Cover photo

[Shawn-And-Terri0]

What is the best photo to have as a cover photo, interior picture or an exterior picture of what guests can do in the community, for example I have a beautiful picture of a blue heron sitting on a paddle boat on the pond in the community, my son feels my cover photo should be a picture of my beach themed living room, I would love to know what statistics show regarding best?!

Thanks so much!

Terri

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Shawn-And-Terri0 I think guests want to see something that is directly relevant to the property. Either the best interior photo or, in some cases, the actual view from a window. Pictures of local sights not visible from the property would not be what I would want to see as a guest.

[Shawn-And-Terri0]

Thank you, appreciate it!

[Anonymous]

@Shawn-And-Terri0  Guests who find your listing have already chosen your area as their destination, so they don't need the community sold to them in the lead photo. Rather, you want your home to stand out from other nearby rentals. I'd focus on the feature of your home that will be the biggest highlight for guests - it could be a nice living room, or a window with a scenic view, or even your backyard or balcony, if it has usable amenities.

But not a bird on a boat, unless that boat comes with the rental. Otherwise, it's misleading. 

[Huma0]

@Shawn-And-Terri0 

I would definitely not choose the bird on the boat as your lead photo. It tells guests nothing about your listing and why they should click on it rather than others in the area. It's also not in focus. I think that the photo of the exterior of the cottage is much better, or the living room, as your son suggests.

Also, 36 is a lot of photos. I think 20-25 is probably sufficient. You could easily edit these down as several are not in focus (either remove those or replace with in focus shots). Some are really blurry, e.g. the playground, seating area by the pond and racetrack logo (could you possibly replace this with a photo of the actual racetrack?).

I would also retake some of your interior shots with more natural light, e.g. you could open the blinds in the living room to make it seem brighter and fresher. The caption says the furnishings are all new, but I don't get a sense of this from the photo. This applies to the kitchen shots too, but especially the bedroom. Try to take the images with as much natural light flooding in as possible, rather than with blinds and curtains closed and artificial light, which can cast a yellow tone on everything. For the bathroom, I'd be less interested in the shower curtain that the actual bathing facilities, i.e. bath/shower, behind it. 

Be conscious of copyright too. I am not sure if all the photos here are yours as a few look like publicity shots. Do you have permission to use these? Should they be credited to the source?

Sorry if I sound overly critical, but I'm a magazine editor so creating imagery or assessing other people's photos is a big part of my job but, more importantly, the images are one of (if not THE most) important things on the listing. 

It looks like you have invested in a lot of new stuff for your listing and also that there's a lot of attractions nearby that could be very appealing to guests if presented a bit better. Perhaps you have a friend or know someone who is into photography who might be able to help?

[Sarah977]

@Shawn-And-Terri0  I agree with the others that a good interior shot of the most eye-catching feature is the best cover photo to use. 

Sometimes a photo of the outside of the house is a good one to use if it's a very unique-looking exterior, like a treehouse, something with beautiful, unusual stonework, etc, but I've seen cover shots of the exteriors of typical boring looking suburban tract houses that certainly wouldn't attract me to book a place.

I think you have far too many outdoor shots of area attractions and not enough good shots of the interior. Ditch the close-up photos of drinks. Everyone knows what a drink in a glass looks like and it isn't going to help attract people to book. One playground shot is plenty.

Why is there a photo of the floor?

Can you create a better furniture arrangement in the living room? The couch and chair lined up like that doesn't look great decor-wise. 

There also seems to be some useless clutter, like what looks like an artificial flower arrangement in the back corner of the kitchen counter to the right of the sink. 

Check your listing on what is showing re sleeping spaces. It is showing both the bed and sleeper sofa in the bedroom.

[Shawn-And-Terri0]

Thank you everyone!