This is a short video/transcript excerpt where Mark Simpson and guest Tyann Marcink discuss key questions property hosts should ask when hiring a photographer for holiday/vacation rental listings. Tyann emphasizes viewing a photographer’s portfolio—especially full property shoots—verifying experience with holiday rentals (not just other photography genres), and checking attention to staging and detail (bed, curtains, pillows, artwork).
Chapters
Okay, so when it comes to the different types of hosts that we've got that are tuning into this, we said it's going to fall down on two categories. So the first one will be where you're going to do it yourself, which we've got some perfect little tips on there. The second one is where you've got the budget to hire a photographer. So what I really want to delve into here is when we've got a host that is speaking to maybe a couple of photographers in their area, what are some of the key questions that they should be asking to make sure that they're getting the right person for the job?
So the key questions. One, Can I see your portfolio? And you want to look at that portfolio. Very well. Have they actually done a holiday rental or vacation rental? Because there is a difference between real estate pictures and newborn pictures and holiday rentals pictures or wedding pictures. You know, a lot of people can make a perfectly exposed image, but what you want is someone who can sell an experience and sell time at your property. You want somebody to be able to create an image that can sell, sell the fact that somebody wants to hand you money because they can imagine themselves in your space months or even a year before they even arrive. Now, a real real estate photographer, their goal is to get somebody in the door and then hand the money over. Your goal is different. You have got to be able to have photos that get people to hand you the money before they get there. Very important. So look at that portfolio. You want to look at it and ask them, you know, have you. How much experience have you had? Can I see an entire property shoot? Okay. Because they're going to show you their best, their favorite photos, and it could be one or two from a property, but you want to look at the entire property and make sure that they get the flow of each one. You want to make sure you have plenty of wide shots, but not too wide. You don't want to go fish angle or really oversell the space of the property. That's not good either. But really look at that and then look further at the photos. How detailed are they? Did they make sure the bed was straight? That the curtains weren't awkward, that the pillows were fluffed, that the artwork is not cockeyed a little bit? You want to make sure that all the details are in place. So those are my two biggest things, is look at their portfolio, then look again at the details and make sure that those details are in place.
