Shooting for Airbnb
An addictive way to meet cool folks around you
Like many people, I started Airbnb as a guest, for short and mid-term stays, alone or with my wife, for business or vacation. Then, as a freelance photographer, I applied to become an Airbnb photographer and it all went great. Finally, I convinced my mum to become a host and she did it. She proudly declares to anyone who wants to hear it that she has received 30 people during the last 3 months. At some point, I even had the chance to meet one of the co-founders during a LeWeb party in Paris.
I have been taking pictures for Airbnb for only one year and it has been so inspiring that I wanted to share with you why it became my weekly drug.
I first started taking pictures 15 years ago when I got my first camera and I can still remember the scratchy little noise of my Nikon F65 when closing the back after a film roll insertion. I still remember big debates on “digital VS film” during the photo club meetings I was involved in. I even remember people asking me to delete the photo I had just taken of them in the street… but I will never forget the smile of the Airbnb hosts when they open their door for a shooting.
Hosts smile
One of the rarest things these days in France is seeing someone smile. Believe me, taxes, unemployment, political distrust, societal cleavage and general anxiety are clearly not helping. However, when you knock on their doors, and pronounce the magic word, faces put their best smiles back on.
Hosts are welcoming
Hosts welcome you, show you around, explain you everything and let you feel at home.
Hosts are helpful
Hosts let you take your time to make the best shots. They are helpful and help you light bulbs up and move furnitures when needed.
Many of them ask me at the end of the shooting :
So, are the pictures going to look as fine as other places because you didn’t change anything in the flat ?
And, yes this is true. We don’t “change” much. As we plan the date of the shooting on airbnb.com a few days before, it gives them time to clean the place.
Personally, I ask to lay the table for two and that’s about it.
We only move a chair or an armchair if I need to go behind it to find a proper angle for the photo but then we put them back in place.
For example, the picture below has been taken during a very very rainy and dark day.
Hosts love life
Once I asked a host to lay the table for two and here is more or less the conversation we had :
“What do you want to eat ?”
- ”No, no, thank you. Just the cuttlery. It’s for the picture.”
“Ok, don’t you prefer a couple of glasses instead ?”
- “Yeah, why not. That could be a good idea.”
When I arrived, he had a bottle of local Muscadet… opened. Obviously, we didn’t throw it away…
Hosts are focused
When I come for the shooting, they try to reproduce the experience they provide for their guests.
I remember this host who set up the fire in his ethanol chimney.
“Isn’t it better this way ? I light it up when guests arrive.”
- “Wow, great !”
And the picture is definitely looking better.
Hosts feel like being part of a world change
There are 2 kinds of hosts : the early adopters & the rookies.
In both cases, we always end up talking about the fact that Airbnb is a real game changer. We talk about the founders legend, their first clients, the fact that everything on airbnb.com is so cool and simple. We talk about something that is absolutely positive and this feels so good.
Hosts are humble
Some beginners hosts I met were offering their whole luxurious flat for 30 € per night. I talked with them and tried to understand that. They were thinking that it wasn’t such a nice flat or that the flat wasn’t in such a good location or that it was “different from a hotel”.
The second argument often used is that “we don’t do it for the money”. But I told them that even if it wasn’t all about money, there was money involved and a luxurious flat had to be more expensive than a regular flat per se.
Giving them some comparisons with other Airbnb places, they started to change their mind and as I finished the shooting they gave me a new price really corresponding to what I had in mind. They haven’t changed since.
I also discussed with other hosts in United Kingdom who told me that it took them some time to find the right price. Once set, it’s a real success. Take time to find yours. Try different things.
Hosts are funny
As we also talk about photography in general, they want to know a bit more about my job and the pictures I take, if they can buy some, if they can call me for the newly born portrait.
Some also invite me to come back and take pictures of the view during this next big city event. They tell me about how their point of view is better than the neighbour because “from here you can take a picture of the castle, the cathedral and the fun fair. From my neighbour’s, you can’t !”.
Some of them want to be on the pictures, some don’t. I often invite them to be on the pictures. At the begining, they don’t feel ok with it, but after a while, they change their mind and ask for it.
Airbnb’s business model spreads wealth and happiness where it goes and this should be the only way business should be done.
In my opinion, Airbnb provides today the best online experience. It happens that it is also true for photography. Shooting for Airbnb is a great experience. Just apply and join the fun.
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