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  • Jens

Monday Morning Motivation [ The Case for People in Photos]

Hi All,

It's been a while.

Have a quick question for the group.

Over the past two years it's become clear that our core markets are...

a) family gatherings / reunions... usually multigenerational in high / shoulder season - summer, Christmas, Easter etc.

b) group get-togethers... usually around bigger birthdays in the shoulder / off season - winter in particular

So we're looking to commission some photography that clearly speaks to these targets.

My key question is... do we show people (probably obscured / rear view) OR not.

People makes it more obvious - grandad and dad fishing with their son; family around a dinner table etc.. BUT I've also read that it's not recommended to do this as it will inevitably not resonate with some people.

I would love to hear people experience re this.

Thanks.

Jens
 
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Good to "see you" again @Jens. Do you remember Sallie Sallie 's video for her property? The best I have ever seen with models......it was spectacular. https://casamarazulsanpancho.com/, Of course, being our inner circle pro advertising expert she would be a great source of advice. I hope she chimes in.

All my photos are void of people and I have been asked: "why don't you have people in your photos?" I agree with Matt, it has to be done professionally. It was challenging enough to get a sunny day let alone schedule models for the shoot.

I can see your photos with grandpa showing his grandson and daughter how to fish.....and more heartfelt photos on that line. I believe I would hire a professional advertising company to hit it out of the park.
 
I think that you have both answered the original question without trying to! Currently people in video is expected for holiday rentals, but, not in still photographs. This may well change as the photography moves further and further into personalisation and stylised photographs. However trying to imagine yourself in a photo with people already there is very hard. Whereas we are far more excepting with video, especially when faces are not shown (Jens your own SUP lake video being an amazing example of this). My advice shoot a video and then you will have access to the stills anyway. We did this in an hour two weekends ago So what you could do with some time and investment would be huge!
 
I think that you have both answered the original question without trying to! Currently people in video is expected for holiday rentals, but, not in still photographs. This may well change as the photography moves further and further into personalisation and stylised photographs. However trying to imagine yourself in a photo with people already there is very hard. Whereas we are far more excepting with video, especially when faces are not shown (Jens your own SUP lake video being an amazing example of this). My advice shoot a video and then you will have access to the stills anyway. We did this in an hour two weekends ago So what you could do with some time and investment would be huge!

@Jez, this is TOP advice. I’m a big fan of using those stills to write a blog post about the project of creating the video itself (why you did it, behind the scenes planning..etc.) Your idea is also a great way to get more mileage out of your video investment (as opposed to hiring a brand new photography team for a shoot — ask the video team for a select handful of 20 photos from the project). Nice thinking, Jez!
P.S. your video for the holidays is great too!!
 
My $.02 on this..
Event though your guests know on a rational level that you rent to a lot of other people, on an emotional level they would like to think of the place as their own. So shots of other people enjoying their stay *at* the location *inside* the location I don't feel like this is a great idea. On the other hand shots of the *locale* like the beaches, swimming pool, town, places of interest etc. if there are no people in the shot I think guests might wonder "Why are there no people on the beach? What's wrong with it?"
The mentioned video https://casamarazulsanpancho.com/ is really great, but I would argue that most of the "people" in that video are hand models or feet models (is that a thing?) and they were going for having movement and action in the shots, not people per se. Where you do see people they are in support roles or part of the local scene.
 
Hi folks, noticing a lot of IC members email me back with thoughts/questions/comments on our weekly MMMs, I've decided to create this new section in the IC for collaboration/elaboration of the idea. In this particular case, I have merged all the relevant posts on this subject into here...but moving forward I will start the MMM from scratch here and it will become the mother thread. Thanks to Kim Kim and @Jens and others for prompting this idea!

The Case for People in Photos

IDEA: Early on in the vacation rental game, the idea of including people in vacation rental photos was weird: uncle Jerry's hairy arm hanging out of the hot tub, a ghostly cousin Abbie eating hot dogs while knitting at dining room table. But as our industry grows up, so too must our branding. Including people in your vacation rental photos is no longer a de facto no-no. This branding supercharge is now a thing, so long as you have the skill level...so to be clear:
  • New vacation rental hosts should not try to incorporate people in their first set of professional photos (just focus on capturing the property and surroundings).
  • Seasoned vacation rental hosts should consider trying to include people in their vacation rental photos (but they should be very weary that if not done properly it can be creepy).
  • Advanced vacation rental hosts should certainly integrate people in their photos in a strategic way that underlines their target guest profile and reinforces their brand.
Example: Kim Kim of The Houses on Manzanita Beach was approached by some lifestyle bloggers about experiencing her region. As you can see from these magazine-like posts (here and here), together with their families the bloggers captured the storybook like moments of vacation...which in turn could help Kim's prospective guests envision themselves there too.

ACTION: Determine whether now is your moment to include people in photos. This should depend on how well you know your ideal guest profile AND how clearly you have a vision for your brand. From there...

  1. Collect a whole bunch of examples from magazines in the form of a 'mood board' representing the general feel you're going for.
  2. Identify a photographer or Instagrammer (or dare I say "influencer") who has the experience and/or the portfolio to execute this vision.
  3. Consider offering them a few days vacation in exchange for some lifestyle photos with their own family. If they don't want to include their family/friends, throw out the offer to some of your favorite guests or throw a champagne party for the sake of the photoshoot alone.
  4. Make sure you have the rights to use the photos, make sure everyone in the photos has signed consent forms (if applicable). Block off the appropriate dates on the calendar. And pull. the. trigger.
Commissioning photos with people in them is not a surefire win -- in fact, there are plenty of ways we can mess this up and end up harming our slideshows instead of improving them. However, for this exact prohibitive reason, the hosts that do execute this concept properly have the chance to leap frog over competition: they can pave the way for our industry's branding best practices for years to come.
 

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@Jez, this is TOP advice. I’m a big fan of using those stills to write a blog post about the project of creating the video itself (why you did it, behind the scenes planning..etc.) Your idea is also a great way to get more mileage out of your video investment (as opposed to hiring a brand new photography team for a shoot — ask the video team for a select handful of 20 photos from the project). Nice thinking, Jez!
P.S. your video for the holidays is great too!!
Hi Matt Landau Matt Landau
Its as if you were reading the team's Blog when you wrote the above! See https://www.dorsetcoastalcottages.com/blog/making-the-christmas-video/ Although we didnt go too far down the stills route. Just so you know, we used a single professional videographer. Plus all the starring roles were taken up by my family in my parent's home. So, it can be done on a very tight budget and yes that is my arm drinking coffee at the end of the film!!!!
I will let you know when the other short films are released show casing our areas rather than the properties.
 
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It is interesting to way the industry has evolved over the 11 years. I like photos with people in them. I feel it properly displays the homes being used the way a guests might envision.

I would curious to know what travel bloggers have done the best job for other people. I do not mind comping a couple nights to try this concept out.

Thanks Matt for the article.
 
Matt Landau Matt Landau would be interesting to see if anyone has tested this with guests / prospective guests... rather than it being based on personal opinion.

Hotels do feature people, yes, but as Duane Duane says... is this more / just for shared spaces?

Had a quick look at a couple Four Season Hotel sites thinking they'd be quite scientific.

Proxy to doing our own testing with target audience.

Have a look at the difference between the accommodation and dining photos for San Francisco, Mauritius and London.

In all three cases what struck me was that there are no people in the accommodation photos (personal space?) but there are in some of the dining and spa photos (shared space?).

What also struck me was that those dining and spa photos without people looked really 'dead'.

Food for thought.
 
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Matt Landau Matt Landau would be interesting to see if anyone has tested this with guests / prospective guests... rather than it being based on personal opinion.
I agree -- what we think is cool or compelling or whatever may be different from how our guests view it. But I have also adopted the notion that in a new industry (where we kinda have to push the envelope and forge new connections that people maybe did not make before) they may not THINK they want XYZ but when done properly they actually love it. This is one of those cases in which I believe that if done properly, all guests will 'get' it. I suppose the question now turns to the definition of "properly" -- dun dun dun...
 
This is a fascinating thread. Let's take a step back to make sure our photo/video shoot is storyboarded to tell a story that evokes the emotions and call to action we want to stimulate.

Talk with your photographer/videographer about what you want your guests to feel when they step through the front door, then move through your property.

What can their lifestyle be like during their stay? What are the big things, and what are the small details, you want to show on and off of your property? What are the camera angles, and what is the mix of wide angle, medium, and closeup images or shots? For video, discuss sound effects and music beds.

Okay, good!

If you want to include people in your photos/videos
Define your ideal guest target audiences, age ranges, and appearance/wardrobe styles.

Do you want honeymooners? My mom remarried at 86 years old. She and her 90-year-old new husband honeymooned for two weeks in Fiji and New Zealand. While this is extreme, remember honeymooners exist in multiple age brackets.

If a segment of your ideal guest target audience is age 50+, cast adults who resemble your guests but look 10 to 15 years younger. Decades of scientific research for the ad industry affirm adults age 50+ feel much younger than their chronological age.

We also need to consider diversity and inclusiveness in our photos.

If you're not ready to include people in your property photos
You can stage with evidence of people. This is the deck table set for breakfast, flip flops and beach towels arranged by the pool steps, a handwritten list of a day's activities held down with a 3/4-full coffee cup with a spoon.

Perhaps in @Jens case, stage fishing gear with adult and child-size Wellies by the back door, a table set for 12—or holding piles of wrapped gift boxes.

Our goal is to help people feel they can step into the photos or video and be at our property right now. We also want them to share these images with "This is where we're going!"

Why we shot our videos the way we did
For our two videos (thank you for your praise, @JStevens!), we chose to include people to help answer the prospective guest question, "What will my experience be like?" while evoking specific emotions and moving viewers to a call to action.

We shot our maid preparing for guest arrival (arranging flowers, smoothing a bedspread, setting beach towels by the pool); guests getting a massage on the sea-view terrace; diving into, or dangling feet, in a pool; and exploring our Mexican beach pueblo. Models were deliberately shot to not dwell on their faces, but capture activity, body language and conversation snippets.

As others have recommended, we did not portray people in intimate spaces. We want our guests to hold the fantasy they are the first guests to stay at our property. Of course they know they aren't, but we want to help them suspend this reality.

A word of caution
Pro photos and videos require much post-shoot time in Photoshop and editing. Be sure your photographer/videographer will go the distance.

Create a written agreement for signature (yours and hers) that outlines the scope of work (who does what), timetable, and how many rounds of edits/revisions you get (two rounds are reasonable).

If the photographer/videographer is local, include a clause for returning to shoot some shots if/when necessary. If your video includes music, make sure you have the rights to use it. If you use models or even friends, insist on model releases. Do not limit your agreement to the shooting only.

And put the toilet lids down!
 
This is a fascinating thread. Let's take a step back to make sure our photo/video shoot is storyboarded to tell a story that evokes the emotions and call to action we want to stimulate.

Talk with your photographer/videographer about what you want your guests to feel when they step through the front door, then move through your property.

What can their lifestyle be like during their stay? What are the big things, and what are the small details, you want to show on and off of your property? What are the camera angles, and what is the mix of wide angle, medium, and closeup images or shots? For video, discuss sound effects and music beds.

Okay, good!

If you want to include people in your photos/videos
Define your ideal guest target audiences, age ranges, and appearance/wardrobe styles.

Do you want honeymooners? My mom remarried at 86 years old. She and her 90-year-old new husband honeymooned for two weeks in Fiji and New Zealand. While this is extreme, remember honeymooners exist in multiple age brackets.

If a segment of your ideal guest target audience is age 50+, cast adults who resemble your guests but look 10 to 15 years younger. Decades of scientific research for the ad industry affirm adults age 50+ feel much younger than their chronological age.

We also need to consider diversity and inclusiveness in our photos.

If you're not ready to include people in your property photos
You can stage with evidence of people. This is the deck table set for breakfast, flip flops and beach towels arranged by the pool steps, a handwritten list of a day's activities held down with a 3/4-full coffee cup with a spoon.

Perhaps in @Jens case, stage fishing gear with adult and child-size Wellies by the back door, a table set for 12—or holding piles of wrapped gift boxes.

Our goal is to help people feel they can step into the photos or video and be at our property right now. We also want them to share these images with "This is where we're going!"

Why we shot our videos the way we did
For our two videos (thank you for your praise, @JStevens!), we chose to include people to help answer the prospective guest question, "What will my experience be like?" while evoking specific emotions and moving viewers to a call to action.

We shot our maid preparing for guest arrival (arranging flowers, smoothing a bedspread, setting beach towels by the pool); guests getting a massage on the sea-view terrace; diving into, or dangling feet, in a pool; and exploring our Mexican beach pueblo. Models were deliberately shot to not dwell on their faces, but capture activity, body language and conversation snippets.

As others have recommended, we did not portray people in intimate spaces. We want our guests to hold the fantasy they are the first guests to stay at our property. Of course they know they aren't, but we want to help them suspend this reality.

A word of caution
Pro photos and videos require much post-shoot time in Photoshop and editing. Be sure your photographer/videographer will go the distance.

Create a written agreement for signature (yours and hers) that outlines the scope of work (who does what), timetable, and how many rounds of edits/revisions you get (two rounds are reasonable).

If the photographer/videographer is local, include a clause for returning to shoot some shots if/when necessary. If your video includes music, make sure you have the rights to use it. If you use models or even friends, insist on model releases. Do not limit your agreement to the shooting only.

And put the toilet lids down!
^^^^POWER POST^^^^
 
Amazing Sallie Sallie. Thank you. Really helpful.

Love your "what you want your guests to feel when they step through the front door, then move through your property" comment. It's a very important point.
 
Amazing Sallie Sallie. Thank you. Really helpful.

Love your "what you want your guests to feel when they step through the front door, then move through your property" comment. It's a very important point.
Thank you, @Jens. As an ad man, you understand most of us make big decisions based on emotions, then rationalize them with logic. When we can help prospective guests feel our property is The One for them, then we go to the top of their list. When done well, photos and videos are a powerful way to bypass the brain (which loves bullet lists and competitive matrix tables) and pierce the heart.

Of course, this requires intimate knowledge of our ideal guests and what is most meaningful to them—then providing it. I think this is part of Matt's mission to define premium: "THIS is the place I want. These guys get me."
 

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