6 Steps To Super Pictures Of Your Vacation Rental Property
By: David Goldschmidt

As an owner you know all the intimate details about what makes your property so great. The challenge is in conveying those to prospective renters. Vacation rental web sites help by providing you with a custom web site for your property and promoting it to family vacationers around the globe. So what can you do to leverage this worldwide exposure Attractive and descriptive photos can take a good property listing and make it great. And it is a lot easier than you think.

So a picture really can be worth a thousand words as they say. But how you create the best impression for your property Here are some tips from the vacation rental property marketing experts at GreatFamilyRentals.com:

1. Digital or film either works

Whether you use a traditional film camera or a digital one does not really matter. Use what youre most comfortable with. Even singleuse disposable cameras (with flash) can take reasonably good photos. Both digital and film camera technologies are sufficient to capture images extremely well. We recommend 400speed film for the best results from film cameras.

What matters far more is how the camera is used. Which brings us to...

2. Interiors Plan the setting

Professional home photographers spend hours creating the right look before snapping the first picture. While we dont recommend similar time devotion a little time making sure your property is presentable will pay off. You will likely take your pictures between rental sessions after the property has been cleaned. Of course renters like seeing everything neat and tidy but weve noticed that sometimes a less sterile view helps vacationers imagine themselves in your property and thats what its all about. Here are some ideas to make the interior of your property look less like a hotel room and more like a vacation home:

Set the dining table for a meal including wine glasses and candlesticks

Put out some board games or books on the coffee table

On your deck or patio put a beach towel and a couple of cold drinks next to those chaise lounges

All right since youre taking pictures the drinks dont really have to be cold but you get the idea. Of course your property should be clean and neat but making it appear more like it probably does when occupied helps show the potential of your vacation rental.

Spend a few minutes choosing which rooms you wish to show. Common areas like living rooms and kitchens are important. You might not think your kitchen is anything special but thats not the point. Many vacationers like to see the kitchens layout even if they know what equipment it contains. Primary bedrooms are important as well as they allow renters to visualize their sleeping arrangements.

If your property has anything out of the ordinary on the inside (a complete home theater for example) its a good idea to take a photo of it as well (and dont forget to include it in your property description). For many properties views to the outside are important so capture them and at the best time of day.

Like any good Realtor would recommend turn on all the lights inside your property before taking your pictures. Set your flash to automatic so that it will fire whenever necessary. Set your zoom on its widest setting and move back to position yourself to capture as much of each room as possible.

3. Exteriors Open your eyes

You probably dont think too much about how your property and the surrounding area appear. Youve been in and out of your rental property hundreds

of times. But take a few minutes and decide what youd like to show potential renters it could sometime make the difference between someone booking and passing. Showing which unit is yours in a multiple unit building can be helpful. If your property is a house or detached condominium the exterior appearance and setting can be a big selling point. Amenities specifically for your unit can be worthwhile showing as well such as swing sets docks saunas etc.

Aside from your particular property there are probably other reasons to book your vacation rental. So show them! Include a photo of the beach your renters can use. Put one in showing how close the chairlift is from your front door. Show the pool playground fishing pond hiking trails etc. You may be wondering should I only show features that are for my guests only like a private pool Of course youll want to include these but by all means you should include nonexclusive amenities as well. Potential guests want to know what then can do where they can go etc. The idea here is to give potential renters a sense of the setting of your vacation rental property and the best things about the immediate area. All the more reason to book their vacation with you!

4. Maps floor plans etc.

Perhaps there some things about your vacation rental property that youd like to show prospective renters but you cant take a picture of them. Does your property have a unique or particularly expansive layout In addition to the description you write there is a way to include a floor plan in your listing. Just take a photo of it! Lay out the floor plan on a table with good light. Try to position yourself directly above the center of the floor plan instead of at an angle that way it wont be distorted. Sometimes standing on a chair can help. Lastly make sure you hold the camera very still so that the image is not blurred when you press the shutter.

5. Labeling your photos

Heres another opportunity to include information about your vacation rental property. Dont pass up the opportunity to label your photos when you upload them! And include some descriptive text. Which sounds better to you: Master bedroom or Spacious master bedroom with king bed and Gulf view If the seasons affect the views your property offers like leaves on trees that block that mountain view in the summer or the sunset thats only visible from the living room window for part of the year you should label your photos appropriately. Such as: Sunset view from balcony in August. Some might assume that these views exist throughout the year so its best to be explicit in this regard. Dont forget to label maps and floor plans too so prospective renters know what theyre looking at. These are all opportunities to help get inquiries and sell bookings for your vacation rental property so take advantage of them.

6. Processing issues

Unfortunately all film processing is not the same. We prefer one or two day service from an offsite lab compared to typical onehour results. While weve gotten acceptable results from onehour service at a drugstore the offsite labs provide more consistent photofinishing quality. If you try one ho