This is what a complete Airbnb photoshoot in Dubai looks like: one three-bedroom apartment at Crest Grande in Sobha Hartland, photographed for the holiday home operator Cloud Breeze Holidays at 11 am and again at 8 pm, 121 delivered photos covering every room, every detail, the building amenities and the retail street, plus a vertical walkthrough video, all delivered within 24 hours. The unit is now live as “Luxury Sobha 3BR | Free Pool & Gym | Playground” on Airbnb, and the listing title itself is built on the amenity photos from this shoot.
The Airbnb photography cost guide explains the shot order MRPS uses and why. This post shows it on a real unit, frame by frame, so a host or operator can see exactly what they receive and how it ends up on the listing. Every photo below is from this one shoot.
121 photos
delivered for one 3-bedroom unit: rooms, details, amenities, retail street, day and night
11 am + 8 pm
the two shooting times for a Downtown-view unit: full daylight, then the Burj Khalifa light show
The Brief
Cloud Breeze Holidays, a Dubai holiday home operator with a growing portfolio, was launching a new three-bedroom apartment in Crest Grande, the Sobha Hartland tower in Mohammed Bin Rashid City with Burj Khalifa and skyline views, about 4 km from Dubai Mall. The unit sleeps six (king, queen, queen), has four bathrooms, a home office, a laundry room and a balcony facing Downtown, and the building offers an infinity pool, two gyms, an outdoor gym, a kids’ playground, a steam room, BBQ decks and a retail street with a supermarket, two pharmacies, a salon and a cafe.
Sobha Hartland is a competitive Airbnb market: a guest searching the area sees many three-bedroom units at similar prices. The brief was the standard MRPS holiday home brief with two additions: a night set to capture the Burj Khalifa light show from the balcony, and full coverage of the amenities and the shops, because the operator wanted “free pool and gym” and “playground” in the listing title and needed the photos to back it up.
Package and Price
The unit was photographed on the 3-bedroom package at AED 950 (40 edited HDR photos, walkthrough video, 24-hour delivery, VAT included) plus the night and sunset add-on at AED 475, total AED 1,425. The package count is for the unit itself; amenities, the retail street and the detail close-ups are photographed on top at no extra charge, which is why the delivery came to 121 photos rather than 40. Full packages are on the Airbnb and holiday home photography in Dubai page.
Why 11 am and 8 pm
Every Downtown-view unit in Dubai is shot twice. At 11 am the sun is high, the skyline is clear, the rooms are lit evenly through the windows and the HDR bracketing holds both the interior and the view. At 8 pm the city is lit, the Burj Khalifa light and laser show runs, and the same balcony frame becomes the second cover candidate. Both sets were shot on the same day, the daylight set first and the night set in the evening, so the unit only had to be prepared once.
The Client Prepares, the Photographer Photographs
One rule on every MRPS holiday home shoot: the operator stages, styles and cleans the unit before the photographer arrives, and the photographer photographs it as it is. Cloud Breeze had the beds made with folded towels, the dining table set, the coffee corner arranged, the travel cot in place for family bookings and the dental kits laid out in the bathrooms. The photographer does not move furniture or restyle, because a changed layout the operator did not agree to cannot be re-shot after the crew has left. What the guest sees in the photos is what the operator will hand over at check-in.
The Walk-Through Order, as a Guest Reads the Listing
The gallery follows the walk through the unit, so a guest understands the layout first and the details second. These are the daylight frames in delivery order.
1. Entrance and hallway
The front door and the corridor with the bedroom doors in view, plus the travel cot in place: one frame that tells the guest how the apartment is organised, and one that tells a family it is ready for them.
2. Kitchen and the island
Wide frames from both ends of the open-plan kitchen: the island with the living room behind it, then the island with the dining table. The guest sees that cooking, eating and the sofa are one space.
3. Living room, with the view from the sofa
The main frame of the unit, TV on, cushions in place, then the view photographed from where a guest actually sits: the Burj Khalifa skyline through the curtains.
4. Guest bathroom
The bathroom nearest the living area, with the amenity kit laid out. Every bathroom in the unit gets its own frames.
5. Bedroom 1, king
Each bedroom from its doorway, so the guest can count beds and match them to the listing, then the dresser, the mirror and the balcony access.
6. Balcony
The outdoor space as a room of its own: the egg chair and the table on the turf, the building next door for scale, then the skyline from the rail.
7. Laundry room
Washer-dryer, iron and board. One photo that converts long-stay guests and answers the most common message.
8. Home office and its bathroom
The dedicated workspace with desk, chair and shelves, and the shower room beside it. Business travellers look for exactly this frame.
9. Bedroom 2, queen, with en-suite
The en-suite first, then the bedroom from three angles, the round mirror and dresser, and the view from the bed.
10. Bedroom 3, queen, with en-suite
Wardrobe, bed, the wavy mirror and the window view, then the vanity and shower.
The Details That Answer Guest Questions
These close-ups stop messages before they are sent: the Nespresso machine, kettle and toaster; the open cupboards with plates and glasses; the cutlery drawer; the dishwasher. Each one answers “is there a …” with a photo instead of a reply.
The Same Rooms at 8 pm
At 8 pm the living room, dining area, each bedroom, the office and the balcony were photographed again with the interior lights on and the city lit behind the glass. For a Downtown-view unit the night balcony frame is often the photo guests remember, and it gives the operator a second cover for the winter season when guests book for the evenings.
The Balcony and the Burj Khalifa Light Show
The night set is timed for the light show. From the balcony the Downtown skyline, the Burj Khalifa beam and the lit towers of Sobha Hartland are in one frame, with the seating in the foreground so the guest knows where they will be sitting when they see it.
Amenities: Pool, Gyms, Playground, Steam Room, BBQ
Building managements in Dubai do not allow professional cameras in shared areas, so MRPS photographs amenities with a professional iPhone workflow that security accepts, edited to the same standard as the unit. At Crest Grande that meant the infinity pool with its in-water loungers, two indoor gyms (weights, machines, treadmills), the outdoor gym and kids’ playground on the podium, the lawn, the steam room and the BBQ deck. These photos are what let Cloud Breeze put “Free Pool & Gym | Playground” in the title.
The Retail Street a Guest Can Walk To
Families and long-stay guests book convenience. The podium retail street was photographed by day and by night: the Crest Grande entrance, Yaumi Market, MedX and Life pharmacies, Simply Beauty salon, The Coop cafe and the EV charging bays. A listing that shows the supermarket and the pharmacy downstairs answers a question most competing listings leave open.
The Walkthrough Video
A vertical POV walkthrough filmed the way a guest arrives: door, hallway, kitchen, living room, each bedroom, the balcony. It is included in every package and is used on the listing, Instagram and TikTok.
How It Was Used on Airbnb
On the listing on Airbnb the photos are grouped into Airbnb’s photo tour by room, the cover is the living room frame shown above, and the title leads with the amenities. The operator received the gallery already sequenced in the order above, with the cover candidates first, through a download link the day after the shoot. More of the operator’s portfolio is on the Cloud Breeze Holidays website.
What This Shoot Shows
- Two times of day, one preparation. 11 am for clean daylight, 8 pm for the light show. The unit is staged once.
- Layout first, details second. Wide frames in walking order, then the close-ups that answer questions.
- Amenities and the street count as much as the unit. They are photographed on top of the package count at no extra charge.
- The operator stages, the photographer shoots. Nothing is moved that the operator has not agreed to.
- 121 photos from a 40-photo package. The package number is the floor for the unit, not the ceiling for the delivery.
Your Airbnb Photographer
Every MRPS holiday home shoot is photographed personally by Masoud Raoufi, founder of the studio, with 15 years of photography experience and hundreds of Dubai holiday homes photographed for operators including Horizon Stay for Vacation Homes, Cloud Breeze Holidays, LYT Holiday Homes, Home Suite Home, Horizon Living Holiday Homes, Signature Collection Vacation Homes Rental, Golden Lux Holiday Homes, Monty Holiday Home, Gulf Guest Vacation Homes and Host My Place Premium Vacation Home Rental. The busiest of them book 15 to 20 units a month, because the style stays consistent across the portfolio and the photos arrive the next day.
Dubai's Trusted Airbnb Photographer
5.0 on Google from over 300 reviews, from holiday home operators, hosts and property owners across Dubai.
Airbnb Photoshoot in Dubai: FAQs
How long does an Airbnb photoshoot take?
A three-bedroom unit takes about 90 minutes in daylight. A night set adds a second session of about 45 to 60 minutes the same evening. Amenities and the retail street are covered around those two sessions.
Is a night photoshoot worth it for an Airbnb in Dubai?
For units with a Burj Khalifa, Marina or sea view, yes: the night balcony frame is the strongest second cover and the one guests remember. It is an add-on (AED 375 to 725 by unit size) and is shot the same day as the daylight set.
Why did this shoot deliver 121 photos when the package says 40?
The package number covers the unit itself. Amenities, the retail street and the detail close-ups are photographed on top at no extra charge, and the night add-on adds a second set of the main rooms.
Do you photograph the building amenities and the shops?
Yes. Pool, gym, playground, steam room, BBQ areas and the retail street are photographed with a professional iPhone workflow that building security accepts, at no extra cost.
Do I need to stage the unit before the shoot?
Yes. The operator stages, styles and cleans the unit as if a guest were arriving. The photographer photographs it as prepared and does not move furniture, so what the guest sees in the photos matches what they receive at check-in.
How are the photos delivered for Airbnb?
Through a download link within 24 hours, sequenced in the walking order of the unit with the cover candidates first, in landscape orientation at high resolution, ready for Airbnb's photo tour by room.
See the Full Airbnb Photography Service
Holiday homes across Dubai with sample galleries, walkthrough videos, the booking policy and every package in detail. Shoots between check-outs, styling by the operator, amenities included, pay after the shoot.
Prices and the full shot order are in the Airbnb photography cost guide. Selling or renting long-term instead? See the real estate photography cost guide.
Book an Airbnb Photoshoot in Dubai
Send the unit size, location and the check-out window on WhatsApp for the earliest slot. MRPS photographs holiday homes across Dubai seven days a week, between check-outs, with 24-hour guaranteed delivery and no advance payment.
