Airbnb Experiences is one of my go to places to find “different” things to do in a new town. I chanced on it one day when seeking out accommodation in a foreign town. I noticed the “Experience” tab next to “Stays” and curiosity led me down an unexpected path. Ordinary people like you and me who are locals in a given town put up activities that they host, and then make them available for booking. Most activities are touristy, with guided walks historical tours or even pub crawls. Some are very unique – such as the silver smith course once available at Gdansk, Poland. It was run by a retired silver smith who had a little workshop at his home. Unfortunately, that event wasn’t available at the time I visited, but it got my wheels turning on the potential of the platform Airbnb was providing. When I got home to Stockholm, I set up my own experience where I provide an African dining experience in the heart of the nordics.

With this background, it will be less of a surprise for you to hear that on a recent visit to London, I got on the App and booked a photoshoot. It was not the kind of thing that I would usually look out for when visiting another country, but I just thought why not? London has such iconic sites, and one can never have too many pictures! The booking process was completely trouble free – I chose the time, clicked to book and that was it. My card details were already in the App so I didn’t need to take any further steps.

Cinna, the young professional photographer who took me through the process, was friendly and chatty. This was invaluably useful for me. I hadn’t done any modelling or anything like that before, so really didn’t know what to do with myself other than smile. She’d take me to a place, position me and give me guidance on what to do with my arms, which had suddenly taken on the feel of blocks of cement attached to my trunk. She constantly reminded me to relax my shoulders and occasionally look away from the camera, and it was a little time before I got into the flow of things. 

Interestingly, I was not that concerned about the people looking on at us curiously. What was going on was obvious – the high-tech professional camera hanging from Cinna’s neck left no question as to what we were doing. If it did, the numerous takes taken at various locations made it obvious that it was a photoshoot. “Let them wonder if I am a super star,” I said to myself, smiling mischievously, as I dutifully followed instructions on how to put one foot in front of the other when walking naturally. Apparently, I had forgotten even that!

Every once in a while, Cinna would stop at the oddest of places for a shoot. It was only when I inquired why we were taking pictures at seemingly desolate spots that she would point out the London Eye in the distance or Westminster Abbey that she sought to capture in the shot. I stopped asking and placed myself in the arms of her expertise. At last check, she had 677 reviews on her Airbnb Experience page with ratings averaging at 4.92 out of 5 stars . She knew what she was doing!

Getting the pictures was straightforward – she provided a Dropbox link with 100+ photos and requested that I pick the 30 that I would want enhanced. Believe it or not, picking out 30 from the pile was really difficult given that both the model and the camera lady had been superb! Once done, she touched them up using what must have been some form of magic to create an ethereal look touched with regality.

This was absolutely money well spent! I got back to the museums and other more conventional tourist activities, but I now have a lasting impression of London that I get to keep for good.