That first photograph

[Jimbo]

The problem I'm now having is working out how I can look at my own property differently - I may be too familiar with it and miss even the obvious; it's like proof reading your own wirting.

Which is why a pro photographer often does a better job than the owner because they're coming to it fresh, rather than because of any innate ability with a camera that the owner doesn't have. And a pro photographer is always under time constraints, which concentrates the mind wonderfully.

Just have to shake off the lethargy, imagine yourself to be a guest seeing the property for the first time and start shooting, shooting, shooting - the effective pictures will come. Because shooting with a digital camera is now so easy from a technical standpoint, doesn't mean that photography itself has got any easier.

roxytoo's two paragraph masterclass is a brilliant distillation of how good photographs will eventually result if you keep experimenting and plugging away. Whatever you do, there are no short cuts to quality.

Elliot Erwitt wrote:
I think the main ingredient for photography is curiosity. If you're curious enough and if you get up in the morning and go out and take pictures, you're likely to be more lucky than if you just stay at home.

[Yorkshire Lass]

We rent holiday homes most years both in the UK and in Europe and my take on this is that when looking in the UK if a property features an interior shot as its first picture then for me there's a reason why the exterior hasn't been featured (I'm quite suspicious!) so for me it's a bit of a negative. This also applies when I look at holiday properties overseas but there if I'm particularly looking for a property with a pool (which is usually the case when looking at a traditional 'hot' destination) I want to see the pool as the first shot as this is probably going to be the first filter box I tick after I've selected the destination.

[Nemo]

I have never used an exterior shot of the property as my first photo. My properties are not pretty and the best photographer in the world cannot make them look so! However just because they're not the prettiest doesn't mean you'll have an inferior holiday. Once inside you don't think of the exterior and with the beautiful sandy beach on my doorstep, that's where my guests spend a lot of their time.

Photos are about selling the dream holiday after all, hence we all drool after the beautiful pools we see in warmer climes.