Airbnb Photography Guide: How To Take Great Photos

Read time: 4 minutes

In the last couple weeks, I have read over 125,000 words on the topic of Airbnb photography.

I have been following Airbnb photographers for a couple years and I'm always amazed by their work. And just recently I have started to wonder, "How can I do this without footing the photographer bill?"

So, I took it upon myself to binge over a dozen articles from the best short-term rental marketing companies—and see if I could find a repeatable framework I could use myself to DIY listing photos.

One weekend later, here’s what I learned:

Why Your Airbnb Photos Should Be Great

Having high quality photos is a must when it comes to Airbnb marketing. Here are some data points from Airbnb to emphasize that idea:

• Hosts with professional photos earn more.

• Photos are the top reasons guests book.

• Hosts can raise their nightly rate.

Needless to say, professional photos work.

So... how can we take them ourselves?

4 Common Airbnb Photography Tips I Learned From My Binge

After reading articles that were 1,500 words too long, I've managed to boil down the 4 most common tips from listing photography professionals:

• Stage the space

• Sell the experience.

• It's all about angles and composition.

• Edit all photos

Pair these tips with action and you've got a recipe for dining room wall worthy photos.

Let's dig in:

Tip 1: Stage The Space

Taking photos of a clean space is a given.

But I found that the best photographers add that extra element and stage a shoot.

The reason is because they want to allow a scroller to visualize the experience as a guest.

Here are some good staging ideas I wrote down:

• Set up a work station at the desk (with a laptop and coffee mug).

• Get the bonfire going.

• Set out a bottle of wine and glasses when you photograph the kitchen.

• Place games on the coffee table.

These little elements can be highly effective.

Tip 2: Sell The Experience

The next common tip I found was about selling the experience.

Tip #1 was about selling the experience within the walls of your home. Now we want to sell the experience beyond the property lines.

While this varies depending on your location, here is how you can get the ideas flowing:

• What do you like to do?

• What does Google recommend people do?

• What are the highest rated places in your area? (restaurants, shops, events, etc...)

• What are some outdoor activities people could do?

Not everyone will be staying at your property for the experiences you capture. But for those that are, it will be a no brainer booking for them.

Tip 3: It's all about angles and composition

This is where the photographers got granular and specific.

After going through super technical explanations of why angles and composition matter, I figured out how to simplify it:

Look at the two photo comparisons below. One has added aspects and the other doesn't. Which one is more appealing to you?

The bottom one, right? That's why angles and composition are important.

Tip 4: Edit all your photos.

I noticed two recurring reasons why photo editing was recommended.

You can correct lighting and color balance: Good natural light conditions may not always be in your favor. Editing allows for equilibrium in all your content.

Create a consistent look: A uniform photo album will increase the perceived professionalism of your business.

If you don't want to learn photo editing, there were a couple articles that recommended hiring a Fiverr freelancer.

There are options where you could get an entire portfolio edited for less than $50.

I'm a huge component of paying for time back so I highly recommend this path. I've done it in my own business.

Otherwise here are some 15min YouTube DIY editing guides that will teach you everything.

1. How to edit photos using Lightroom.

2. How to edit photos on a phone.

3. How to edit Airbnb photo’s.

How to DIY professional Airbnb photography

Don't get me wrong. I'm not a photographer. But I implemented these tips into my photography and they helped.

I think they will help you too. 

We all know great photos are the cornerstone of a short-term rental marketing campaign. 

So, give the above and try, and you will see results like so many hosts I know who have amazing photos.

That's all for today. I'll see you in the next article.