How to Get the Very Best Out of a Photographer or Content Creator Staying at Your Holiday Accommodation

A good content shoot is about far more than simply booking a photographer and hoping for the best. After working with several photographers and content creators at Quabbs Cabin, I’ve learnt how much difference a little preparation, good communication and choosing the right person can make. Here are the things I’ve learnt along the way.

How to Get the Very Best Out of a Photographer or Content Creator Staying at your Holiday Accommodation.

Over the last couple of years, we’ve had a number of photographers and content creators come and stay at Quabbs Cabin, and, as with most things involved in running your own accommodation, I’ve definitely learnt a few things along the way. Some of those things we got right from the beginning, while others have come from looking back afterwards and thinking, ah, we probably should have mentioned that beforehand.

Probably the biggest thing I’ve learnt is that the very best results come from treating it as a partnership rather than simply handing everything over to the photographer and hoping for the best.

You can find an incredibly talented photographer whose work you absolutely love, give them the keys, show them around and tell them to go for it, and chances are they’ll produce some really beautiful photographs. But there is actually quite a big difference between ending up with beautiful photographs and ending up with the photographs and content that your business genuinely needs.

Because however talented they are, they don’t know your accommodation in the way that you do. They don’t know which photograph you’ve been desperately missing from your website for the last six months, which little corner guests constantly comment on, which view gets the best light first thing in the morning, or which seemingly insignificant handmade detail is actually a really important part of the story of the place.

They also don’t necessarily know what your guests respond to, what makes people choose you over somewhere else, or which parts of the experience you’re trying to communicate more clearly.

That knowledge has to come from you.

And I think that’s where the really good collaborations happen. It isn’t about telling a photographer how to do their job, because they know far more about photography than I ever will. It’s about giving them everything you know about your business and then allowing them to bring their own creativity, experience and way of seeing things to it.

When you get those two things working together, that’s when you have a much better chance of coming away with something far more useful than simply a folder full of lovely photographs.

Start by Looking at Their Work — Properly

Before you approach somebody, spend a bit of time going through their work, and I mean properly going through it rather than having a quick scroll through their Instagram, deciding everything looks lovely and sending them a message.

Look at the work they’ve done for other accommodation businesses if they have it, but also look beyond that. Look at their videos, the way they photograph people, how they capture landscapes and interiors, whether they notice the tiny details, how they photograph food and drink, and even how they use light. Look at the way their photographs make you feel, because ultimately that’s a huge part of what you’re trying to achieve with your own photography.

As you’re looking through everything, you’ll probably find yourself thinking, oh, I absolutely LOVE that, or I’d really like something similar to that for us. Equally, there will probably be things that you can appreciate are beautifully done but know immediately just wouldn’t work for your business. And that’s exactly what you should be doing, because you’re beginning to work out whether their natural style fits with yours before either of you has committed to anything.

Every photographer and content creator has their own style, and really, that’s part of the reason you’re choosing them in the first place. You’re not simply looking for somebody who owns a good camera and knows how to use it; you’re looking for somebody whose way of seeing and capturing a place feels right for the business you’ve created.

For example, there would be very little point in us choosing somebody whose natural style is very bright, white, pristine and highly polished when Quabbs Cabin is deliberately darker, rustic, warm and a little bit moody. I wouldn’t want them to completely change the way they work to suit us, because then I’m not really choosing them for their work in the first place.

And, of course, the same applies the other way around. If your accommodation is incredibly light, contemporary and minimalist, with clean lines and lots of bright open spaces, then somebody whose portfolio is predominantly dark, atmospheric and heavily styled might not be the right person for you either.

Neither style is better than the other, and it certainly isn’t about deciding whether somebody is a good or bad photographer. It’s simply about finding somebody whose natural creative style is already reasonably in tune with your brand, because if you get that bit right at the beginning, everything that follows becomes so much easier.

Reach Out and Have a Conversation

Once you’ve found somebody whose work you really like and you think their style is a good fit for your accommodation, talk to them properly before you make any plans.

Tell them about your accommodation and what you’re trying to create there, send them over to your website and encourage them to have a good nose around your social media too. Let them see the photographs and videos you already have, because that gives them a much better idea of how you currently present the business and, perhaps more importantly, means you don’t end up with another fifty versions of something you already have plenty of.

Then tell them what you’re missing. Maybe you have hundreds of lovely photographs of the inside but hardly anything showing the wider landscape, or perhaps you’ve got beautiful summer photographs but nothing that really shows how cosy the place is when it’s pouring with rain in November. You might desperately need more vertical content for social media, photographs with people actually using the accommodation rather than empty-room shots, or simply better images of one particular feature that you’ve never quite managed to capture properly yourself.

And don’t be afraid to have a proper conversation about all of this. I think sometimes, particularly when somebody is coming to stay in return for photography or content, accommodation owners can feel slightly awkward about being too specific because they don’t want to appear demanding or ungrateful.

But being clear about what you need isn’t being demanding. It’s actually helping them.

The more they understand about your business before they arrive, the less guessing they have to do once they’re there, and the more time they can spend actually creating rather than trying to work out what on earth you were hoping they might photograph.

You’re not handing them a set of instructions and telling them how to do their job. You’re simply giving them the information they need to understand yours.

Send them a Moodboard.

And no, it really isn’t cheeky to send somebody a mood board. In fact, I think it can be one of the most useful things you give them before they arrive, because it’s very difficult to explain something as subjective as a feeling in a few sentences.

If you’ve put together a mood board, send it over. It doesn’t need to be beautifully designed or particularly professional either. It can simply be Pinterest screenshots, Instagram posts you’ve saved, photographs from their own portfolio that made you think yes, that’s exactly why I like your work, or even photographs you’ve taken yourself where you love the view, the angle or the moment but have always thought, I’d love somebody who actually knows what they’re doing to capture this properly.

All of those things give the photographer a much clearer picture of what is going on inside your head, and if anything, you’re making their job easier rather than making demands of them. They’re arriving with some understanding of the feeling you’re hoping the finished content will have, rather than having to work all of that out from scratch once they get there.

They can see the colours you’re drawn to, whether you like things quite natural or more styled, whether you prefer photographs that feel candid and lived-in rather than perfectly arranged, and whether the overall feeling you’re trying to create is cosy and intimate, wild and windswept, romantic, luxurious, rustic, joyful, quiet, or a mixture of several of those things.

For us, for example, I’d want somebody to understand that I don’t necessarily want everything straightened, brightened and made to look perfect. I like the darker corners, the texture of old wood, a blanket that looks as though somebody has actually been using it, muddy boots by the door and the sort of photograph that makes you imagine yourself being there rather than simply admiring a beautifully styled room.

That sort of thing can be surprisingly difficult to explain, whereas a handful of photographs can communicate it almost immediately.

A mood board isn’t about telling a creative person how to be creative, and it certainly isn’t asking them to copy somebody else’s work. It’s simply a way of showing them the world they’re about to step into and the feeling you’d like them to help you capture.

Give them a Shot List

This is probably my biggest practical tip of all, and perhaps unsurprisingly for anyone who knows me, it involves writing a list. I love a list!

And please don’t think that handing a professional photographer or videographer a shot list is going to make them roll their eyes and wonder why on earth you’re telling them how to do their job. In my experience, they’re far more likely to be grateful that you’ve actually taken the time to think about what you need before they arrive.

Of course they’re creative, they’ll have their own ideas and, as I’ve already said, one of the really lovely things about bringing somebody new into your accommodation is that they’ll notice things you’ve stopped seeing. They’ll find angles you’ve never considered and probably come up with photographs you would never have thought to ask for. But however good they are, they cannot possibly know everything that’s going on inside your head, so give them somewhere to start.

Think about whether you actually want people in the photographs. Do you want recognisable faces, or do you prefer the sort of lifestyle photographs where you can see somebody enjoying the space without necessarily seeing who they are? Perhaps you want couples, dogs, or simply the suggestion that somebody is staying there — a hand pouring the coffee, someone climbing into the hot tub, a pair of muddy boots left outside the door, breakfast being made, the fire being lit or someone curled up reading on the porch.

Then think about scale as well. Do you need those huge landscape photographs that show where your accommodation actually sits in the world, as well as the wider exterior shots and the interiors? Do you need the cosy corners, the little details and all those small moments that help somebody imagine what it would actually feel like to stay there?

And most importantly, before you write any of it down, have a really good look at what you already have and ask yourself, what photographs do I actually need?

Because there really is no point ending up with 300 absolutely beautiful photographs, opening the folder afterwards feeling delighted with all of them and then, five minutes later, thinking…

Oh.

I really wish we’d got one of…

You know exactly what I mean.

Think about Video Too.

The same applies to videographers and content creators, because although the way they work might be slightly different, they still can’t know what you’re hoping to come away with unless you tell them.

If they’re producing video, have a think beforehand about where you’re actually going to use it and what format you need. Perhaps you desperately need lots of short vertical clips for social media, but you’d also really like some longer, slower footage that you can use on your website. Maybe you need those little pieces of video that show the experience of staying rather than simply what the accommodation looks like — someone arriving and opening the gate, walking towards the cabin with their bags, unlocking the door, lighting the fire, pouring a glass of wine, making coffee in the morning, climbing into the bath or sitting outside when everything is quiet.

Again, don’t assume they’ll automatically know that those are the things you need. If you’ve been running your accommodation for a while, you probably have a very clear picture in your head of the content you’re constantly wishing you had, but the person arriving for the first time has absolutely no way of knowing that.

So give them the list. It doesn’t mean those are the only things they can create, and hopefully they’ll come up with plenty of ideas of their own, but at least you know that the things you genuinely need aren’t going to be forgotten.

Talk About the Light

This is another area where I think the combination of what you know and what they know can work really well.

You know your accommodation better than anybody because you see it at every time of day and throughout the seasons. You know that at a certain time on a summer evening the sun suddenly pours across one particular part of the garden, that the bedroom gets the most beautiful soft light first thing in the morning, or that for about twenty minutes before sunset one window seems to glow. You know where the sun disappears behind the hills, which side of the building is in shadow by late afternoon and where you need to be standing if you want to catch that last bit of evening light.

Your photographer, on the other hand, understands how to use that light.

So tell them what you know, but ask them too. Have those conversations while they’re staying: What time would you like to photograph this? Do you think this would look better in the morning? Shall we leave this until later when the sun has moved around? Is the light right now, or would you rather wait?

You absolutely can — and I think should — have those conversations. It isn’t interfering with what they’re doing; it’s bringing together two completely different bits of knowledge.

They understand photography, cameras and light, while you understand the place and all its little quirks because you’ve watched the sun move around it hundreds of times.

Put the two together and that’s often when you get the photographs you could never quite have planned on paper — the ones where everything just happens to be right at the same moment.

And that, I think, is where a little bit of the magic happens.

Be Clear About Editing

This is one that I think is becoming increasingly important, simply because there are now so many more possibilities when it comes to editing photographs than there were even a few years ago.

Have the conversation about editing beforehand, rather than waiting until you receive the finished photographs and discovering that your ideas of what constitutes a beautifully edited image are completely different.

If it’s important to you that your photographs remain very natural and true to how your accommodation actually looks, say so. If you don’t want AI enhancement, AI-generated additions, replacement skies, things removed or added, colours dramatically altered or anything else that changes the reality of the place, make that clear from the beginning.

For me, there’s a difference between editing a photograph beautifully and changing what was actually there. I’m perfectly happy for somebody to work with exposure, colour balance, shadows, highlights, straightening and all the other things photographers do to bring out the best in an image, but I’d still want somebody looking at that photograph to recognise the place when they arrived.

Ultimately, these photographs are being used to show potential guests what they can expect, so however beautiful they are, they still need to feel truthful.

Equally, if you do have a particular style of editing that you love, talk about that too. Perhaps you like things warmer and earthier, slightly darker and moodier, light and bright, soft and romantic, film-like, muted or incredibly natural. Those words can mean slightly different things to different people, which is another reason why sharing examples beforehand can be so useful.

And again, this comes back to choosing the right person in the first place. Ideally, you’re not asking a photographer to completely change their editing style to fit your business, because you chose them because you already loved their work. You’re simply making sure that you both understand where the boundaries are and what feels right for your brand.

The technology might be changing incredibly quickly, but I think the principle is actually quite simple: you want the finished photographs to show your accommodation at its very best, without accidentally creating a version of it that doesn’t really exist.

Consistency Really Matters.

This is particularly important if the photographs are going to be used on your website, because unlike social media, where individual posts come and go relatively quickly, your website gradually becomes a collection of images taken at different times, in different seasons and quite possibly by several different people.

Before somebody comes to stay, send them to your website and ask them to have a proper look around. Let them see the photographs you’re already using, the colours that run through the site, the overall mood you’ve created and the way your existing images have been edited. It gives them a much better understanding of where their work is eventually going to sit, rather than asking them to create a collection of photographs completely in isolation.

Over time, particularly if you’re running an accommodation business for several years, you’re probably going to work with a number of different photographers and content creators. They will naturally have slightly different styles, and I actually think that’s a lovely thing because you get to see your place through different eyes and you don’t necessarily want every shoot to look exactly the same as the last one.

But there still needs to be some sort of visual thread running through everything.

Otherwise, before you know it, your website can start looking as though it belongs to six completely different businesses. One page is beautifully warm and rustic, the next is incredibly light and bright, then suddenly everything has turned orange, followed by something dark and cinematic, and somewhere in the middle there’s an HDR photograph that makes it look as though your accommodation has just landed from outer space.

You don’t need every photographer to produce identical work, and I certainly wouldn’t want to remove the individuality that made me choose them in the first place. But you do want somebody to be able to move from one page of your website to another without subconsciously wondering whether they’ve accidentally clicked onto a different business.

For me, it comes back again to choosing people whose natural style already sits comfortably within your brand, and then giving them enough information about your existing photography, colours and overall feel that their work can sit alongside everything else without looking completely out of place.

Different eyes, different seasons and different interpretations are wonderful.

It should just all still feel unmistakably you.

Think About What You Will Actually Use

Don't Forget the Ordinary Moments.

Tell Them the Story

Your photographer knows photography, but you know your business, and I think that’s a really important thing to remember before any shoot.

Before they even pick up the camera, spend some time telling them why you created the place in the first place, what matters to you about it, what your guests seem to fall in love with and which little details they mention again and again. Tell them what’s handmade, what has a story behind it, what you deliberately chose not to change or modernise, and what you think makes your business feel different from somewhere else they might photograph.

At Quabbs Cabin, for example, I wouldn’t simply want someone to arrive and photograph a pretty cabin, because although of course I want beautiful photographs, that’s only a small part of what we’re actually trying to show.

I’d want them to understand that the seclusion matters, that we’re on a working farm and that the landscape around the cabin is as much a part of a stay here as the cabin itself. I’d tell them about the things Paul has made, the reclaimed materials we’ve used and why we chose them, the bits that are deliberately a little rustic and imperfect, and the things guests notice that perhaps we don’t even see anymore because we live with them every day.

I’d tell them about the porch and why it’s such an important part of the cabin, how everything changes with the seasons, how quiet it is here and how much that quiet means to some of the people who come to stay. I’d explain that we don’t want it to look polished, pristine or mass-produced, because that simply isn’t us and it isn’t what we’ve created.

Those are the things that matter to us, so ultimately those are the things I want our photographs to communicate.

Because a good photographer can make somewhere look beautiful, but if they understand the story behind what they’re photographing, they have a much better chance of capturing what the place actually feels like.

And for me, that’s the difference between having a collection of lovely photographs and having photographs that actually tell the story of your business.

Then Let Them Loose.

This is the other really important bit, and probably something I’ve had to learn myself.

Once you’ve given your photographer the brief, talked them through the business, shared your mood board and explained the shots you know you definitely need, there comes a point where you have to stand back a little and let them do what you brought them there to do.

Because they will see things you don’t see anymore. They’ll stand in a corner you’ve never once thought to stand in, notice the way something is reflected in a window, move a chair six inches because the whole photograph suddenly works better, or wait patiently for the light to change because they know that in ten minutes it’s going to fall exactly where they want it.

They might photograph a tiny handmade detail that you’ve walked past five thousand times without giving it a second thought, or see a view through a doorway that you’ve never really noticed because, to you, it’s simply the doorway you walk through every day.

And I think that’s one of the loveliest things about bringing someone creative into a place you know so well. Every now and again they show you your own business through completely different eyes, and you find yourself looking at the finished photographs thinking, how on earth did I never notice that?

That’s why you’ve brought a creative person in rather than simply asking someone to work their way through a list of photographs you’ve already imagined.

Give them enough direction that they understand your business, your story and what you need from the shoot, but then give them the freedom to interpret all of that in their own way too.

Because sometimes the photograph you never thought to ask for ends up being the one you love the most.

Everybody Should Come Away with Something.

And I think this becomes even more important when a photographer or content creator is actually staying with you as part of the arrangement, because you don’t want their entire stay to feel as though they’ve simply swapped their home office for your accommodation and spent two days working.

If you’ve done the groundwork properly beforehand, everybody knows what’s expected before they arrive. They already have the shot list, they know which areas are particularly important to you, they understand the style and feel you’re looking for, and hopefully you’ve given them enough information about things like the best light, the views, the little details and anything they might otherwise completely miss.

It means they don’t have to spend the first half of their stay wandering around trying to work out what on earth you want from them, or constantly messaging you with questions. They can arrive with a clear idea of what they need to capture, get on with creating it in their own way and, importantly, actually have time to enjoy the place as well.

Because for me, that matters too. If someone is staying with us as part of an arrangement like this, I still want them to experience Quabbs Cabin properly. I want them to sit on the porch, light the fire, have a soak in the bath, wander around the farm and actually understand how the place feels, rather than spending every waking hour thinking about the next photograph they need to take.

And actually, that probably benefits both sides. They have a much more enjoyable and relaxed stay, while you’re far more likely to end up with useful content that genuinely reflects the experience you’re offering.

It also avoids that slightly awkward moment three days later when you’re looking through everything they’ve sent over and suddenly realise there was one thing you really, really needed but never actually mentioned, and you find yourself sending the dreaded message: “I don’t suppose you happened to get a photograph of…?”

A little bit of organisation beforehand can save an awful lot of crossed wires afterwards.

My Photographer and Content Creator List:

Before somebody comes to stay, think about:

Your favourite examples of their previous work
A mood board
Your website and existing photography
The overall feel and colours of your brand
A detailed shot list
Landscape AND portrait photographs
Website headers
Social media content
Vertical video
People / no people / faces / no faces
Lifestyle shots
Interiors
Exteriors
Big landscapes
Tiny details
Food and drink
Dogs, if you’re dog friendly
Arrival and departure
Morning light
Evening light
Seasonal content
Bad-weather content
Any facilities that particularly need photographing
Natural versus edited images
Whether AI enhancement is acceptable
Image usage and permissions
And most importantly: what you’re currently missing

And Finally:

Don’t be afraid to ask for what you need.

You’re not telling a photographer how to take photographs.

You’re telling them about your business.

There’s a big difference.

They bring the creative eye, technical knowledge and ability to capture something beautifully.

You bring the knowledge of your accommodation, your guests and your brand.

Put the two together and hopefully everybody gets what they came for — they get a lovely stay and the opportunity to create work they’re proud of, and you end up with photographs and videos that don’t just look beautiful.

They actually look like you.

How to Get the Very Best Out of a Photographer or Content Creator Staying at Your Holiday Accommodation