Vacation Rental Photography Tips & Tricks

A good photo tells a story. It inspires and persuades. People don’t buy because of logic. They buy based on emotions. You can talk a good game all you want but if you don’t speak to their emotions, they won’t desire what you are offering. Strong visuals evoke strong emotions, so it makes sense to put your best photos forward. This guide will share several vacation rental photography tips that will help maximize the emotional draw of your property and position it well above your competition. Want some stats?

Studies have confirmed that almost 90 percent of real-estate clients pay most of their attention to photography. This number includes tourists searching for vacation rentals, as well. According to Forbes without compelling photos of your real estate, you shouldn’t even think about advertising it.

The picture of a rental house or apartment is your initial contact with a potential client. Depending on his first impression, he will decide whether to rent it or not. So, you could say that a high-quality photo is the beginning of a good user experience. Are you ready to start that journey and increase your rental income? Then follow these photography tips.

#1

Photography Tip – Think and Act Like a Professional

No matter how good or expensive your smartphone is, it`s just not enough. Therefore, a middle-class semiprofessional camera is always a better solution. Every professional photographer will confirm that. Consequently, to enhance your visual marketing value you need to hire a professional who will provide you high-quality content for long-term use. Think of it as a necessary initial cost with a guaranteed return on investment.

A good photographer knows to choose the right angle and the amount of light in the space. He will use his professional knowledge to construct an image that makes a good impression. With just the right spot, and detail the photo has the power to bring a whole new context to any space. That`s how you arouse your potential client`s emotions and create a positive perception of your real estate. Here is one of the main pieces of advice related to vacation rental photography tips. A good photo makes an enormous difference in your income.

#2

Photography Tip – Multi-Angle Photos Give Fewer Doubts

A beautiful photo is the first thing your client sees. It helps him experience and “feel” the space of your rental property. Why are multi-angle pictures on the list of our vacation rental tips? Remember that photography is your tool of creating an almost physical user experience in a virtual world. Therefore, it`s crucial to show the rental interior from as many angles as you can.

You can relate this to a trendy 360-degree showcase of products in web shops. The principle is the same. You have to provide the potential customer with a complete look-around. That way you will increase your prospect’s trust in your offer and help convert him into a paying customer.

Also, you need to realize that a tourist will look at your vacation rental images from another perspective. To you, these are just photos of a familiar place. But to them, these visuals show the new, still unknown interior. So, your task is to show a place where your clients want to be, from all possible points of view. Therefore, they will have a feeling they know everything there is to know about the place before booking it.

#3

Photography Tip – Good Photos Make Better SEO

Search engine optimization or SEO, in very basic terms, relates to how well your listing does on Google’s search results page. Using quality images on your site attracts visitors and increases the chance of them engaging with your online content. The more time they spend on your website, the faster the internet crawlers will recognize that. Consequently, you get rewarded with improved visibility and better search results rank. Finally, better organic search results lead to more exposure, and thereby to more bookings.

There is one more important SEO tip about the images you should remember. Every photo on your website comes with an HTML feature called alt text or alternative text. What’s its primary purpose? To help the internet search engines in displaying, sorting and analyzing visual content in search results.

Okay, but what makes a good alt text?

It has to be descriptive and consist of your main keywords. Alt text optimization is a simple step in securing higher recognition of your web images during the search engine process.

#4

Photography Tip – Leverage the Power of Social Networks

One of the leading vacation rental photography tips is to share your visual content to social networks. Many real estate experts will confirm that. Sharing beautiful pictures is one of the most powerful tools to do that. This is especially important with social networks like Pinterest, Instagram, or Facebook – due to their visual nature.

Many studies have proved that an average social network user will more likely respond to engaging visual content than any other material. How do they spend their time in these virtual communities? One of their main occupations is a search for exciting visuals that could evoke their emotions and amuse them for a while. So, how to stand out from the competition and increase your rental income? To do that, you need to make professional and unique photos that will more likely get users to comment, like, and share.

It’s obvious if you think about it, isn’t it?

#5

Photography Tip – Keep Current With Mobile Trends

According to some predictions, by the end of 2020 Generation Z will make more than 40 % of all buyers in the world. This new sort of customer is technology focused and hard to reach. You probably won’t see a Generation Z member without a smartphone, tablet or a laptop in their hands. Let’s connect that fact with our vacation rental photography tips.

Today, more than ever, customers and clients use their smartphones to get in touch with the content they find interesting. As a result, most of the information flow is happening in motion, trough mobile phones. You only have a few second time-windows to draw their attention. The photography perfectly fits in that limited space. Why? Because it can communicate a more significant amount of information than any written word. In other words, an attractive visual can perfectly present your rental property and draw the attention of a tourist by a single look.

#6

Photography Tip – Create a Space Where People Can Imagine Themselves

To understand these vacation rental photography tips even better, let s take your way of thinking one step forward. You see, the easiest way to understand your client’s needs is to put yourself in his or her position.

How?

Let’s say you are searching for an ideal apartment to rent on your vacation. After entering all the parameters, you are facing with at least a few hundred results matching your search. Will you open all of them? No, because you don’t have enough time for it. The next logical step is eliminating less attractive ads, and by that, we mean those with unattractive photos, right?

Why are we doing that? The answer is simple:

A poor visual content implicates low-quality accommodation.  Here are some vacation rental photography tips on how to make a beautiful photo of a vacation rental.

#7

Photography Tip – Balance the Number of Interior & Exterior Shots

We can divide the photos of any real-estate property in two basic categories; the interior and exterior photography. What do you think, which ones are more important to attract clients? Sure, it’s good to show a nice backyard, a swimming pool or a terrace, but people will spend most of their time on the inside. That is why the interior photos should dominate your ad content.

If your advertisement has enough place for up to fifteen photos, at least ten of them should represent the interior. Also, it’s crucial not to exaggerate the number of photos. Why? Well, you would want to focus your client’s attention on all the features and benefits that are most likely to convert his visit into a booking.

If you just rain pictures down on him or her, they will likely feel overwhelmed and look at another offer, which is easier to digest while also seeming to offer everything they are looking for.

Makes sense?

Good.

Besides the photography trick to showcase a smaller number of high-quality images than to force an excessive quantity with no visual value. It’s even more important to choose the perfect cover photo for your ad, which will make the first impression on a potential client. Therefore, your cover photo should always be the most appealing one (again, pretty obvious).

#8

Photography Tip – Become the Benchmark in Creating the Visual Content

What is the conclusion after reading all about our vacation rental photography tips?

First of all, you have to remember that a good photo of a rental property is one of the essential things in marketing. Considering its quality, it can both boost your bookings and decrease them.

A high-quality photo can also become your secret weapon to fight the ever-increasing demands of online users.

Thanks to the internet, today an average tourist can quickly get to all the information he needs in no time. Although the virtual market offers enough space for everybody, the tight competition makes the whole game very sharp. Every click and web visit counts. Consequently, transforming a visitor into a client has become more challenging than ever. So why not use visual content to take advantage and drive your business?

Finally, you should think of functional and attractive photography as your opening card to creating a good user experience. Why is this important? Good user experience means you care about your clients, and a satisfied customer is the best advert you can get.