The easiest way to think about the differences between the value of vacation rental images and listing images is to consider how they are used and how long they will be used for.

Listing photos are a one-and-done type of photography. By one-and-done I mean that they serve one purpose. They are meant to highlight a house for sale and once that house is sold they are no longer needed.

Maybe the house will get passed on to another realtor and you'll be able to resell (license) the photos to the next realtor, but this isn't very common. At the end of the day, the photos are meant to sell the home and that's it.

Vacation rental photos are the exact opposite of a one-and-done as they are meant to be used for years and years as a marketing and advertising tool. The images are very likely to be the main marketing plan and advertising tool for the owners of the vacation rental.

These photos will be used for years to get people to rent the property for a vacation. This means that, as opposed to listing photos, your images will still be in use and highly important years down the line.

This clearly shows that they have more value due to their longevity and therefore, the photographer should receive a higher compensation.

Also, if you have ever read AirBnB's professional photography policy, you'll know that real estate shoots and AirBnB shoots are approached very differently. If you haven't, give it a read and notice where they recommend photographing artwork and barbecues.

Real estate photography is meant to show off a home and how it's laid out, as opposed to AirBnb photography which is meant to show off an experience. Real estate is more like documenting a space and AirBnB is more like a lifestyle shoot.

Understanding Licensing

For starters, if you aren't having your clients sign off on some sort of contract or agreement, you probably should start. Many real estate photographers work with a simple business plan and don't require that their clients sign any sort of contract. 

While this works fine for some, it leaves too much unknown for both you and your client. Something along the lines of "the photographer retains ownership of the photos and you (the client) are not allowed to re-sell the photos" should be stated at a minimum.

Usually with realtors this isn't a big deal since they'll only need the photos to sell the property and then will forget about them completely. This is not at all the case with vacation rental properties though.

AirBnB's and other vacation rentals will need to use the images for a long time and for various purposes. Since there is such a long usage window, there is a much higher likelihood of a contract being needed to clear up questions for both parties.

Licensing the photos to an AirBnb owner needs to come with a standard licensing agreement to make sure that they are in full understanding that you are the owner of the images that they will be using for the next several years.

This longer lifetime of the photos and need for proper licensing terms to be stated and agreed upon again shows the increased value of vacation rental photos as opposed to listing photos.

For More information on Real Estate photography & media visit:  www.MarkJacobsProductions.com 

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