by Nurhayati (Yatt) Mohamad
PR & Production Manager
www.ja-hotelphotography.com

In all my travels, managing photoshoot projects worldwide, I've come across a substantial pool of networks within the hospitality line - mainly hoteliers. Being one myself years ago, I truly understand the pressure of every Marcomm to deliver the best, for each archive to tell a story of their best USP, experiences, the brand and all that comes with a destination.

Few networks however truly understand the key to a seamless project is the importance of tailored preparation prior to shooting days. Managing a project which is beyond the 14 days period or even a week is always a constant challenge i.e. the weather, the country's regulations when you need to fly a drone, ever changing shooting schedule due to operations needs, the importance to have all sites looking perfect without a single crease on a pillow for example, arranging set-ups of destination dining hiking up mountains with props; team-work to assist during the long demanding hours from sunrise to after sunsets; these are not as easy as it seems to arrange - all of us who have been in the industry knows the drill!

However all of the above is another story, today I think we should start from the beginning of it all: - budgeting and how to be smart with it when you are able to understand the photographer's offer!

When I started managing photoshoots in the years of mid-2000, the market was still charging hotels by 'per photo'. Sounds expensive? Yes, especially when your property is based in Asia and your appointed photographer is from the USA (as approved by the brand).

Time flies, photographers now are aplenty worldwide and the market has become more competitive. Great, of course for hoteliers, because now to have a high quality archive you may not need to spend as high figure as before. Photographers are now charging by 'per day' and some may even be in the same country - so less budget to fly them in.

The 'per day cost' usually is inclusive of equipment, photographer's daily rate, few may include their assistant in it, most aren't and few might be more competitive than others, by throwing in the re-touching cost too. Nowadays worldwide usage rights with unlimited usage is the key to all hoteliers, compared to the days when photographers could charge again after 3 or 4 or 5 years of copyright usage. Truly it is a bargain for hoteliers these days!

However, these key knowledge are not privy to most hoteliers. Somehow few move up the ladder and missed the learning rope on how to budget for a photoshoot like a pro, and to understand these key items when discussing with a photographer/an agency.

Believe me, if misunderstandings occur in between the process of shoot after the budget is fixed, it is rather an awkward moment to thrash it out all over again - when it involves $ and £. So let's have a sharing session on how to understand the 'lingo' of this creative world - photography and its budget!

Step 1:- always know what you want first

When contacting a photographer, always know what you want first. 

Itemize the areas need to be shot, list them out with numbers. Why? Because as a general rule of thumb, a photographer realistically may shoot X number of shots per day. This will determine the number of days the photographer needs to quote you.

This is called a 'shotlist'.

Example 1:- Interior (room/suites/villa) shooting. For a good quality photo, usually a professional will take around 8 shots on average per day. Why you might ask? For those who might not know, shooting requires preparations. Not only from the hoteliers side, the crew needs time too. 

Every room (whether it is bedroom, bathroom, dining, living room, or even terrace) requires different set-up for the equipment, lightings as well as arranging furnitures within the space to look perfect from the camera's point of view/lenses (not just clicking away when he/she enters the room - we are not bloggers).

This doesn't include styling time, if a client requests styling to be done in the room, of course this effort will require extra time, it may shorten the average numbers of shots per day too.

A photographer is always available for discussions, he/she sometimes have a team member to help you create a detailed shotlist. Open the channel of communication when approaching us. It will help the process, if you could be as detailed as possible in your shotlist - this will benefit your property, for your own budget.

Step 2:- categorize the need of what type of photography

During discussion with the photographer, categorize the need of what type of photography do you require. Is it only exterior and interior? Is it with models within the interior? Do you require portraits for the management? While shooting restaurants, do you need food photos, if yes how many dishes? Bar, do you need close-up cocktails? If yes, how many? Be precise in your shotlist.

Why? The answer is of course, time. Time to shoot different categories of photography differs. Time will determine how many can be shot per day. Different category of photography requires different prep. Locations - outdoor or indoor play an important factor. With or without models will affect the realistic shots per day too. All require a study before the photographer is able to quote with precision.

Step 3:- 'per day cost' always ask what entails in the offer

Be well informed, when a photographer quote 'per day cost' always ask what entails in the offer of per day. Is it inclusive of assistant? Is it inclusive of equipment needed? I.e. 360 virtual tour requires different equipment than normal photography. Is it inclusive of re-touching? Or the layman terms it as editing. Most photographers would charge re-touching by number of days of shoot. Don't forget the usage rights. Always ask if it is inclusive for unlimited or limited usage rights.

Step 4:- Does your brand always require professional models

Again - Always knowing what you want is the key. In terms of asking for the photographer to shoot lifestyle pictures, not only you must know where do you want to use them, how many days you can afford them, you need to know also who are your target markets and how to use these interesting feature of using talents/models (do you need a single lady, a couple or a family with 2 kids?).

Does your brand always require professional models, for the photos to be highly presentable? or just utilizing staff as silhouette? or you found an interested party who is willing to model for barter? Choices you make will make or break the success of each project. Of course, the cost too.

Professional models will come with a cost for a stylist (for clothes & props), hair & makeup artiste. Different levels of models charges differently, depending on experiences, age, location of where he/she will fly from and nowadays even the cost of quarantine in hotels upon returning to their home country must be considered in the budget. No agency or model will absorb any of this cost.

Step 5:- logistics must be budgeted for the crew properly

Be well informed, in this day and age, hmm... technically even those days, the logistics (flight, ground, sea transfers) with all its excess baggage for equipment, accommodations, full board F&B, laundry and other costs which are needed throughout the shooting projects are to be arranged and borne by clients. These costs will not be absorbed by the photographer or any of the crew members (stylists, models, assistant, hair & makeup so on and so forth - depending how big of a scale your project is). Nowadays even PCR tests, and quarantine hotels must be budgeted for the crew properly.

Step 6:- Don't change the shotlist after the agreement is signed

Don't change the shotlist after the agreement is signed. It is very unprofessional and bad for your hotel's image, when you change the shotlist during project shoot. Minimal requests for additional shots may be considered of course at the photographer's discretion to agree. However after signing agreements, and you add extra details to the shotlist which will affect the project with extra days will damage the relationship between both parties. 

Bear in mind, not all photographers will absorb the extra days costs just because he is already on location. Some may, considering how close you are with them. However, professionally if you do change the shotlist, always ensure you are prepared to pay extra for the days needed.

Bonus tip:-

Always have a buffer in your cost, so if anything happens in between - you are saved. You might need to extend the days crew are there because of storms, flight cancellations or other unforeseen circumstances.

Always understand and propose the need of a recce day, this means the crew will arrive one day earlier to scout all areas involved in the photoshoot. If you are smart, this will ensure you may consult the photographer for a final say on the shooting schedule, as most of the times your schedule might change due to natural lighting after the recce of each area; and your operation teams will be aware of what is needed before the shoot.

If you go the extra mile in treating your photographer and his/her crew with respect and mutual understanding of creating a great production requires hard work, we are always willing to go the extra mile to give you more shots than what you pay for too. Most of the times you will end up with not only corporate shots for your official pages, but soc med shots too for your hotel's pages.

Honestly, everyone wants to create good rapport with their clients for long term partnerships & continuous collaborations; hence it would be prudent to have mutual respect for each other's expertise and always take the advise from any photographer when he/she is trying to explain to you what is feasible and what is not during the photoshoot days.

So... if the above is still not helpful on what you need to budget for, when planning a photoshoot for the year, give us a call, we are always available to assist!

Till next time...when I can continue for topic 2, steps in managing a project shoot!

Take care, stay safe...

Contact us at : www.ja-hotelphotography.com