Photo Advice

[MoosewoodInn]

Hello again!

I was just sitting here staring at my website and wondering how I could take better photos.

Do you take your own photos to promote your business? Does anyone have any advice? Mine aren’t the worst but there is definitely room for improvement. If you have photos of your business on your site, I’d love to see! Share your link for me if you’d like!

I think part of my problem is that our property is a bit bare at the moment. We just dug all the rock out of the flower beds and replaced with mulch. I have plans for a garden project, but it will take a bit of time. We are also trying to get a professional sign made, but haven’t been hearing back from the sign company.

Anyway, I’d just love to see some photos if you feel like sharing.

 

[GoodScout]

There are books available on Amazon that can teach you how to take better real estate photos as a short-term fix, but quite honestly the best investment you can make in your business is to hire a professional photographer who specializes in inn photography. If you search through past posts you'll find several threads with good recommendations. We've spent the last year making major enhancements and improvements in our property, and we're beginning the search process to engage a top-notch photography team.
Hint: If your guests keep saying "this place is even more beautiful than it looks like in your website pictures!" then you need to get some better website pictures.

 

[MoosewoodInn]

There are books available on Amazon that can teach you how to take better real estate photos as a short-term fix, but quite honestly the best investment you can make in your business is to hire a professional photographer who specializes in inn photography. If you search through past posts you'll find several threads with good recommendations. We've spent the last year making major enhancements and improvements in our property, and we're beginning the search process to engage a top-notch photography team.
Hint: If your guests keep saying "this place is even more beautiful than it looks like in your website pictures!" then you need to get some better website pictures.

Luckily the feedback I’ve been getting is “it looks just like the photos” so phew! I’ll look into those books. We are just kind of out right past civilization and there isn’t much of anything in our town. Just the basics. Can’t even buy towels here! Have to drive an hour or so north or south!
Thanks so much for the feedback! I’ll look for those old posts.

 

[Morticia]

If you presently can’t afford or find anyone to take professional photos, or you are not finished making the property ‘whole’ you can do a heck of a lot with an iPad or a decent phone. Due to Covid, I took all the photos for the sale of our Inn instead of the broker paying to have a professional come in. Yes, professional photos would have looked better but the property sold and that’s all the photos needed to do.

Look at the website for Jumping Rocks. They have a blog where they explain how they do the magic they do for inn photos. It’s the little things that make the photos sing: remove as many cords as you can from the photos, for the love of all that’s holy close the toilet seat when taking bathroom pix, remove extraneous stuff that just looks busy in a static photo even if it’s gorgeous in person. No trash cans. Straighten the bedding and the towels, that stuff looks twice as bad in a photo. One photo I won’t forget has an open window with the curtain fluttering in the breeze. How could you not want to stay in that room? It was so evocative of being at the shore.

A lot of people on here won’t share because they don’t want it obvious who they are in case they’re complaining about a guest.

 

[gillumhouse]

I took my photos - with a LOT of feedback from this group. Posted the photos at least 4 or 5 times before I got the OK. I have nothing as far as property worth taking photos of - other than the berries, flowers in the spring only, or the asparagus during that season. My photos are of rooms and breakfasts. I did finally hire a pro and the WV Tourism Office sent one of their photographers to take photos - which they gave to me. It made all the difference. I only use the pro photos now.

 

[JimBoone]

@MoosewoodInn you have visited my website, good or bad my photos are all iPhone DIY. My view is that everything here was a DIY project, why should my photos be different, I don't want a guest to be disappointed that a photo made me look like something I'm not. Now of course if you want professional photos look up Marcus Berg on Facebook, he does great photos for our industry.

 

[MoosewoodInn]

If you presently can’t afford or find anyone to take professional photos, or you are not finished making the property ‘whole’ you can do a heck of a lot with an iPad or a decent phone. Due to Covid, I took all the photos for the sale of our Inn instead of the broker paying to have a professional come in. Yes, professional photos would have looked better but the property sold and that’s all the photos needed to do.

Look at the website for Jumping Rocks. They have a blog where they explain how they do the magic they do for inn photos. It’s the little things that make the photos sing: remove as many cords as you can from the photos, for the love of all that’s holy close the toilet seat when taking bathroom pix, remove extraneous stuff that just looks busy in a static photo even if it’s gorgeous in person. No trash cans. Straighten the bedding and the towels, that stuff looks twice as bad in a photo. One photo I won’t forget has an open window with the curtain fluttering in the breeze. How could you not want to stay in that room? It was so evocative of being at the shore.

A lot of people on here won’t share because they don’t want it obvious who they are in case they’re complaining about a guest.

We are still working on our updates, and will be going through the winter. You gave great advice, thank you so much for taking the time! I just enjoy taking pictures, lol! So I appreciate your help!

 

[Morticia]

We are still working on our updates, and will be going through the winter. You gave great advice, thank you so much for taking the time! I just enjoy taking pictures, lol! So I appreciate your help!

Then I wouldn’t hire a professional now. It’s a big investment. Try looking around at any photos you like to see what makes them appealing. Usually lots of light really helps with dark corners. Even looking at real estate ads can help you decide what NOT to do. (We’ve been looking at property and the majority of the real estate photos incline me to believe either the realtor or the seller does not want this house to sell. )

 

[CSMaine]

We hired a professional and also took some pictures ourselves. We are pretty good at it! For the professional, we had a friend who is a realtor and they referred us to the person they use for photos for house sales and staging pictures.

 

[Anon Inn]

In the meantime, do a search for real estate photo apps. Some of them really help. I used an app for the stand alone vacation rental photos and am still happy with them. inside-the-inn Interior shots are iphone's best and in need of updating. I had a perk of a free photo shoot for the studio stand alone in a nearby city. Made a significant difference in bookings. I ferreted out who the actual photographer is. We've had some back and forth about doing a fully paid shoot here. That would be great as all the photos would match. But as with all things in my world, progress is slow. I'm getting to the point of I'm really as busy as I want to be, but would like to revamp the website. New photos are a must for that. Try out one of the apps. Theyre free or low cost, and are fun to play with.

 

[FHI2426]

Lighting is everything. It's tough on room shots, even with a good iPhone. Food, we use a light box we bought for $40-50. In the end we hired a pro (Beth Campbell ) and the results are amazing. For social we take all our own photos from iPhone but for website you want the best...

 

[MoosewoodInn]

In the meantime, do a search for real estate photo apps. Some of them really help. I used an app for the stand alone vacation rental photos and am still happy with them. inside-the-inn Interior shots are iphone's best and in need of updating. I had a perk of a free photo shoot for the studio stand alone in a nearby city. Made a significant difference in bookings. I ferreted out who the actual photographer is. We've had some back and forth about doing a fully paid shoot here. That would be great as all the photos would match. But as with all things in my world, progress is slow. I'm getting to the point of I'm really as busy as I want to be, but would like to revamp the website. New photos are a must for that. Try out one of the apps. Theyre free or low cost, and are fun to play with.

That’s a great idea! I didn’t even think to look up any apps! Thank you! We had a photographer take pictures of our home that we sold in Florida before moving up here and they edited them soo much. It was almost too saturated to look at! Lol so there’s one “not to do” I’ve learned from experience!

 

[Northern Dreamer]

I think your photos look great! Mostly, I'd say take photos at different views in each room so folks get an idea of the overall space. All the other suggestions above are helpful too when you don't want to spend the money on a photographer!

 

[GoodScout]

I didnt realize there were so many real estate photo apps either, but with every tom, **** & harry doing an airbnb, i guess it makes sense.

 

[MoosewoodInn]

I think your photos look great! Mostly, I'd say take photos at different views in each room so folks get an idea of the overall space. All the other suggestions above are helpful too when you don't want to spend the money on a photographer!

Thank you! I think part of my problem is all the Instagram/Pinterest log cabin browsing I do. They have a way of capturing the feeling of the space, not just the image of it. I think it has to do with the fact that we haven’t been here long enough to add all of those finishing touches. Our landscaping is pretty bare. We have to finish our updates and getting settled in. Hopefully I’ll get some better photos next spring/summer! And hopefully we will have a new sign.