Smart Vacation Rental Owner Tips for Taking Property Flattering Photos

Photos are probably the most important element for effective vacation rental advertising. Smart vacation rental owners know it’s not enough to just post a few random shots. By providing a variety of desirable lighting and seasonal options, a potential vacation rental customer can more easily visualize themselves being there.

Taking Photos

The three keys to taking great photos are:

1. A great camera. Digital cameras generally provide pre-sets which automatically adjust the camera’s exposure and shutter speed according to the specific scenario chosen.

2. A knowledge of the camera. Read the owner’s manual and become familiar with the pre-sets and which types of lighting scenarios each setting is best used with.

3. A knowledge of photo lighting and angles. Take photos at different times of day, in different seasons, and from different angles and heights. Study up on photography to learn the basics and avoid wasting time on newbie mistakes, like not using flash fill in photos with back lit subjects.

Choosing Photos

Vacation rental experts claim that a listing displaying five or more photos will receive twice as many views as a listing with four or less. Although a vacation rental owner should choose photos that showcase the property’s strengths, below are the majority which customers want to see in a property listing.

• The view
• Living Room
• Kitchen
• Master Bedroom
• Pool/Hot Tub

If there is no pool or hot tub, go with another bedroom or a tranquil outdoor setting. Change your photos often and monitor the page view results to determine which photos earn the most hits.

Using Photo Editing Software

Even with a fully automatic digital camera a photographer can still miss a flash, or stand too far away from their subject. Photo editing software allows a user to make corrections ranging from adjusting basic brightness/contrast to the more complex highlight/midtone/shadow, plus color hues, saturation, and lightness allowances. Software also gives the vacation rental owner the ability to crop out “busy” portions of a photo and focus in on the most interesting aspects of the property.

Hiring a Professional Photographer

There comes a time in every business when an owner must decide if outsourcing is in their best interest. When it comes to photos, the better the quality, the more likely a customer is to choose your property. So don’t mess around. If you just can’t find the time to learn how to improve the images portraying your property, hire someone that can do it for you.

Though photos are the most effective tool for initiating interest and first contact with a customer, their following through with the rental will be contingent upon your professionalism and integrity as a vacation rental owner; even more dependent on your service, is their returning to rent again.