18 Jan How to Take Fantastic Photos for Your Listing
Posted at 19:09h
in Guidebooks
Whether you’re listing a rustic farm, treehouse, or private lawn, featuring good images can spark many travelers’ interest. The right shot tells your property’s story and puts the viewer in the heart of nature. Curious to know what makes a shot work? Here’s how to take fantastic photos for your Campanyon listing. Both indoors and outdoors.
If you provide an indoor space or accommodation
Make the most of space
From farms to glamping tents, Campanyon features all kinds of spaces in nature. Regardless of the size of your type of interior, you want it to look roomy in pictures. The problem is, sometimes you just don’t have much space to compose a shot. In that case, try shooting from a doorway, window, or hallway.
From farms to glamping tents, Campanyon features all kinds of spaces in nature. Regardless of the size of your type of interior, you want it to look roomy in pictures. The problem is, sometimes you just don’t have much space to compose a shot. In that case, try shooting from a doorway, window, or hallway.
Still can’t fit everything in the shot? Ask your photographer friend if you can borrow a camera with a wide-angle lens. This will help you get the entire interior in a shot. Don’t worry, phones have wide-angle lenses, too, if you can’t get your hands on a proper camera.
Let the light in
Flooding an interior with light makes colors pop and brings out depth. Shoot with all the daylight you have available––open doors, blinds, curtains––and avoid turning on artificial lighting if you can. These cast shadows and make a space seem dim and uninviting.
Using a lens with a large aperture can help when you have limited light available.
Compose your lines and corners
When shooting interior, make sure the lines in your frame are level and balanced. Indoor spaces, like cabins or barns, have a lot of leading lines from walls and objects. The composition feels off if these are at a slight angle. Shoot at chest height for a natural perspective.
When shooting interior, make sure the lines in your frame are level and balanced. Indoor spaces, like cabins or barns, have a lot of leading lines from walls and objects. The composition feels off if these are at a slight angle. Shoot at chest height for a natural perspective.
Another compositional trick: Try shooting into a corner instead of straight onto a wall. This will add depth to your photo and make the interior look spacious rather than flat and smaller than it actually is.
Clean up before shooting
It goes without saying that your shot needs to look tidy. Clutter is distracting and makes a space look chaotic and smaller than it might actually be. Note that carefully placing props around a space can actually make interiors look appealing and lively.
However, be cautious when positioning props in the frame. Elements placed in the center of a shot can quickly take up too much space.
Add some faces
Nothing conveys having a good time like seeing people enjoying themselves in a shot. Invite some friends over when taking shots and compose 2-3 shots with them in it. Try matching them with the type of people that mostly book your accommodation.
Don’t zoom in too much on your friends, though. While it’s great having them in the shot, they shouldn’t be the main focus. You’re still mainly showing your property. Also, try not to overly stage the shot but have your pals use the space like they normally would while you shoot away.
Nothing conveys having a good time like seeing people enjoying themselves in a shot. Invite some friends over when taking shots and compose 2-3 shots with them in it. Try matching them with the type of people that mostly book your accommodation.
Don’t zoom in too much on your friends, though. While it’s great having them in the shot, they shouldn’t be the main focus. You’re still mainly showing your property. Also, try not to overly stage the shot but have your pals use the space like they normally would while you shoot away.
Have your portrait taken (or shoot it yourself!)
If you’re OK with showing your face, have your friends take your portrait to add to your Campanyon profile. Alternatively, use your camera’s timer to shoot your own portrait.
Use soft, natural light, and preferably a natural background. Shade helps soften the light. Or try framing a backlit portrait with the sun out of the frame at a 45-degree angle. Having a friendly profile picture helps clients’ bond with you––it’s about companionship after all!
If you’re OK with showing your face, have your friends take your portrait to add to your Campanyon profile. Alternatively, use your camera’s timer to shoot your own portrait.
Use soft, natural light, and preferably a natural background. Shade helps soften the light. Or try framing a backlit portrait with the sun out of the frame at a 45-degree angle. Having a friendly profile picture helps clients’ bond with you––it’s about companionship after all!
Tips for taking stunning outdoor shots
If you have proper indoor shots, you’re halfway there. Now all you need is some good outdoor shots––because nature is why we’re traveling. Or maybe you don’t have any interior shots to take because you run a campsite. In that case, it’s extra important to nail the outdoor shots!
Contextualize
Does your accommodation have a herb garden, free-ranging chickens, or a stunning mountain backdrop? That’s where the real value of your property lies for nature lovers. Put your place in perspective by taking outdoor overview shots.
Does your accommodation have a herb garden, free-ranging chickens, or a stunning mountain backdrop? That’s where the real value of your property lies for nature lovers. Put your place in perspective by taking outdoor overview shots.
Also, don’t forget to show the amenities available on your property. A shower, a pizza maker, toilets…: show what’s at the campers’ disposal.
However, keep your shot from getting too cluttered, or static and devoid of life. Don’t shoot an empty campsite. Make sure your treehouse is distinguishable from the forest. And the teepees from the cornfield. Also, open the tent screens and add some signs of life to make it look inviting. Like keeping a fire crackling. Or hanging up a hammock.
Shoot during golden hour
Golden hour is that time after sunrise and before sunset when the light casts soft, golden rays of sun on the landscape and in your frame. Shooting around this time will make your shots look so much better. It adds depth, a soft haze, and colors look warmer.
Golden hour is that time after sunrise and before sunset when the light casts soft, golden rays of sun on the landscape and in your frame. Shooting around this time will make your shots look so much better. It adds depth, a soft haze, and colors look warmer.
Highlight the season
The seasons are nature’s paintbrush. A beach in summer, the forest in autumn, the meadows in spring, a snowy mountain. Don’t just pick one season, but show your property and the surrounding nature in its various moods.
The seasons are nature’s paintbrush. A beach in summer, the forest in autumn, the meadows in spring, a snowy mountain. Don’t just pick one season, but show your property and the surrounding nature in its various moods.
However, refrain from showing all of nature’s moods. Some elements in nature just don’t look inviting. Don’t shoot a camping ground while the grounds are all muddy. Or a beach shack while it’s raining. And empty, snowy landscapes are tricky––they easily look gloomy and devoid of life.
And be creative!
Last but not least, try to think out of the box while taking outdoor shots. Shoot under the stars, capture different sceneries, and highlight various activities. Perhaps you like to go fishing, but your client might be more of a mountaineer. Bonfires are also a best-seller.
Last but not least, try to think out of the box while taking outdoor shots. Shoot under the stars, capture different sceneries, and highlight various activities. Perhaps you like to go fishing, but your client might be more of a mountaineer. Bonfires are also a best-seller.
Don’t just show random landscapes without activity or humanity. Relate the shots to your audience by putting a bicycle in the frame or shooting the surfing line-up.
Happy hosting!
Happy hosting!