Mastering the Art of Captivating Airbnb Listing Photos

When it comes to attracting potential guests to your Airbnb property, there's one crucial element that can make all the difference—listing photos. High-quality, well-composed images have the power to pique interest, create a positive first impression, and ultimately convince travelers to book your accommodation.

In this blog post, we will delve into the importance of good listing photos and provide you with a step-by-step guide on how to capture stunning visuals that showcase your Airbnb in its best light.

Why Do Good Listing Photos Matter?

• First Impressions Count: When browsing through countless Airbnb listings, travelers often make quick judgments based on the listing photos. Eye-catching visuals can make your property stand out from the competition and instantly grab the attention of potential guests.
• Boost Bookings and Revenue: High-quality images convey professionalism and credibility, which can lead to higher booking rates and potentially increased revenue. By showcasing your property in its best light, you inspire confidence and make it more appealing to potential guests.
• Reflect Your Property's True Potential: Good listing photos accurately represent your property, highlighting its unique features and selling points. They help set realistic guest expectations, reducing the likelihood of negative reviews or disappointment upon arrival.

Preparing for the Photoshoot:

Before capturing your listing photos, ensure that your property is immaculately clean, thoughtfully staged, and thoroughly lit.

Send your cleaners in (or go through yourself) and complete a deep clean. If this is a brand new property, it should be easy, but make sure you take extra care. A high quality camera will pick up and streaks or residue on counters or mirrors, any wrinkled or stained duvet covers, and any footprints or crumbs on hardwood. Every detail counts (every time you clean, but especially before you take photos)!

Don’t forget to add stylish touches to create an inviting atmosphere that resonates with potential guests. Fluff the throw pillows on the couch, artfully arrange snacks on the counter, and carefully fold the end of each toilet paper roll.

Most homes have poor lighting for photos, so open all blinds and curtains to flood the space with natural light. You should also turn on every light in the house—yes EVERY light! This includes under cabinet lights in the kitchen or colored accent lighting. The more lights the better. Well-lit rooms appear more spacious, inviting, and photogenic.

Capturing the Photos:

We recommend hiring a professional.

If you are located near Columbus, OH, contact our in-house Airbnb photographer

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If you are taking the photos yourself, that is okay! If you are planning on investing in more than one property and if you have any experience taking professional photos, it would be a good investment to do it yourself. However, speaking of investment, make sure you have invested in proper equipment. Your phone takes great photos for instagram, but TRUST US your phone’s camera won’t cut it when it comes to interior real estate photography.

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Taking the photos:

Invest in a high-grade, professional camera with a wide-angle lens and a low aperture. This combination allows you to capture a wider field of view and ensures sharp, clear images with depth and dimension.

Warning: photographer lingo ahead!

Ideally, you would want a full-frame camera, but a crop sensor will work as well.

You should invest in a lens with a low aperture, the lowest f-stop available is f/0.7 but a f/1.8 will work fine.

You must have a wide angle lens. You will want around a 12-16mm lens. Avoid a fisheye lens, go for a wide angle lens. The fisheye look can be a bit disconcerting, and you should be able to fit most of a room within a wide angle shot.

While shooting, you want your settings properly set up as well. Utilize the HDR (High Dynamic Range) mode on your camera. This mode on your camera will shoot three versions of each photo, one over-exposed, one normal, and one under-exposed. This will help capture a range of exposures and enhance details in both bright and dark areas.

Mount your camera on a sturdy tripod and activate the 2-second timer to minimize camera shake and capture stable shots.

Capture multiple photos of each room from different angles to showcase different perspectives. Try to get as much of the room within a single photo as possible. Also, consider the flow of the house and include open doors or doorways in the frame whenever possible to create a sense of continuity and connection between spaces. Take a few close-up shots to highlight any unique features of your property.

Don’t go crazy taking photos, though. The guest will tire of flipping through an endless stream of photos on your listings page. Try to keep it to 2 angles of each room (three if it’s a weirdly shaped room that won’t all fit in the frame) and add 2-3 bonus close-up shots that you can use to point out an amenity or that will make a striking cover photo.

Post-Processing and Editing:

Select only the best shots. Review all the captured images and select the best shots for your listing. Choose photos that effectively highlight the property's key features, ambiance, and overall appeal. Like we mentioned before, you don’t want to end up with too many photos at the end, as the guest will tire of clicking through a million similarly framed photos.

Utilize editing software like Adobe Lightroom to fine-tune your chosen images. Adjust brightness, contrast, and saturation to enhance the visual appeal while maintaining a natural and realistic look. Avoid excessive editing that may misrepresent the actual space.

If you are using filters, keep in mind they usually aren’t bright enough, and upping the brightness to the point you need will affect how the filter performs. I recommend creating your own simple filter that will increase the brightness enough and that will lean more cool or warm depending on your preference. Keep in mind, light will drastically change from room to room depending on the amount of windows or lamps. Within one property, you might get one photo that is dark and cool and another that is bright and warm. Once you edit one photo to your liking, use it as a reference to edit the rest of the photos, so that they are all similarly cool or warm.

When editing, be mindful not to sacrifice image quality. Avoid over-sharpening or increasing the brightness to the point where the photo becomes blurry or grainy.

Strive for a balance between an attractive aesthetic and an accurate representation of your property.

Uploading your listing photos:

While creating your listing, add all your best, edited photos. But don’t stop there.

After your listing is created, go back into your listing photos and add captions to all the photos. Describe the space, and how it fits into the flow of the house.

After creating your captions, scroll down and look for “Rooms and Spaces”

Within this section, you can list all the spaces in your property and assign photos to each space.

This way, when a guest is looking at your listing, they will see the photos categorized.

This helps a guest imagine the layout of the house and filter through the photos without getting overwhelmed.

Taking good listing photos is a critical step in attracting potential guests to your Airbnb property. By investing time and effort into preparation, utilizing quality equipment, capturing multiple angles, and editing your photos professionally, you can create a compelling visual narrative that showcases the unique charm and appeal of your accommodation. Remember, high-quality images leave a lasting impression and can significantly impact your booking rates and overall success as an Airbnb host.