Photography Guidelines Photography equipment Even if you don’t have a high end digital camera you will be able to take high quality photos with a standard modern day smart phone camera. The following tips are basic settings you can work with on an iPhone or equivilent Adnroid smart phone to get high quality images for marketing your business online.

Turn on the rule of thirds grid. When getting a good photo, working out your composition is half the battle.

A good rule of thumb (which you’ll learn in almost any introductory photography class) is that many good photos have major elements that divide the shot into thirds. That’s what’s commonly called the “rule of thirds.”

Though the rule isn’t ironclad, turning on your camera’s grid will at least put you in the right mindset for composing your shot. It’ll also remind you that the most striking elements should be organized in thirds, some part of a grid, or align with something else in the shot.

Make use of your focus lock. Say you’re taking a portrait of someone and don’t want the camera to refocus on a different area between shots — just hold and press the area you want to focus on until the AE/AF box comes up on the top of the screen.

That AE/AF lock comes in handy when you’re taking multiple shots of the same subject. Once it’s on, you can then change the brightness from shot to shot without the camera refocusing on other elements.

Toggle the brightness slider until your is just right. Usually when focusing, the camera will automatically guess what exposure is best for the shot. But you might sometimes want a moodier, less exposed shot. Or maybe it’s underexposed and you want to brighten it.

iPhone cameras allow you to toggle the brightness of any given shot by focusing, then sliding your finger. When you bring your finger up, it’ll brighten the shot, and swiping down will darken it. Avoid using the flash unless absolutely necessary. While smartphones cameras are getting more -sensitive, you still have to pay attention to lighting when pressing the shutter.

Unfortunately, you can’t rely on the flash to get a good exposure — the iPhone’s flash, unless properly reflected or bounced off a reflective surface, will usually give your subjects an unflattering, pasty complexion.

Though sometimes flash is the only option, your photo will look much better if you can move to a place with better lighting.

Focus on getting contrast. The parts of a photo that have the most contrast guide your eyes’ attention to the right place.

To get the perfect amount of contrast, focus on toggling the exposure of your shot so that dark areas are dark and highlights are bright, but not . You can do this by taking the shot first, then opening up the edit panel in your camera app. Then, press the dial icon and adjust shadows and highlights accordingly.

Take note, though — if you can’t get a perfect exposure, it’s easier to salvage details from dark shots than overexposed ones.

If are washing out a photo, try switching on HDR. This image is a typical iPhone HDR photo, in which both the sky and dock are relatively well exposed. But if this same scene were in a non-HDR shot, you’d have to make a choice — if you exposed the sky well, the dock would turn , and if you exposed the dock, the sky would look washed out.

HDR, which stands for high-dynamic range, usually produces shots with high ranges of exposure, so that highlights and shadows all maintain the same amount of detail. In many HDR photos, that can yield too much detail — so much that the shots often look unnaturally exposed.

Fortunately, the iPhone’s HDR feature doesn’t go overboard — most of the time it just makes sure that brightly exposed elements, like skies, don’t blow out.

So if you’re shooting a dark subject under a bright sky, it’s worthwhile to turn HDR on to lower the contrast. Photography Style Guide

It’s all in the details — it’s what distinguishes one business from the next. Take a moment to look around. If you were the visitor or guest, why would you want to go or stay in the destination? Highlight those things that make your business and the destination special. Do your best to showcase the space, show off the exterior and capture the space in an awe-inspiring way.

Getting Started Photograph all areas of the business that a guest will have access to — most importantly, the bedroom or where the guest will stay. If for lodging don’t forget the bathroom and the kitchen! if its a restaurant attractions take photos of the entry, common areas, dining spaces, etc. If its a difficult location to find taking a photo of any unique landmarks that would help a visitor locate your location.

What to shoot • Bedrooms featured in the listing • Living Rooms • Kitchens • Bathrooms (with the toilet seat down, please!) • All common spaces • Details of what makes the space unique • Exterior (edit out house/apartment numbers and street signs) • Nearby landmarks, city scenes, etc., that are easily accessible from the business location or lodging.

Encouraged • Noteworthy views • Pets • Interesting artwork or furniture • Host’s portrait, if they would like to be photographed in their space • More details!

What not to shoot • House numbers • Street signs • Televisions that are on (please turn off during shoot) • Unsightly details like dishes in the sink

Image Specifications • JPEG files • Highest quality setting available on your phone or camera • Deliver a minimum of 4 of your best images • No more than 20% vertical images

Professionally photographed listings get 2-3x more bookings than the market average. Top 5 Photo Tips For A Stellar Business Listing

Bonus tip Generally speaking, more is more, so the more photos you have the more excited people will be to browse them. It provides visitors and guest the most reference with which to make their travel and booking decision online. Try not to shoot the same thing a hundred times, but throw in a variety of subjects. Go broad, go detailed, and give potential guests a great idea of what your space is really like.

1. Brighten up the inside Light is a photographer’s best friend. It brings out natural depth, , and contrast in a setting. Great lighting makes your photo look more professional overall, which makes you look professional as well.

Shoot during the day, turn on all the lights, open the curtains and let in all of the natural light. Most modern cameras will adjust for bright spots by darkening the rest, so focus the camera away from the windows if possible. 2. Shoot into a corner This technique shows a broad range of space and adds dimensionality to the photo. Shooting flat onto a wall can make a space seem smaller than in real life, while corners help give a sense of true perspective.

Composition in a photo is very important. Consider the rule of thirds for balance and visual queues to keep the eye moving. Create a unique experience for the viewer and your place will pop!

3. Clean the scene Take some time to remove the clutter from your living space. It’ll be less distracting to the viewer and generally make your place seem more inviting and spacious.

Pretend you’re an interior decorator—arrange some flowers, fan some magazines, dust surfaces. Be as tidy as you’ve ever been. Clean up, but be sure the photo aligns as closely as possible to the actual space. Let photos be a true reflection of how visitors will find it. 4. Highlight unique amenities Do you have a sweet backyard patio? A barbeque? An awesome kitchen? Are there kids toys in a room built just for kids? Is there a jaw-dropping view? A washer-dryer? A fireplace? Let guests know with photos. All these things set your place apart from places that don’t have them—both homes and hotels—so document them with photos.

People love the little details too—things that fill your home with life and personality. If you have a guitar signed by Tom Petty, or a collection of US Civil War-era china, or chickens in the backyard, add pictures of them to your listing. Don’t be shy— people love interesting spaces.

5. Take photos outside What’s outside is just as important as what’s inside. Help set people’s expectations of their arrival by photographing your place from the outside. The best time to shoot outdoors is the first and last hour of of the day, known as the “Golden Hour.” This is the time of day where light is softest (most diffused) and brings out the broadest range of color.

And don’t forget the destination! People get excited about their destination as well as the place they’re staying, so take pictures of your locale. They’ll brag about what was within walking distance so if you live close to a local attraction, a great restaurant, or gorgeous scene, post some photos of it. Examples For Reference

Lighting the Space / Exposure Expose for the interior rather than the windows. We like images to be bright, and often that means windows will be overexposed. This is acceptable as long as there is still slight detail in the highlights within the interior.

Uneven Lighting Both of the images below could be improved by flash. The foreground is overexposed, the background is underexposed, and the shadows are much too harsh.

Low Light If possible, try not to shoot at night or low lighting situations. Composition Straight lines are an important aspect of interior photography. Shoot from a level position in order to keep your vertical and horizontal lines straight. Images should be shot at or below natural eye level (no higher than 5 feet) to help reduce distortion. Please do not shoot too high or low, as it creates skewed lines.

Engaging the Viewer Shoot both straight on and into corners to vary the angles within your set. Shooting into a corner adds dimensionality and draws the viewer in. When composing the image straight on, make sure vertical and horizontal lines are straight in camera. Please try to capture an equal amount of ceiling and floor space — feel free to show more of the ceiling if it features special architectural details. The foreground is overexposed, the background is underexposed, and the shadows are much too harsh. Details Detail shots help give life to the set. Ideally verified images illustrate the character and charm of a place. What makes the place unique? You can highlight the amenities that make the listing unique: breakfast laid out on the table, welcome notes, interesting furniture, and essentials like fresh towels set aside for guests.

Do not include mundane details or use haphazard angles.

Exteriors Please include at least one image of the exterior. Shoot the building and immediate surroundings of the listing — not nearby landmarks, beaches or other details irrelevant to the space. Framing When framing your image, try to show as much of the room as possible. Shoot wide to make sure framing is not too tight. The images at left are too tightly composed — furniture is cropped and the images don’t showcase the room well. The images at right show more of the overall space.

Small Spaces Please try to shoot mostly in landscape orientation, since bradentongulfislands.com is optimized for horizontal images. However, we understand that bathrooms, stairways, and hallways can be challenging to shoot. For these spaces it is acceptable to shoot both vertically and horizontally. Overediting Avoid overuse of HDR, sharpening, “shadow/highlight” or artistic filters. These tend to look unnatural and give an inaccurate representation of the business and space.

Color Correction Color correct each photo with your camera software. Make sure that the images are consistently neutral across the set.