Let’s face it, good photography is expensive. Hiring a professional Airbnb photographer to come and take pictures of your rental property can easily cost hundreds of dollars. Sure, there’s no doubt that professional photos will make your vacation rental look its best, but it’s not always in the budget.
Never fear! With a bit of time, effort, creativity, and some basic equipment, you can DIY your vacation rental photos and make them look amazing! Here are some tips to get you started.
Note: All content is our own (that is, not sponsored), but if you buy something through our links, we may earn a commission at no added cost to you.
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My Best DIY Vacation Rental Photography Tips for Hosts
Let’s talk about equipment
You don’t need to go out and buy a bunch of fancy, expensive gear, but you’ll need a few things if you want to DIY your vacation rental shots (and make them look like they were done by a photographer).
A pro camera is not essential
Contrary to what you might think, you don’t need an expensive DSLR camera to take great photos. In fact, many of the best Airbnb photography tips can be applied with any type of camera, even your smartphone! The key is knowing how to use your camera and making the most of its features.
For example, did you know you can adjust the aspect ratio, exposure, and depth of field on your iPhone? If you’re not familiar with these settings, take some time to explore your phone’s features or do a quick Google search. You might be surprised at what your phone is capable of!
If you’re using a DSLR camera, it’s worth purchasing a wide-angle lens. It will allow you to capture more of the room in your photo, which is especially useful for smaller rooms. Plus, if you’ve got an amazing view you’ll be able to show it off in dramatic style!
However, avoid shooting with an ultra-wide lens or any settings that misrepresent the size of your rooms. The last thing you want is guests who feel like they’ve been tricked.
Psst…you can rent cameras, lenses, and any other photography equipment you might need by the day. Lots of camera stores offer this, and it’s an economical way to get started with DSLR cameras and equipment before you commit to buying anything.
Pro tip: If you don’t have a wide-angle lens, try standing in the corner of the room and angling your camera to capture as much of the room as possible.
Get a tripod
A tripod is an essential piece of equipment for taking high-quality photos, whether you’re shooting with a smartphone or camera. It keeps your camera steady, which is important for clear images without blurriness, and it helps to line up your shots so that your walls look straight.
There are several different types of tripods available, from small and lightweight to heavy-duty ones that can support a professional camera. Choose the one that’s right for you and your budget. Here are a few affordable options.
And a remote shutter or cable release
If you’re using a DSLR camera, a cable release or remote shutter will keep you from accidentally moving the camera when you press the shutter, which is particularly important when you’re shooting with slow shutter speeds. They’re also great to have when you’re photographing rooms with mirrors so that you can stay out of the picture!
If you’re using your phone, you can use the timer feature to stay out of those mirrors.
Invest in some basic editing software
There are loads of free and inexpensive editing software programs and phone apps available (like GIMP, Pixlr, or Adobe Lightroom). Once you’ve taken your photos, spend some time playing around with different filters and effects to see what looks best and to find a style you like.
There are a lot of great tutorials online for photo editing, so definitely explore some of those if you’re not sure where to start. Even basic edits like cropping, adjusting the brightness/contrast/saturation, and adding a vignette can make a big difference in the final product. Just don’t forget to save a copy of the original photo before you start editing so you can always go back to it if you don’t like the results!
Some of our favorite tools for photographing vacation rentals.
Lights are a maybe
If your rental doesn’t have a lot of natural light you may want to supplement with a photographer’s lights, called continuous light. The difference between these and just turning on all the lamps in the room is that these lights are meant to mimic natural light. They can be useful for a room that just isn’t bright enough but it can be tricky to position them when you’re trying to capture as much of the room as possible.
Flashes and strobes are probably a no
Pro photographers sometimes use a flash to photograph interiors, often to balance out the difference in brightness between the outside and in. The resulting photos show both the properly lit room and the view out the window. This is definitely an advanced-level move so unless you know how to use it, you can skip this one.
Take a photography course if needed
If you’re a complete beginner in photography, you might want to consider taking a class or two before you start shooting your vacation rental. There are online classes for both DSLR and smartphone photography basics, and specialized classes for shooting interiors.
A great place to start with photography lessons is your local camera shop, and you may be able to rent equipment there, too.
There’s an initial investment of time and money, but you’ll be able to use your knowledge every time you shoot! But if your budget is super tight, you can also find free online courses or even YouTube videos that will teach you the basics of photography.
Note that you should never use the flash on your phone to shoot your vacation rental. The result is too harsh and unnatural.
How to prep your vacation rental for a photoshoot
Does your vacation rental need some glowing up?
Before taking listing photos, think about whether there are any areas in your vacation rental that are in need of refreshing. Now it’s the perfect time to do some basic repairs or touch-ups. For example, painting walls a new color, fixing broken tiles, or shampooing carpets. This will help your rental look its best in photos.
Planning a complete remodel of your vacation rental? Read this post beforehand!
Clean, clean, clean!
This one should go without saying, but… your rental should be sparkling clean before the shoot! This means deep cleaning the entire space, including the kitchen and bathrooms. Ensure all surfaces are clean and free of dust, cobwebs, or fingerprints.
Look around the room and see if there’s anything that stands out as being out of place or not quite right. Maybe there’s a lamp that needs to be dusted or a picture that’s hanging crooked. These might seem like small details, but they can really make a difference in the overall look of your photos.
Don’t forget the windows and glass doors. You might not think dirty windows will show up in your photos but they definitely will.
Stage the space
Staging is key when it comes to taking good vacation rental photos. Take some time to arrange furniture in an appealing way and remove any personal items or clutter from the space. A selection of Airbnb amenities will be the cherry on the cake in your listing photos. Things like a serving tray on a coffee table, carefully arranged plush pillows, or (fake) plants in your vacation rental bathroom will make the space look more inviting and help potential guests visualize themselves staying in your rental.
Take test shots
The best way to style a room for photography is to take test photos with your phone. No tripod is required – these are quick and dirty shots. Photograph every angle you think you’ll want. Then, analyze the photos. Look for things like furniture that could be moved to a better angle, places that could use a plant, some flowers, a draped throw, a colorful pillow, or areas of the room you’ll want to crop out for a better composition.
I do this for a couple of reasons – first is that things look different in photos than they do in real life. How you style for your guests may be different than how you style for photos. For example, a cozy throw blanket tossed casually over a sofa might look great in a photo but too messy in real life. Second, not every part of the room is going to appear in your photos. There’s no point agonizing over details that may never even get photographed.
Test photos are just that, tests, so this process doesn’t need to take long. I draw my notes directly on the photo using the edit feature in my photos app. My notes are messy as can be but I know what they mean, so they help me to create shopping lists and plan my shoot.
Here are some examples.
Create a shot list
Your test photos will help you decide all the different areas and angles you want to capture. They’ll help ensure that you don’t miss anything and that you get a good variety of shots. Also, you’ll save time in the long run since you won’t have to keep moving things around or going back to get a different angle.
Keep in mind that you’re showing the layout and overall design of the room first, and the details second. Your guests will want to get a good sense of the size and flow of your rental, see how much seating you have, how big the bedrooms are, etc.
Photograph what’s special about the room. What gives your Airbnb personality and sets it apart from your competitors? Supplement your main shots with some vignettes (that is, close-up detail shots) but don’t use too many of them in your listing if they don’t give future guests much information about your place. Save some for your social media accounts instead.
If you’re not sure where to start, here are a few ideas for vacation rental shots you might want to include on your list:
- A wide shot of the entire space from the entry
- Close-ups of any interesting details or features
- Shots of each individual room
- Shots of any unique amenities (hot tub, pool, pet amenities, fireplace, etc.)
- A few different angles of the same area or room
- Views from the rooms, if applicable
- Outside shots of the entrance and any outdoor areas
Ready, steady, shoot
Now that you have all the necessary equipment and your vacation rental is ready for its photo op let’s talk about taking the actual photos.
Get the perfect lighting
Lighting is everything when it comes to taking good photos, so it’s worth taking the time to get it right. You have a big advantage over a professional photographer in that you don’t have to take all of your pictures at once. And you shouldn’t, because your rooms will have different times when the light is best depending on what direction the windows are facing.
Choose the time of day when the room has the most natural light, but avoid harsh light and dark shadows. If you’ve got the time, pay attention to when the rooms look best and make a note of it. In general:
- North: late morning to early afternoon
- South: “golden hour”, that is, just after sunrise or just before sunset
- East: morning
- West: afternoon or evening
Not sure what side your window faces? Use the compass app on your phone
Whenever possible, open up curtains and blinds and let the sunlight pour in. If possible, position yourself so that the sun is behind you – this is extremely important when taking outside shots. Try to avoid taking those in the middle of the day since you don’t want your photos to be overexposed or have harsh shadows.
There are two schools of thought about turning lights on for photos or leaving them off indoors. Real estate photographers turn on every light in the house, but you’ll notice that photos in magazines use only natural light. I recommend using only natural light if possible. It makes colors look better and overall looks more inviting. But, if you’re not sure, photograph the room both with lights on and lights off and decide later which you like better.
If you prefer to shoot with the lights on or if you just don’t have enough light without them, make sure the lights in the room are the same color temperature. That is, if you’ve got, say, incandescent lamps in a room that give very warm, golden light and overhead lights that have “daylight” bulbs, that is, very cool, almost blue light, then use either of those light sources but not both. It looks weird and wrong in photos (and truthfully, in real life, but that’s another post for another day.)
If you have a fabulous outdoor space be sure to take another set of photos at twilight, that is, about an hour after sunset. Turn on the lights and light the fire features for some magical photos. That’s right, lights on inside = bad, lights on outside = good.
Find the right angles
The angle at which you take your photos can make a big difference in how professional they look.
For interior shots, in general, you’ll want your camera to be at a lower height than it is when you’re holding it. Try a couple of different heights to see what looks best, noting how much floor and ceiling you’re seeing in each.
Make sure your camera is level so that vertical and horizontal lines (like your walls and ceiling) are nice and straight. Use the grid feature on your camera or phone to check this if possible.
Try different distances (wide, medium, close-up) for a specific room to see what looks best. You might be surprised at how a small change in angle can make a big difference in the final photo. Just be careful not to get too close to any windows, or you’ll risk getting glare in your photos. If you’re shooting with your phone, move the phone for close-ups rather than using the zoom feature for the sharpest photos.
If you’re using the camera’s manual settings for a wide shot of the entire space, you’ll want to make sure the aperture is slightly higher (around f/5.6-9) so that everything in the photo is in focus, from the foreground to the background.
For the outside shots, take a walk around the property and find the most flattering vantage point. For example, if there’s a beautiful garden in the back, take a photo of the property from the garden so that guests can see how lovely it is.
To best showcase rooms, you’ll probably want to stick to mostly horizontal shots but mix in some vertical shots as well.
Get closer
To create vignettes, get closer to your subject to help fill the frame and make your photo look more polished. For example, if you’re taking a picture of a beautiful vase, get in close so that the vase is the only thing in the frame and the background is blurred. To achieve this effect, you’ll want to ensure the aperture is set low (f/2.8 or lower) to create a shallow depth of field. This will help draw attention to the detail and make it look more intentional. To get a similar effect with a phone, use portrait mode.
Don’t neglect the composition
The rule of thirds is a great guideline for taking well-composed photos. Imagine your photo is divided into nine equal squares – you want the subject of your photo to fall on one of the intersections of those lines. This will help create interest and movement in your image and avoid that dreaded “dead space” in the middle.
Pay attention to what’s happening in the background of your shot and make sure it doesn’t clash with your subject or take away from the overall composition. A few strategically placed items can help fill up negative space and add visual interest to your photo.
And – gridlines are your friend when it comes to taking vacation rental photos! Most cameras have a grid setting you can turn on when taking shots. This super helpful tool helps ensure your photos are straight and evenly balanced.
Take your time
One of the best pieces of advice I can give you is to take your time and be patient when taking photos. This is not a race! You’re more likely to make mistakes or overlook something important if you rush. Instead, take your time to experiment with different angles and lighting until you get the perfect shot. It might take a little longer, but your photos will be all the better for it.
The more, the better!
Once you’ve taken all the photos on your shot list, look through them and see if any stand out as being particularly good. These can be your “hero shots” – the ones you’ll use in your listing photos and promotional material.
When in doubt, it’s always best to err on the side of taking more photos rather than fewer. You can always delete the ones you don’t like later, but it’s much harder to go back and retake a photo if you didn’t get the shot you wanted. Plus, the more photos you take the more content you’ll have for future social media posts.
So have fun and take lots of pictures!
Now that you know the basics of taking good vacation rental photos, it’s time to get out there and start snapping away! With these DIY vacation rental photography tips, you’ll have listing photos look like a million bucks in no time—without spending a fortune on a professional photographer.
You can definitely get great listing photos but it takes some work – and time. If this post has made you realize you’d rather hire a pro, check out my blog post about what you need to know before hiring a pro to make the most of your photography budget.
