A Guide on How to Take Pictures of Hotel Rooms
First impressions are very important and sometimes they are the deciding factor when it comes to hotel rooms, B&Bs and holiday apartments. Potential guests often judge hotels and holiday accommodation on the quality of their pictures. If the rooms appear spacious, bright and appealing, then prospective guests are more likely to book it. Therefore, it is important to have great and appealing pictures as a provider.
In this guide we will give you some helpful tips on what you should keep in mind when taking pictures of hotel rooms. In addition, we will also show you how to present pictures in a professional and attractive way.
Taking Pictures in the Right Light
Make sure to use mainly natural light when taking pictures of your hotel room so that it appears natural and attractive. It is always a good idea to leave the curtains open to let the natural light shine into the room. It is also recommended to switch on the lights in the room to brighten up the picture. However, make sure that the different light sources don’t differ too much or dominate the picture too much, otherwise it will have a negative effect on the quality of the picture. It can be quite useful to use a tripod or external spotlights in case there isn’t enough light. By doing so the low ISO values can also be selected.
When taking pictures of hotel rooms it is recommended to bring out the warm colours of the interior in order to give prospective guests a good impression of the room. Furthermore, the picture should not be too dark or full of shadows. When taking pictures in RAW file format changes to lighting and colouring can also be made afterwards in just a few simple steps.
Taking Pictures of a Hotel Room from the Guest's Perspective
One of the best ways to capture a great picture of a hotel room is to take it from a guest’s perspective. This can be achieved by taking a picture at the entrance to the room. This angle captures the furniture, wall and window. If the hotel room has a nice view, then it is a good idea to include this in the picture.
This helps to make the hotel room appear more inviting and much more interesting from a potential guest’s perspective. In addition, this helps to make the hotel room look more spacious in comparison to the other picture, where only the beds in front of the wall were in the picture.
Pictures should be taken from a height of about one metre so that they look much more realistic. Avoid taking pictures from a bird's-eye or frog's-eye view.
Image Composition for High Quality Pictures
It is also interesting to think about what should be included in the pictures. Ideally, the pictures should give potential guests an overall good impression of the hotel room. Lots of people try to include as many things as possible in a single picture. However, pictures where motifs have been cut off don’t give an overall good impression.
Using a wide-angle lens can help you to take some great pictures as this allows you to take pictures of larger image areas. These types of lenses also help to make a hotel room appear more spacious, which is particularly helpful for smaller hotel rooms. As an alternative to the wide-angle lens, it is advisable to take several pictures from a harmonious angle in a hotel room. This helps to get a great picture of the hotel room and it also gives a good impression.
Also make sure that walls and ceilings in your pictures have a harmonious look. Pictures with straight lines help the depicted surroundings appear more realistic and balanced. Pictures taken in a very low focal length range (ultra-wide angle) are problematic, as this can lead to distortions in the lines. Such inconsistencies can lead to the picture appearing too busy and this could give potential guests the wrong impression.
Conclusion- How to Get the Perfect Picture of a Hotel Room
Getting a great picture of a hotel room depends on the three main factors light, perspective and image composition. The room should look light enough so that the picture has an overall inviting impression. Mixing different coloured light sources (such as white and yellow) should be avoided. If the light colours in your picture differ too much you can edit this afterwards. When taking pictures of a hotel room make sure to take them from a potential guest’s perspective. In order for the entire picture to appear harmonious it is important to have a well thought out picture composition. Its best to follow the rule of less is more, as too many picture components can quickly appear irritating and distract from the important motifs. You can edit and add the finishing touches to your pictures with an image editing software.
