I always look at the photos of any potential sitter. It is nice to see the people who are going to sit for you. Why would a sitter put no photo up - just one of their garden. No pets, no photos of the sitters. This makes me slightly wary. Should I feel like that? We have so many discussions on what we have to add for HO photos, what do people expect to see from potential sitters? I love to see a happy sitter, maybe with a couple of animals.
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Yes I like to see the sitters before booking them! Their appearance doesn’t factor in a decision like their previous reviews and the words in their profiles/messages do, but from a safety perspective I think it’s very important to know who you’re expecting to show up. I always do a video call before booking a sitter and I would be wary of someone who didn’t have any photos of themselves AND was unwilling to do a video call. One of my best sitters had no photos but had an excellent profile/reviews/messages and was willing to go on a video call, so no photos in a sitters profile isn’t quite as alarming to me as it used to be.
In terms of photos I like to see, I do agree it’s nice to see a sitter with a variety of animals (or specifically the kind of animal I have, which is a larger dog!) A garden photo might actually be nice since I have lots of plants I’d like them to keep alive. Maybe a hiking photo too, since my dog likes long walks.
I’m interested to see what others have to say on this topic!
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From a sitter’s point of view I think it’s strange not to put at least one photo interacting with animals and could understand you’d just scroll on by, because I would in your shoes. All my photos show me with animals, it makes sense!
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All of my photos have either me, or my husband with an animal. Seems a bit weird not to have any photos of the sitter at all.
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As a past owner and a current sitter, I expected to see photos of prospective sitters with pets and how comfortable they looked with them. All my sitter profile photos are of me (and a few of my sister) with pets that have been in my care.
As a sitter, I do occasionally notice owners who do not include a photo of themselves as their profile photo but of their pet or garden which makes me wary @Coco and @adelia from that safety perspective you mentioned. So it can work both ways.
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I am more than surprised to read that some sitters don’t post photos of themselves!! I thought that was a given! We have 13 photos and all show us both with and without animals. I have the complaint - as a sitter- that it is RARE to see a photo of hosts!! Most show only their home & pets. Maybe 1 in a 100 listings (that I’ve seen) show a picture of the hosts!! The small profile image shown on the listing does not expand when clicked on which is a pity as its usually the only picture of the hosts. We’ve done a number of sits where we have not met the hosts at all either in person or over video call. And one recent host that we didn’t meet also had no picture on her WhatsApp profile or around her home- so we still have absolutely no idea how she & the hubby look!! (But the sit went great anyway!!)
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I have lots of photos with my family and animals on my profile but I also would like to see photos of the HO’s but rarely get to see them
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It doesn’t bother me if there are no pics of the hosts as, if applying for the sit, I’ll see them in the video call. Top priority are pics of the pets, which I like to see first, then the outside of the home, garden, inside rooms the sitter would use.
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This is very weird for a sitter as photos of us with pets is part of our “advertising” as suitable sitters. Follow your gut & keep searching for another sitter!
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I really like to see photos of sitters with the animals, it can be very informative! Are they lounging on a couch with a cat or a dog on their lap , are they hiking with the dogs, do the animals look relaxed around them etc.
I once saw a pic where the sitter was hugging a dog with a big smile, and the dog was showing all the signs of being uncomfortable. Now there might be many reasons for that, but it does not speek well for the sitter to choose that photo for their profile.
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Of course, to see the person is very important. Both sides. I, as a sitter, always look the HO, the house and the pets to be sit. Many times have decided not to apply because I saw something in the photos that did not like. You are leaving your home and your pets with somebody that you do not know, at least have to see how he/she looks.
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The sitters who do not have photos displaying their interactions with animals may fall into two categories. Either they do not possess such pictures, or, in cases where they have multiple reviews, they might have chosen not to share their photos due to privacy concerns.
On the other hand, we encounter a different problem. We feel restricted by the limit of 13 photos, whereas homeowners have the advantage of having unlimited photo uploads. As a result, we often resort to creating collages to showcase our experience with various animals.
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Just to note, that HOs do not have unlimited photo uploads, though it is more than 13, it’s 20 pics.
Wow, that’s a lot! My profile only allows 20 + pet pics.
@BunnyCat That is an interesting find! I just checked my listing and it only lets me upload 20 photos in total.
Please feel free to DM me any listings you see and I will raise it with the tech team.
Thank you for mentioning this 
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@Carla any updates on why HO’s are allowed seemingly unlimited photos and sitters are limited to only 13? Here is a listing with 87 photos.
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@BunnyCat I think the reason is that THS automatically adds all the owner’s animal profile photos at the end of the listing photos. That’s why sometimes you see way too many or repetitive photos of the animals, because we’re required to upload 2 or 3 of each pet. So I put maybe 15 photos of the house and animals in my listing, but it shows 26 photos.
I agree, I’m a sitter and assume no one would select me without pictures. Of course, it’s also nice to see a picture of the HOs too. There are lots of HOs that do not include a picture of themselves. I like to see who I will be interacting with.
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As someone who sits solo, it’s difficult to get decent pictures with pets when there is no one to take the picture. I don’t have a lot of pics with pets. I’ve done over 30 sits so far so it doesn’t seem to be too much of a disadvantage.
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