Choosing what to photograph
When it comes to your pictures, aim to capture moments and scenes that tell a simple story. Big landscapes can be beautiful, but a picnic rug spread under a tree is much more emotive. Indoors, small details are often easier than whole rooms.
Think about what makes your place so special.
Is it that you offer cookery courses or you grow your own veg? Have a homely kitchen, a great homemade breakfast or an outdoor bathtub? A cosy corner spot that’s perfect for getting lost in a book? Great window views from the bedroom? Try to think about different perspectives and what makes your place characterful and unique. Natural moments make great shots and show off the best aspects of your place. Features like patterned stairs, open windows, food preparation or quirky elements like outdoor baths look great.
Share photos of the area surrounding your place
Whilst we love photos of your properties, we also love to share on-the-ground photos of local areas, villages and cities. Photos of Olhao’s colourful houses and great doors or Italy’s local fishermen or vegetable markets, for example, give a local’s perspective of what these villages and cities are really like. These photos give an insight into the life where you are, tell the story of travel and entice people to visit. Small side streets, bakery or shop windows, bookshops and food markets all give a real sense of place.
Composition and lighting tips
- It sounds simple but make sure your photos are straight rather than wonky
- Think about lighting and how you can use natural light to its full potential – taking shady photographs is very hard
- For photos of landscapes, take advantage of the golden hour during sunrise and sunset each day as colours are soft with subtle hues which look beautiful and atmospheric
- We think photos that are taken in portrait or square are better as they fit the whole screen on a mobile. Landscape shots will post with a black border around and this can take-away from the beauty of your photograph.
Think about variety
As well as place and setting, we like to share photos of experiences and these usually have people in them. When taking people pictures, think about perspective. If you include a person, try not to include too much of their face or anything that looks posed. Often they’re better taken from behind so the guest can imagine themselves there. Great experiences include horse-riding at sunset, fishing in the lake, swimming, gazing out at views – all things guests can expect to do when visiting you. Don’t be afraid to stage these!
Editing advice
Instagram offers a lot of editing options, but like too much make-up they can start to look fake. It’s better to work on your composition and lighting and avoid over-editing. People are savvy and you want to strike the right balance of charm and professionalism. Look at other accounts and find a style that suits you and your place. Here are two well-regarded Instagrammers with unique approaches:
- Kym Grimshaw is much more muted and where she does use colour it’s often very natural shades
- Alexandra Dudley takes great travel shots, particularly of food. She doesn’t use filters on her photos – making them look natural.
Lastly, always tag your photos on Instagram with #sawdaystravel and we’ll pick them up and post them when we can. We also encourage our guests to search via that hashtag on every email we send, so they can find our brilliant spaces on Instagram.
Happy snapping!