7 Professional Photography Tips To Make Your Rental Shine
7 PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS TO TEMPT TRAVELERS
When potential guests are researching where to stay on their well-deserved vacation, looks matter. Your photos need to show off your rental at its very best to appeal to travelers and bring in the bookings.
You don’t have to be a professional photographer to take a great picture, but it helps to get some advice from one. So, from how to take great interior shots to the best time of day to shoot outside, read these seven top tips from our guest contributor Mike Frisbee – a TripAdvisor Rentals homeowner and photographer, who knows a thing or two about taking photos that sparkle.
1. Find some inspiration
First: check out the competition. When someone else’s listing leaves you itching to book a vacation, note down what’s great about the photos and try a similar approach.
2. Get the light right
Exterior Shots: A clear blue sky makes all the difference, so try to take your photos on a day when the weather is on your side. Stand with your back to the sun and snap away. You’ll probably need to photograph one side in the morning, then the other in the afternoon.
Interior Shots: Take these during the day with natural light streaming in through the windows. If you want to show a room lit up at night, take your photos as the sun is setting – not when it’s already dark.
3. Forget the flash
Your flash will only light objects in the foreground, so it won’t always give you the best results. Try the following:
• Set your camera to manual
• Switch the flash off
• Set the highest ISO (800 or 1600) for indoor shots, or a low setting (100) for outdoors
4. Cut the clutter
Mess and clutter will grab guests’ attention for all the wrong reasons, so tidy up before you start snapping.
5. Focus on your home
Travelers don’t want to see pictures of someone else’s family having a blast – they want to imagine themselves there. Keep your shots super simple and free of people.
6. Give the full picture
You don’t get a real sense of a room if all you can see is half a bed and a door. Stand in the corner of the room and set your camera lens to its widest to take in as much of the room as possible. You can use a tripod to keep your camera steady. And don’t forget: whichever picture you want to use as your lead photo needs to be landscape, rather than portrait, or it won’t fit in the first slot of your image gallery.
7. Be creative with angles
Take a few photos while standing on a chair or holding the camera above your head. Now try tilting the camera. Do any of these approaches bring the best out of that bathroom or kitchen?
Try Mike’s top seven tips and see if you can tempt more travelers to book your property.
Looking for more photo-related advice? Check out our post on the best way to order your listing photos!
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