How to Photograph Your Home for Airbnb
So, you have taken a step forward and decided to offer your home as a cozy place to stay for tired travelers, tourists and vacationers. You can list your home on Airbnb, VRBO, HomeAway, or one of several other vacation rental sites, but you want your ad to look as compelling as possible to attract customers. This means taking professional, beautiful photographs.
“Just say no to cell phones,” said Peggy Farren, a professional photographer . Sure, your phone can take incredible pictures , but it’s still not a replacement for a professional camera that you can rent for a relatively cheap price. Farren is also an Airbnb superhost, so she knows a thing or two about making your home attractive to potential guests.
Highlight the uniqueness of your home
“Over the course of my Airbnb career, I’ve found that the more unique the decoration, the easier it is to rent a room,” Farren said. “I have three rooms, and the largest room with a separate entrance didn’t rent either, until I added a little bit of weirdness to it. It used to be very nice, but it seems okay. “
Guests love to stay in something a little out of the ordinary (isn’t novelty half the fun of travel?), So try to highlight everything that makes your home stand out from the crowd. “I think one of the reasons people love Airbnb is because of the charm of the homes they stay in,” she added.
Consider those parts of your property that are not found elsewhere, suggests LearnAirbnb.com . It could be a luxurious jacuzzi, a huge backyard, or a newly refurbished kitchen. They warn against trying to fit too many amenities into one photo. Keep it simple so viewers know where to look. One photographer told Digital Trends:
“Every object visible in a small camera frame should be an intentional part of the message you want to convey.” … If a jar with handles doesn’t add anything to your coffee table look, it isn’t necessary. It’s important not to feel pressured to add something to the scene in the hopes of making it unique, personalized, or as if the room has loads of gadgets for tenants to play with.
You can always add these additions to your description, so focus on a few unique offers and keep the rest simple.
Serve your target audience
You also need to know which guests are most likely to be filming your home so you can deliver your photos to them. For example, if you’re trying to attract business travelers (or just know there are a lot of them in your area), you probably want to photograph a comfortable workplace. Couples or families may, for example, want a large kitchen to prepare meals at home. LearnAirbnb includes some interesting suggestions on what tone you should set for your photos based on your target audience:
Couples: a sense of luxury: free champagne and flutes on the table, large pillows on a beautiful bed.
Families: Sense of security: gates / locked doors, show neighborhood kids playing in front of the block
Business travelers: a sense of reward: premium amenities, superb views
Groups: Feeling excited: snapshots of nightlife, highlighting large crowded areas
Knowing your target audience doesn’t mean you won’t receive inquiries from other guests, but it does at least help give your rental a holistic theme that makes it look more like a legitimate home than a bunch of random photos of your home. scored. together.
Cleanse and Learn Interior Design Basics
It goes without saying, but you want to collect any toys and clean up dirty dishes before you smash the camera.
“If you can, hide the cords and plugs for the photos,” Farren said. “Make sure the curtains hang straight. Hide everything, I mean everything from bathroom countertops to kitchen countertops. Clean and messy sales. “
Aside from making sure your home doesn’t look like a pigsty, you’ll also want to add some basic design elements to make your photos look attractive. Is there any easy way to do this? Color.
“Add vibrant colors to every room,” Farren suggested. “You can easily add flowers or pillows.”
However, there is much more to interior design than color, and while you probably don’t have time to learn all of this, there are some simple tips that anyone can follow :
Follow the Rule of Odd Numbers : Like the rule of thirds in photography, the idea behind designs with odd numbers is that they provide a framework for harmony and visual interest. As designer Cecilia Walker explains, “The basic idea behind the rule is that parts and objects that are placed or grouped into odd numbers are more attractive, memorable and effective than even-numbered pairs.”
Find the focal point of your room: The focal point of a room is its most important feature, the area your eyes are naturally drawn to when you walk into a room. Everything around the focus complements it.
Don’t forget about negative space : In design, negative space is an area that is not occupied by any subject. Most often, this is a white area on the walls. It’s tempting to fill every space with a theme, but sometimes the negative space speaks for itself. Pay attention to the “unused” plots for rent.
Choose the right angle
“Place the camera on a tripod about five or six feet high,” Farren said. “If you don’t have a tripod, find a way to keep the camera as stable as possible, such as placing it on a high stool. A fixed camera will give you a sharper image. “
You also have to choose the right lens, and it’s not always a wide angle lens that can fit in an entire room. This can make the photo look distorted and unrealistic. Plus, if you make a room look bigger than it actually is, you can ask for negative feedback when guests are unpleasantly surprised. Instead, Farren suggests shooting from a corner or from a doorway to get a realistic perspective of the room. “Whenever possible, shoot from the doorway to capture as much of the room as possible. Move around to find the best corner for each room. “
Make sure the room is brightly lit
Of course, your room should be well lit. The best Airbnb photos are clean, vibrant, and airy, which usually means shooting during the day.
Turn on all the lights in the room, Farren advised. “It’s usually best to shoot without a flash. However, if possible, use the flash aimed at a white ceiling. If directed upward, the ceiling expands and diffuses light, making it look very natural. If you aim a small flash forward, it may not look so good. Experiment with lighting to make the room as natural and vibrant as possible. “
Farren says that if natural light is limited, you should learn how to use exposure compensation. One way to do this is to use a slow shutter speed. Place the camera on a stable tripod, slow down the shutter speed and press to the side. The faster the shutter speed, the longer the camera shutter stays open, allowing more light to enter. However, if you keep the shutter open for too long, the picture will burn out completely. Shutter speeds can be tricky, so experiment with your camera settings to get the best shot.