How Hotel Photography is done best
IT STARTS WITH A PLAN
As a luxury hotel photographer I've conducted many hotel photo shootings, actually more than I can count. Out of this experience I know what is essential to make a hotel photoshoot a success. A good plan, a good teamwork between the hotel photographer and hotel staff and some flexibility as every plan changes over the course of a hotel photoshoot.
Planning: This is one of the key elements for hotel photography. Very often I receive inquiries and the hotel doesn't know exactly what they really need or how many images they want. Without having this it is difficult to plan the duration of a shoot and to provide a quotation.
Number of images: As mentioned this is needed to make a plan. Often a photoshoot lists contain an unrealistic number of images. In either direction. Am very happy to support the marketing team with suggestions which numbers per facility is ideal to have. The high end hotel brands am approved/preferred photographer do have templates in their brand guidelines to plan a photo shoot.
Schedule: Based on the number of images I can determine how many days a shooting will last. It is important to have a schedule but those will always change during a shoot. Sometimes an area is not ready or occupied hence things getting moved around. Some images need less or more time as anticipated. In this cases me as photographer and the team at the hotel have to be flexible to optimise the given time.
PRIOR THE SHOOT
Once the exact facilities are selected, those shall be prepared for the shoot. Ideally the day before or early morning of the shooting day. Refer to the brand guidelines for Hotel Photography and if not applicable remove all non branded logos, collaterals, switch TV off. Floras shall be as guests will find upon arrival. Windows shall be cleaned and all surfaces dusted just before the shoot. Bedlinen, pillows and curtains shall be steamed/pressed/starched to minimise wrinkles. Rooms have to be prepared far above normal guest standards.
ON THE SHOOT
A decision maker from the hotel shall be with throughout the shoot. Also housekeeping and engineering is essential to keep things smooth and not waisting time. A hotel photographer is there to capture your hotel to its best. He can point what is needed and this organisation shall be done from a hotel team member. Timings and the position of the sun are key elements when certain areas are photographed. Rooms mostly shall be taken during daylight and some hero shots during sunset and the magical blue hour. Outdoor shots in general should be done early morning or late afternoon when sunlight is golden and the shadows softer.
AFTER THE SHOOTING
Retouching: All the images are being processed in house from our highly skilled retoucher and fine tuned by Gary Schmid. All the various brand guidelines for retouching are considered. As soon the images are ready the low res images are shared with the client to get the feedback. If there are any touch up comments we adjust the images accordingly until the client is satisfied. The usual turn around time for images is 2-3 weeks.
Deliverables: The images are delivered as high res TIF files with 300dpi and as low res JPG with 72dpi.
You can find more details about how I work in the link below.
portfolio
Worry free and clear with Gary Schmid
My aim is to be transparent with the pricing and flexible with planing. Some clients prefer a hotel photoshoot based on per image rate, others per day. Either way is fine for me as the client shall be happy. My photography rates always include the retouching without limitation in touch up rounds. Most important I always provide the full copyrights (unlimited usage rights).
My client relationships are all standing since years. Even if somebody changes the hotel/brand they come back to me to support them in their needs to create new outstanding hotel photos.
Professionally right done hotel images are costly but they will pay for themselves many times over. With stunning hotel images more guests will be attracted to the hotel and increase the revenue.
Gary Schmid listings on ProductionParadise, HozpitalityPlus and Behance.