Photography Guide for Members
We cannot emphasis enough just how important professional photographs are to promoting your property; it is the photos that will really provide a feel for your house and enable us to maximise the bookings that we generate for you; showcasing your home to its full potential.
We would definitely recommend making the investment in hiring a professional photographer; this is an initial expenditure that will certainly be worth the outlay. Aside from enabling us to create the best webpage for you, we are regularly contacted by journalists looking to feature properties that we market in national publications and if you already have professional high-res photographs in place, this makes facilitating a feature all the easier.
Please see below for some hints and tips for what we are looking for when it comes to the photographs of your property. These will come in handy if you decide to take some shots yourself; a professional photographer will no doubt cover all of these points anyway!
What We Require
- At least 12 up to date photographs in landscape format.
- A combination of exterior shots of the property and grounds, interior room shots, close up shots of original and distinguishing features.
- Views from the property.
- All photos need to be digital, a minimum of 600kb and preferably sent in a jpeg format
- Photograph all of your rooms as accurately as you can, clients are always keen to know room size and layout of bedrooms, bathrooms and living areas. Where possible we aim to display at least 2 bedroom photos, a bath room shot, kitchen and living area combined with more aspect shots of the garden, views and features.
Exterior Photos
- The grounds: Photographs of the grounds provide a flavour the setting of your property, from the outlook to the level of privacy that guests staying at your home can expect. Shots of any ponds, statues or unique features and wider angle shots of the whole garden if possible.
- Photographs of local landmarks: Be it churches, lighthouses, monuments can trigger a feel for the area. Likewise coastal or rural shots look good.
- Vistas: whether your home overlooks the sea, mountains, fields or forest these are important shots to have. Often views from the windows look great giving a real outside-in feel.
- The Weather: Please ensure that outdoor shots are taken on a clear bright day with blue sky and sunshine
Interior Photos
- Introduce character to your picture: ornaments, wall art, plants, fresh flowers etc help to portray a homely feel.
- Create an ambience: Switch on the table lamps or light the candles for evening shots. If your home has an open fire then photos of a roaring log fire look great and help promote your home as a winter off peak stay as well as high season. Cosy squishy sofas, a coffee table book and a rug by the fire look tempting.
- Dress the property: Lay the table for dinner with your best china and tableware, set the table for breakfast with coffee, orange juice and croissants or maybe a cream tea shot taken in the drawing room.
- strong>Use as much natural light as possible. Experiment with the flash if the light is too low.
- Food and wine: Shots look great on your webpage, so whether the only catering you offer is a welcome hamper on arrival, or you provide gourmet dinners every evening, an artistic culinary shot will prove tempting. Detail shots: Close ups of linen, cushions, the bed made up, any quirky bathroom fittings all help to gauge the comfort and over all style of the room.
- Seasonal shots: Photos taken at various times of the year mean we can build a portfolio of your property and update your page accordingly. The house decorated for Christmas, Easter flowers or perhaps some lovely al fresco dining shots means we can provide a fresh look for your property as the seasons change.
Please avoid the following:
- People and vehicles in the shot
- The date appearing on the photo
- The name of your property on any sign etc
- Camera shake
If you are attempting to take the photographs yourself, then ensure that you set your camera to ‘high quality’ within the resolution settings or alternatively to at least 1600x1200px.