Hi, Folks: just found this site and joined. I have been vacillating on hosting for over a year and the big problem for me is - lame, I know - I can’t seem to photograph the guest room in an appealing way! I have only my I-Phone, granted, and the room isn’t huge, but everyone who stays in it or sees it says it’s perfect and charming, etc. I can’t seem to get a good angle, I am not a decorator…do I hire someone or what? My location is ideal and there is a real shortage of available, reasonable accommodation here but I’[m finding the process of listing the discouraging, to say the least! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Yes, here’s something you can do… Have Air send their free photographer over! It’s a win win. They get verified photos and you get pro shots. And the price is right. 
you can find the option to do this – schedule professional photographer-- right on your dashboard.
Thanks! I contacted them a year ago - but I think I’d only heard about their “free” service for “select” areas/customers (?). Anyway, I didn’t qualify. Will try your idea, gratefully.
If you are going to DIY your photos, you need to get rid of the IPhone and use a real camera – digital for preference. You have so many more options for composing and taking the shots. Then you need to get a photo editing program – there are several good free ones – and edit the raw pictures to make appealing finished shots.
Can u upload your current cell pics in your post? Maybe we can make suggestions.
I’ve been trying to get Airbnb to send a professional photographer since I signed up several months ago, but they never have one available. I’m guessing that there’s so much competition here in London that they can’t get enough photographers to meet the level of demand. I’d also appreciate some help with photos (though I don’t want to hijack your thread Rubychix). My problem is that the main banner photo is blurry, although all the pictures are nice and crisp when you go into the detail.
You can download a photoshop app for free on your iphone, i use Photoshop express. It’s really good for specific purposes, and very easy to use. I take a bunch of photos of the apartment (in your case, the bedroom) then I take the best ones and I use Photoshop Express to increase the exposure. I find that no matter how many lights that I turn on it’s never enough. Increasing the exposure on a picture instantly lightens it all up and it looks so much better. The tool is simple - you select “exposure” then you get a slide bar, and you can choose how light you want to make the picture.
I am lucky that I can get Airbnb photographers in my area, but I always start out with basic iphone photos using photoshop express.
I have asked three times in Boston, but the response is “no photographer is available.” I think that this is not true. There are thousands of photographers in Boston. I think that this is an expense that they don’t need to incur in well-saturated areas, like Boston, NYCity, London.
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I respectfully disagree with @KenH. I started hosting this past July and I’ve had 36 sets of guests and just reached Super Host. I took my photos with my iPhone 6S Plus. They are not the greatest in the world, by any means, but they seem to be getting the job done.
I can offer a couple of tips.
- Open all the curtains, shades, etc., turn on all overhead lights and wait for a bright, but preferably overcast,day. This will give you lots of indirect light.
- Take landscape shots instead of portrait, as they work better on the Airbnb site.
- Stand in the corner of your rooms when you take your pictures. This will show more of the room in the shot and will help to make it look bigger.
- Use a photo editing app on your phone to brighten up the final images.
As another poster suggested, upload your listing link or some of your photos so forum members can offer additional suggestions.
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Why don’t you get a professional photographer into do the shoot? It doesn’t cost a lot for a half day shoot and clean up on shortlisted images. For most hosts it will be covered by a single booking or single days hosting.
Make sure they are experienced in doing interiors and give them a schedule of the shots you want done.
Also dress rooms with flowers and highlight added extras like breakfast/drinks/toiletries.
Good luck
Wow - this site rocks! I haven’t even been a member for 24 hours and I have all the creative input, practical ideas and support I’ve needed for a year to move forward. I will certainly try the suggestions and thanks so much for sharing your experience.
I took all 55 photos for my own listing. I wanted to properly stage and for outdoor photos wait for the right time of day etc… and an airbnb photographer does not have the time to spend…i only used my little iphone.for the room…I used a ladder to climb up and get a good angle, also i put extra lighting in the room and opened all the curtains. also, these are plenty of aps to download that will let you erase imperfections and give your property really cool lighting etc… you can evean ad text overlays on a photo.it took me a long time to photograph and stage, you wont get an airbnb photographer to do that.Of course, if you only have 1 room to shoot no big deal but I had to shoot about 30 outdoor photos too…
Lots of good info and suggestions. Your place must be gorgeous to inspire so many creative solutions!
@rubychix, Marie, if you can’t get airbnb to send a photographer to shoot for free, I suggest you place an ad in craigslist offering $50 for the photos.