4 Reasons Why It’s Better To Hire Your Own Photographer
Over the years, I have worked as a self-employed photographer as well as a photographer for Airbnb. After 7 years of working for Airbnb, I decided to go private so that I could provide a more custom experience for vacation rental hosts; an experience I just couldn’t provide if they booked me through the vacation rental company. After recently moving to Colorado Springs, Colorado, I’m excited to bring my expertise and extensive knowledge to photograph your vacation rental. Here’s 4 reasons why you should hire a private photographer rather than use the photographer supplied by the company you’re listing your vacation rental on.
You can use the photographs on other sites.
If you choose to have your vacation rental photographed by a photographer that is contracted by a specific vacation rental company (such as Airbnb), then that company owns the copyright of the images and you are not allowed to use those images on any other site. You will also not receive a copy of them. By hiring your own photographer (like me!), you can negotiate a commercial release that allows you to use the images on multiple sites, expanding your marketing and giving you more opportunity for bookings. When booking with Caroline Alexander Photography LLC, you are automatically granted a limited commercial release that allows you to use the images on multiple platforms.
You can choose your photographer.
There are so many wonderful photographers out there. When you book through a vacation rental site, you unfortunately don’t get to choose your photographer. They could be amazing, but they could also be not that great. You’re rolling the dice. By hiring your own photographer, you have complete control over who photographs your space, and can see their portfolio prior to booking them to make sure it’s going to be a good fit.
You can request specific photographs.
The photography requirements for vacation rental sites where they supply the photographer are sometimes very strict. For example, there is usually maximum amount of images that the photographer is allowed to take, and there are strict aesthetic requirements that the photographer has to meet. If you’d like a photograph that goes against those guidelines, then the photographer cannot upload it or they risk the whole session being denied by the company. I previously worked for Airbnb, and one such image that was not allowed was photographs looking down from a balcony or stairwell in the house. A lot of clients requested it, but I was not allowed to provide it. If you have your own photographer, you can request certain photographs that might not otherwise be allowed.
You can hire the same photographer again for consistent images.
I’ve been called back to re-shoot rooms multiple times in my career due to vacation rental hosts updating something in their listing and wanting to update their photographs to match. When hiring your own photographer, you have the opportunity to hire the same one as before and therefore have cohesive images. With a photographer from a vacation rental company, you don’t get to choose your photographer. Your images could look completely different the second time around.
One thing that I’ve heard being talked about is the cost of hiring a private photographer vs using the company provided one. It’s always going to be more expensive going private, but as the above points suggest, it’s far more beneficial to your business to do so. Photographs are one of the most important aspects of your vacation rental marketing plan - clients that are consistently booked out for months have one thing in common: professional photographs.