Your Vacation Rental Property is losing you money if you don’t have professional photography. If you have a vacation rental property listed with VRBO, Airbnb, Facebook, or on Craigslist. Please do yourself a favor and read why it’s so important to have professional photography of your vacation rental property.
Renters may subconsciously associate professional photography with how professionalism you are about your vacation rental property. If your photos are dark and your verticle/horizontal lines are off, the renters might think you are, too! It’s best to seek out an expert to ensure the best overall impression of your vacation property and your business.
It’s time to hire a professional photographer if:
- You’ve staged your photos, played with the lighting, taken hundreds of shots…. and none of them do your second home justice.
- You don’t own a digital camera and don’t really know how to operate your newfangled 35mm.
- You have no interest in photography.
- You can’t foresee having a chance to get to your vacation home in the near future.
How to Find a Professional Photographer
- Ask for recommendations from other homeowners who have good photos.
- Do a Google search for real estate photographers in your area.
- Ask area real estate agents for recommendations.
Once you’ve found a photographer you think may be a good fit, be sure to look through his/her portfolio. These days a lot of photographers have their photo galleries online. Not all photographers are created equal. Just because a photographer is great for poraits or weddings, doesn’t mean they’ll excel at real estate photography.
Tips for Hiring a Professional Photographer
- Find out if the photographer will stage the rooms before shooting them.
- Find out if they are shooting HDR and even know how to do it properly.
- Try to be at your property when the photographer comes to shoot, if possible.
- Be clear that you want digital files of the pictures and the rights to use the photos for advertising purposes without having to give photo credit.
- Get everything in writing.
Be sure to put up as many photos as your vacation rental site and your budget will allow. When renters only see one or two photos, they often wonder what’s wrong with the rest of the property. If you can post a virtual tour of the property, even better.
Ask your friends if they know a great photographer but he/she doesn’t live nearby, you may want to consider asking the photographer to trade their services for a week’s stay at your vacation home in the off season.
While the expense may seem high, by shooting the photos yourself. You are going to leave a lot of money on the table. Having professional photos could be the difference between booking 15 weeks a year and booking 35 weeks, which could lead to thousands of dollars in rental income.
Real Estate Photographers use Full Frame Sensor cameras, with a wide angle lens to capture your space properly, They know certain rooms the tripod has to be at the correct height to showcase a specific room (tripod heights vary for particular rooms). They use techniques to show the viewer how big the room is, which you can’t do with a cell phone or point and shoot camera. The shoot in HDR to make your property stand out from those who use amateur cameras or cell phones.
Your property is an investment and if you are not investing in professional photography…you are not treating your business like a business. Statistics show properties with professional photos receive 118% more online views.
P. S. If I can help you in any way, please reach out and let me help YOU with YOUR bottom line.
