Photos That Get Your Home Booked: A Simple Guide
You need five photos to publish. Here is what to shoot, which photo to make your cover, and how to get good results with a phone.
The itsFurnished Team·
Photos are the first thing a guest looks at and the main reason they keep reading.
You need at least 5 photos to publish. Each photo saves the moment you add it, so you can stop and come back anytime.
Your cover photo
The first photo is your cover, the one guests see in search. You can reorder your photos anytime, so put your best one first. Usually that is the brightest, widest shot of the main living space.
What to shoot
Walk the home the way a guest would:
- The main living space, wide, from a corner
- The kitchen, counters clear
- Every bedroom and every bathroom
- The workspace, if you have one
- Laundry, if it is in the unit
- Outdoor space, like a balcony, patio, or yard
- The building or exterior
- Amenities worth seeing, like a gym, a pool, or the parking spot
Someone staying three months wants to see the whole home, including the ordinary parts. Missing rooms read as hidden rooms.
Phone photos are fine
You do not need a camera. You need light. iPhone photos work as they are. Very low-resolution images, like thumbnails, are turned away.
- Shoot in daylight, curtains open, lights on.
- Stand in a corner and shoot across the room.
- Hold the phone level at chest height.
- Tidy first: clear counters, make the beds, hide bins and cables.
What to avoid
- Dark or evening photos
- People, including you
- Personal items like mail or medication
- Heavy filters
- Photos of a different home, or of this one before it was furnished
Five is the minimum, not the target
Five gets you published. Twelve to fifteen gets you a guest who feels they have already seen the place, and those guests send serious requests instead of five questions.
A published home has to keep at least five photos. To swap one out, add the new photo before removing the old one.
Related
Common questions
- How many photos do I need to publish a listing?
- At least 5. Strong listings usually have twelve to fifteen.
- How do I choose my cover photo?
- Your first photo is the cover, and you can reorder your photos anytime. The brightest, widest shot of the main living space usually works best.
- Do I need a real camera?
- No. A phone in daylight with the curtains open and the lights on works very well, and iPhone photos work as they are.
- Do my photos save if I leave the screen?
- Yes. Each photo saves as you add it.
- Can I remove photos after my home is published?
- Yes, as long as at least five remain. To replace one on a home with exactly five, add the new photo first.
- What should I not photograph?
- People, personal items like mail or medication, dark rooms, and anything heavily filtered.