HOTEL PHOTOGRAPHER BALANCING ON LEDGE
WHEN IT RAINS, IT POURS
APRIL 2023
This month’s blog is a reflection of the hotel photography adventures my crew and I recently had at the gorgeous 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay, in Kauai.
We arrived in Kauai on a balmy sunny afternoon in late January, just 2 weeks before the hotel opened to the public. Our goal was to photograph as much of the finished portions of the new hotel as we could...in order for the press to get some images right away. After arriving and doing a scout of the property, we settled in for the night with some tropical cocktails!
The next morning we awoke to one of the most incredible morning views I had ever seen…a sun-drenched Hanalei Bay framed by majestic green mountains and blue skies.
The weather gods had blessed us with the most beautiful weather you could have ever wished for. We capitalized on this opportunity and photographed all morning to capture shots of the scenic views from the hotel property.
As it turned out, that ended up being the only sunny day at Hanalei Bay for our entire 8 day shoot. We had to light and photograph the hotel rooms to create a sunny vibe. In post-production, we dropped in the beautiful views we had photographed on that first morning. In the behind the scenes photo, you see me standing in a planter box, outside the hotel suite window, 2 levels above the pool deck, holding a light to get the “sun lit” shot. (I would never ask my Assistant to risk this, so I did it myself). The second image is of the final result!
As a hotel photographer, I have learned to be prepared for anything and how to quickly pivot to make a tough situation work! I love a challenge and had a blast making this work!