Top Tips for Photographing Your Property

Posted by Marion on 18 Feb 2020 12:00 pm

You’ve heard the saying “a picture tells a thousand words”? Well this has never been truer than when potential guests are looking at your website or social media and deciding whether to book with you!

Of course, the optimal results are achieved by photography professionals, especially ones who specialize in photographing holiday parks, hotels and resorts. A good photographer will tell a story of an awesome stay at your property and put the guest right in the picture.

STANDARD PROPERTY PHOTOS

First up are the stock photos of all the accommodation types and facilities. Make sure everything is spotlessly clean and tidy, beds are made properly, and the pillows are ‘jooshed’. It can be a good idea for someone with an eye for detail to accompany the photographer during the shoot. The minimum number of photos required for each accommodation type is 5, with at least 1 of the bathroom, living area, kitchen, one of each bedroom (if there’s more than one) and an external photo.

PUT YOUR (FUTURE) GUESTS IN THE PICTURE

While Third Party sites like Expedia and Booking.com will only want photos without people, pets or cars in them, fun ‘action’ shots can be used on your website and social media to really inspire future guests. You will either need to hire talent or ask (very nicely) for family or friends to play the part of guests. Picture kids on the jumping pillow, a guest checking in, dad cooking a BBQ, mum relaxing by the pool, the whole family riding on go-karts.

SHOW OFF THE LOCAL AREA

The local area is also important for potential guests, so have your photographer head out to nearby attractions, such as wildlife parks, beaches, popular cafes and markets and get some shots, that ultimately you will own and be able to use as you please. (Read here about how even MOM can get caught out on photography copyright.)

KEEP IT REAL

Keep in mind consumers are savvy and most can spot a photo-shopped ‘bright and shiny’ professional photo a mile off. And we don’t want to scare them off with those ‘make the room look twice as big as it actually is’ fish eye lens or ‘rain on the driveway at night’ kind of shots either (cough, real estate agents we’re looking at you!).

Social media users also love authentic content from the property, such as daily bird feedings or shots of the team at work. If we are working with you, you can simply send us any spontaneous shots and we can post it to social media for you – in fact, we love them!

The 3 top tips if you are photographing your property are:

Stay level (no artistic tilting!) If you’re using your phone, go to your camera settings and switch on the gridline feature for a guide, or line up your frame with the horizon or a building.
Use natural light where you can, and increase your exposure setting if you need to enhance a low-light area. Don’t zoom digitally as this can result in a grainy photo.
Generally, try to capture photos in landscape format (hold your phone sideways) and make sure you have the photo quality set to high.

Expedia has some excellent guides available in their photo toolkit, which can be a great reference whether you are having photos professionally done, you have a friend with a good quality camera, or you want to have a go at it yourself.

And of course, our team is always happy to assist with more detailed information… and I guarantee our Social Media experts absolutely love receiving those ‘spur-of-the-moment’ photos from you!