Professional real-estate photos will always give you a leg up in your Airbnb listing. Airbnb boasts that professional photos can increase earnings by 40%, increase bookings by 24%, and lead to higher nightly price of 26% (according to a 2016 study done by Airbnb). Airbnb even offers professional photographers for some cities… unfortunately, not Pittsburgh. Luckily phone cameras these days are getting better and better and you can take some excellent listing photos with your phone using a few tips.
I will admit this now. I am not a photographer: I don’t have a fancy camera and I’m sure my photos aren’t perfect. However, I posted some of listing photos side-by-side to show how even a Joe Schmoe can take markedly better photos with a few changes to their set-up and without over $1000 worth of expensive camera equipment. I am also someone who travels using Airbnb and when I am looking for a place to relax or vacation, I am drawn to the photos that are clean, bright and spacious. I will keep you posted in how our posting performs with our amateur attempt at better photos.
One perk of using a camera on your smart phone is that they come equipped with a wide angle lens. The wide angle lens does a great job of capturing the entire space and making it feel spacious. Professional real-estate photographers use a much more expensive wide angle lenses (yes, I looked. On the cheap end, just the lens was upwards of $700). Point and shoot cameras or even entry professional cameras are typically set up with a more mid-range lens- not great for making the room feel open. I used an iPhone camera for both sets of pictures (iPhone 7+ for the original and and iPhone 12 mini for the latest). With the iPhone upgrade and some simple changes, we were able to improve the quality of the pictures. I’ll let you decide which ones are more inviting.
Phone camera specs
The iPhone 12 is a great phone to use for taking listing photos. The iPhone 11 and 12 both have 13mm wide angle lenses, much wider than the previous mode. Anything under a 25mm lens on a phone is still a pretty wide lens and can be used for your listing photos.
Use a Tripod and the Timer Setting
A tripod really helps you get a consistent and crisp shot. Set it up at chest height and try to keep it at the same level as you move from room to room. Set up the 3 second delay timer so you don’t get motion artifact when you hit the button. The stability of the tripod means you can set it up straight and also use phone features like night mode on the iPhone 12, where there is extended exposure. Extended exposure is when more light is captured by the camera sensor in a single picture. There are also apps that let you play around with your phones camera settings, so you can directly play with exposure. If this sounds overwhelming to you, that’s fine, you will just have to try to optimize your natural lighting.
Natural Light is Best
Warm lights have a nice vibe to them, however in photos, they really make things look yellow. I waited until mid day when the light was optimal and turned off all of the lights where possible. A slightly overcast but bright day is best. Direct sunlight can cause excessive glare/light beams and some clouds can be an unwanted and unplanned filter.
Night mode (longer exposure)
Night mode can be a powerful tool in capturing a more natural light photo when its just a little too dark even in the daytime. On the iPhone12 this setting becomes an option if the light isn’t optimum. You can also slide to increase the exposure time and therefore the light captured by the sensor. Longer exposures are when you need to use the tripod to avoid blur.
Shoot from a corner
The room looks bigger from a corner and you can capture more of what is in the room in a single shot. Also don’t be afraid to move things around to show the best side of things even if that is not the way you set the room up normally. If a chair is blocking a table, move it! Just look for balance in the shot and make sure the picture shows all the room has to offer.
Take a bunch of photos
Sometimes the first one is perfect, but I have seen that it is usually good to have a bunch of options. With a tripod this is easy. Shift the furniture, snap a picture. Light on and off, snap snap. Blanket on the bed, or not, snap snap. Try a couple corners or views. I have also found it helpful to reposition the tripod even if you think its the same shot. Its always better have more options to choose from at the editing stage
Always take the picture in landscape format
The Airbnb site is formatted to accept landscape photos. Save yourself the trouble and make sure that phone is always turned side-ways! If you have a narrow space that doesn’t necessarily show well as landscape, another option is to make a collage.
When you go to upload your pictures, everyone should show you something the last photo didn’t. Generally more photos are better, but you should have your best 5 first, one of each room. If people want to see more, they can, but the first five should give you a great first impression of the space. Also including some close-ups of features you offer in your photo reel to seal the booking. Show off the coffee bar or the stocked book shelf and your wifi speed if you have it.
With a little bit of research, rigging up a tripod and snatching my husbands new phone we were able to get some shiny new photos in about 2 hours. I think the newer photos express the feeling of the space better and are much brighter and cleaner. I hope the tips I learned in doing this help you to improve your listing even if you are on a budget!