Twilight Airbnb Photography or night-time photos for your holiday rental can be a great way to showcase the ambiance and mood of your Airbnb property. The best time for taking these types of photos is during what’s known as the “golden hour,” which is the period of time just after sunset or just before sunrise when the sky has a warm, golden glow.

For night-time photos, the best time is usually about an hour after sunset, when the sky is still visible but the ambient light has faded enough to show off the property’s interior lighting. The exact time will depend on your location and the time of year, so it’s important to research the sunset time in your area and plan accordingly.

When embarking on twilight Airbnb photography, it’s important to use a tripod to keep the camera steady and avoid blur. You should also use a slow shutter speed to capture as much light as possible, but be careful not to overexpose the image or create too much noise.

Here are some useful Twilight Airbnb Photography tips and tricks.

Be quick or you will miss it, & prepare to try again on another day!

It’s important to keep in mind that not all properties are suitable for twilight or night-time photos, and you should consider whether your property has adequate outdoor or indoor lighting to showcase in the photos. Additionally, if you’re using a professional photographer to take the photos of your airbnb, they will likely have their own recommendations and expertise when it comes to capturing the perfect twilight or night-time shot for your Airbnb listing.

The window for capturing twilight Airbnb photographs is rather short, with just a few minutes available to take the perfect shot. Timing is crucial, as the striking orange glow of the sky only lasts for approximately 10 minutes. Missing this narrow timeframe can result in losing the opportunity to capture the ideal shot. It’s important to also monitor the weather forecast, as clear skies are optimal for achieving the desired effect.

While you can try at sunrise and also sunset on the same day its interesting to know and consider that Sunrise and sunset lighting are different in terms of color temperature and intensity. During sunrise, the light is cooler, with a bluish tint, while during sunset, the light is warmer, with an orange or reddish tint. The sunlight is also more intense during sunrise, as the sun is lower on the horizon, while during sunset, the light is softer and more diffused. These differences can affect the mood and atmosphere of your photos, and it’s important to consider them when planning your photography sessions.

Highlight Property Details with Light Sources

Turn Lights On at the property to Sufficiently Light the details you want clear or highlighted in your image – external lights on a property may not be sufficient so it may be worth trailing the use of other lighting sources such as a flash or continuous lighting sources. You may even need multiple light sources because natural light during a twilight there may not be enough light to show off details on or around the home evenly across the composition. Additional lighting sources can also help remove reduce and soften shadows in your twilight Airbnb photography.

For Airbnb Twilight Photography “real-estate” shots – we recommend the following kit

• Tripod – A sturdy and flexible tripod, that will allow you to get up high and close into corners – we are loving the K&F Concept 67″ Aluminum DSLR Camera Tripod Monopod with 360 Degree Ball Head which comes with a heap of accessories for around 150AUD and is currently readily available on Amazon and eBay
• Full frame DSLR or Mirrorless Camera – for armature and semi-professionals checkout the Canon D6 MII or Canon D5 MIII or newer – check out this comparison of the two I have found a couple of these two frames on Facebook marketplace for around 300-900 usually the physical condition and shutter count will affect the price.
• Pair your Full Frame body with a (full frame compatable) 17-40mm lens and you should be set (Ive seen the Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L second hand from between AUD400-900) We also love to have a 10-15mm around too for those extra wide angle shots

Nice to haves that you can maybe get away without or use alternatives

• Remote trigger
• Flash/Continuous lighting source

Where to start & do you really need to go with Manual Mode

To achieve the best twilight Airbnb photography results it’s recommended to manually adjust your camera settings, rather than relying on auto settings. A starting aperture value between F8 and F11 provides a reasonably good level of detail between the foreground and background of the image – while ISO 800 is a good starting point for ISO while increasing the light sensitivity without reduce the image quality too much (cheaper cameras may need to use a lower ISO (closer to 100) if image quality degrades too much at 800. These provide a starting point to help adjust your exposure triangle –

What is a twilight composite?

Did you ever wonder why you can never get an amazing shot like this one from Sunset Ridge no matter how many shots you take?

Well those impressive twilight shots are not always captured in camera alone and they almost never are created with just one photo!

All your Airbnb photography shots, even ones captured by a professional photographer, will need some adjustment in post production to fix or tune colour temperature, reduce or increase shadows & highlights and to correct any exposure or contrast issues. The same is true of twilight photography although some extra steps are needed.

To create an impressive twilight photo, a photographer will usually take multiple shots of the property’s exterior at different exposures being sure to balance the exterior and interior lighting of the property and then merge them together using editing software. By combining multiple flash exposures, different lighting composition, a sky replacement, some clever blending and layering techniques the result is a well-lit image that showcases all the details of the property in a beautiful and eye-catching image

What? Paint my Airbnb with a torch!

how does that even make sense and how can you paint with a torch? Ok, here is a fun thing to try adapted from –  Tata Rossi 8 TWILIGHT REAL ESTATE PHOTOS TIPS: EASY GUIDE

• Set up your camera on your tripod so it is secure.
• Set your camera timer to take an image after 5 or 10 seconds (or how ever much time you will need)
• If you can put it on continuous mode to take around 5-10 photos in succession  
• Press the shutter button
• Ran like a fool with your torch and use it to “paint” light on different parts of the house while the camera’s shutter is open
• If you keep moving reasonable quickly as you pass in front of the camera lens, but you keep the light pointed in the same general location the camera will pick up the light but not capture you in the shot.

It might take a bit of practice to achieve it, but its a fun exercise and even something fun to do with your kids.