outside, you may want to include a picture like that. A key point when uploading your pictures is that the Airbnb website and app are designed to showcase “landscape” photos (photos with a horizontal orientation rather than vertical). If you take your photos vertically, they might look cropped in the preview, which isn’t ideal. I’ve listed out these and other important tips to keep in mind below!
Once you upload your photos, and you publish your listing, check the Photo Tour on your listing editor to make sure the photos are arranged into the correct spaces. If your bedroom count or amount of beds on your listing isn’t showing up correctly, it’s usually because the Ai tool that automatically arranged your photos in the Photo Tour made a mistake. Thankfully, this is very easy to fix. Just go into your Photo Tour, click into each photo, and make sure the sleeping arrangements are correct. You can also add or remove spaces if needed. Then, if you want, you can add some more details to each room, like amenities and accessibility features, to give guests a clearer picture of what to expect. If you have any questions or come across any issues, don’t hesitate to book a call with me so I can help guide you to find a solution quickly, and optimize your listing.
PHOTOS WITH YOUR SMARTPHONE OR CAMERA
1. Clean Up: Hide any cords or wires, hide trash cans, close toilet seats, fluff your pillows, use simple and clean or white bed sheets to make the room look brighter, and hide unnecessary clutter.
2. Grids: If your phone or camera offers the option, turn on the grids guides to help you take straight, aligned photos.
3. Lighting: No flash and natural light is better than artificial lighting. This will help you capture the best natural light possible. If your room has no windows, then try to create a cozy look with decorative lamps.
4. Layout: Shoot horizontally (landscape orientation) because Airbnb will crop any vertical (portrait orientation) photos on the photo previews.
5. Wide-Angle & Close Ups: First, try shooting with a wide-angle lens setting. Many smartphone cameras offer this feature now (turn the zoom to 0.5x for example). You can also shoot a few close up shots of some special benefits you offer like a coffee maker, neatly organized towels, and toiletries. Variety in the closeness of the photos makes for a more interesting and visually appealing listing.
6. Nearby Attractions: If you're near special attractions like a beach, theme park, lake, hike, golf course, etc. you could consider adding photos of these at the end of your gallery. This will help viewers understand the benefit of staying in your area. You can also consider adding photos of a laundry room or parking spot if you offer those amenities.
If you care about your privacy, please be mindful to not show your exact address in your photos. You don't need to show the front of your house. Your confirmed guests will receive directions only after they've completed their booking.
HOW TO FIND A GOOD PHOTOGRAPHER?
Taking photos that showcase a house is very different than
shooting a human portrait. So ideally, you will want to hire
someone with experience in real estate photography.
Try Googling "real estate photographer in [your area]" or get a quote from some of the nation-wide photography companies listed below.
