Photography
We arrive with a list. When what to shoot is decided on the day, the frame that ends up missing is always the one you needed most.
Most venues have hundreds of photographs and not the one they need.
The archive is usually full: phone shots collected over years, folders left by previous agencies, supplier images of unknown origin.
Then a tour operator asks for a vertical frame, a booking platform needs a clean exterior, a new menu needs the dishes photographed — and none of those frames are in the archive.
The reason is straightforward: the shooting was done by mood rather than by list. We write the frame list before every shoot, so what each image is for is decided before the camera comes out.
How a hotel shoot is divided
The blocks below are one day at a mid-sized hotel. The blocks are the point, not the numbers — the real list is written for your venue and appears in the quote.
Exterior and entrance
The frame that carries the identity. Repeated at blue hour — the lit version is usually stronger than the daytime one.
Lobby and reception
One wide frame and two secondary angles, scheduled for an hour when arrivals are light.
Room types
Each room type: general view, bed, window view and one detail. Beds and curtains are prepared before we enter.
Bathroom
Small space, hardest framing. Mirrors reflect everything, so lighting is set up separately here.
Pool and garden
Early morning, water still, loungers aligned. Under midday sun the water glares and the frame cannot be saved.
Restaurant and breakfast
Planned around service hours. Dishes are prepared with the kitchen, in an order taken from the menu.
Texture and details
Towels, keys, welcome amenities, materials. The group social media consumes fastest.
Staff and guests
Consented frames. They give scale and life; where consent takes time we work with hands and silhouettes.
Vertical versions
The same scenes shot vertically rather than cropped later, so the composition survives.
Evening and night
Lit garden, bar, terrace. Cannot be shot during the day and needs its own window.
THIS LIST IS AN EXAMPLE · FOR RESTAURANTS, SHOWROOMS AND FACTORIES THE BLOCKS CHANGE ENTIRELY
Not every frame works everywhere.
This table drives the shot list: whichever channel needs a frame type, that frame enters the list.
| FRAME TYPE | WEBSITE | SOCIAL MEDIA |
OPERATORS AND BROCHURES |
BOOKING PLATFORMS |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wide interiorHorizontal, spacious | PRIMARY | SECONDARY | PRIMARY | PRIMARY | PRIMARY |
| Vertical frameBuilt for phone screens | SECONDARY | PRIMARY | SECONDARY | NOT USED | NOT USED |
| Detail and textureClose up | SECONDARY | PRIMARY | NOT USED | SECONDARY | PRIMARY |
| With peopleConsented | PRIMARY | PRIMARY | SECONDARY | SECONDARY | PRIMARY |
| Food and productAs served | PRIMARY | PRIMARY | PRIMARY | PRIMARY | PRIMARY |
| Night and blue hourLit exterior | PRIMARY | SECONDARY | SECONDARY | SECONDARY | PRIMARY |
A vertical frame is not produced by cropping a horizontal one: the composition breaks and the headroom disappears. Where it is needed, it is shot separately.
Who prepares what.
Almost all lost time on a shooting day comes out of preparation, so both sides are written down in advance.
WE BRING
- Camera, lenses and stabilisation
- Lighting setup and reflectors
- Shot list and framing plan
- Basic styling kit for food frames
- Colour calibration and on-site selection
- Retouching and delivery
WE ASK FROM YOU
- Everything in frame tidied in advance
- Cables, price labels and personal items removed
- Rooms empty and made up at the scheduled hour
- A time slot from the kitchen for food frames
- Staff informed where people appear in frame
- One decision maker reachable throughout the day
Removing objects in post is possible but expensive; ten minutes of tidying beats hours of retouching.
Product photography is a different setup
Catalogue and e-commerce images need a controlled set and a different discipline from venue work — glass, packaging and fabric each behave differently.
Shooting and delivery
How long does a shoot take?
Light windows decide it rather than the number of frames. Exteriors are compressed into the morning and evening hours; interiors and details fill the hours between. A mid-sized venue usually fits into one day. If night frames are needed the day gets longer, and that is written into the quote.
How should we prepare the venue?
Everything that will appear in frame has to be tidied: cables, price labels, personal belongings, full bins, wet floors. We send a preparation list before the shoot so nothing is discovered on the morning itself.
Should there be people in the photographs?
People give scale and life; an empty restaurant reads as closed. Written consent is taken where guests are recognisable. Where consent would slow things down we work with staff, hands or silhouettes — life can be built into a frame without a face in it.
How many images are delivered?
The number is set by the shot list and written into the quote. You receive selected and retouched frames rather than everything captured — the selection is part of the work. Raw files are handed over on request.
Where can we use the images?
Usage rights are defined in the quote. Standard delivery lets the brand use the images indefinitely in its own promotion: website, social media, brochures, print, operator materials. Transfer to third parties and sale through stock platforms sit outside that, and consent given by people in the frames still applies.
Can you shoot during high season?
Yes, but the plan changes. In a full hotel, rooms can only be shot between check-out and check-in, and the pool is empty only early in the morning, so in-season shoots run in smaller pieces. Where possible we suggest the week before opening, when the venue is ready and still empty.
Let us write the shot list first.
Tell us the venue or the products and where the images will be used. Within three working days we send back the frames that need to be captured, how long it takes and which hours we would work.