How To Use Photography To Showcase Your Hotel - Jiri Lizler

Josiah: Let's pretend I just created a beautiful hotel or a stunning resort. I'm so proud of it. I think it looks great. How should I think about using photography to communicate what I've created with the world and attract people from the beginning? Let's imagine you and I just met. What would you tell me as I start to think about how to use photography?

Jiri: So what I would tell you is definitely to first type how many types of rooms you have. Right. So because that needs to be photographed, people want to see where they're staying at. That's first. So, if you want photography done, you need a plan. And for plan is what I always recommend to people if they want to get a quote from me, how much is something's going to cost is I want to see the shortlist. For example, how many images you want. If you come back with a shortlist of 300 images, I'll try to steer you away from that because the estimate will be insane because that's like 30 days of shooting which like 30 days of shooting that's quite a lot and that's first thing and then when we know what needs to be photographed is that we need to think or you need to think because I'm somebody that comes there and has no experience wasn't part of the planning, the designing, why is it like that, is to think about the USPs, the unique selling points of each room. Is it the view? Is it the design? Is it, for example, that it's connected right next to a pool? Or what makes this room unique? And then we should discuss how can we emphasize that and showcase it in the photograph. Because if I come to a room and I don't know anything about it, I may be like fascinated with a couch or with a chandelier or whatever, if it's a presidential or royal suite. And sometimes that happened that I wanted to shoot something very badly. And the client still wanted to push me somewhere else. And I was like, but why? This is perfect. And then I heard from them, like, because the view or not the view, but because maybe it's connected to something that's more important for us, because clients are the guests For example, it's targeted to Indian market or whatever. And these guests, they want that to be showcased. And I don't know that I'm not specialized in shooting for Indian market, for example. So it always should be like a communication between and cooperation between the photographer and the client for whether it's sales or marketing. Usually it's marketing. But sometimes the sales also want to target a specific demographic that we should tailor these images to. So that is that. That's what we should think in the pre-production phase before I even take the camera and start shooting something. That's like the first thing.

Josiah: I wonder if you could tell me a little bit more on how I could come up with the shot list, because let's say I know nothing about this, right?

Jiri: It's very simple. The shot list is basically an Excel sheet. If somebody wants to work with me, I'll send them mine, which is like has the count and everything. But it's just one line, standard room, two images, one and one detail, maybe that they want a detail of the seating or the artwork that is there. And one more of the view, for example. So then there is the executive room. So you get this list and then you just fill the number or the name of the room, for example, the number of images. And in the end, it spits out the final number. And then I can look at it and say, OK, it's like 80 images. that will take us based on what is the star, how many stars or how many, if it's like a lower, lower five, five star resort, maybe that's going to take us like 10 images per day. But if it's something where everybody will take a look, it's like Ritz Carlton and something like that, where we need to take extra care. It's six, seven images per day. And then, you know, I know how much time it will take me and my assistant slash stylist to make and perfect everything. So that gives an idea to the client how much time we have to spend there and what needs to be prepared so that they can communicate it better with their maintenance teams, housekeeping, that everything needs to be neat. It's better to have that before we even start.

Josiah: It's everything needs to be organized in one place. And it's helpful to kind of think about that in advance. I wonder if you could tell me a little bit about who I should get inputs from, because you mentioned sales and marketing might have specific segments. But like in your experience, is it helpful if I'm running the place to get input from an architect or an interior designer? You know, who should I be learning from?

Jiri: I don't really like to work with architects or designers specifically if I'm shooting for architect or designer and it's images for them. then get their input because it's going to they will use those images to sell themselves. But the hotel has different types of imagery needed than the architects. If there is perfect architectural shot and it doesn't say anything for the hotel, why shoot it? Right. So what I like to do is definitely talk to somebody from the marketing and sales. And then if we know we are shooting, for example, outside, I would like to get somebody from the maintenance that can tell me Oh, we have this automatic lighting outside that turns on at, I don't know, like at sunset or five minutes after sunset. And I want to have a discussion with them, like, can we turn it on manually before or do I have to wait? Is there a way to control the lighting? Can we turn it on, turn specific types, balance it? So the maintenance is usually great. If it's a pre-opening, that's also bad. It's good that there is nobody there from the guest perspective, that we are not interrupting anyone. But then there may not be somebody that knows how to turn the lights on or something may not work, right? That happens all the time when there is something new being built. There's no one that knows how to control it properly, the lighting, the shutters, everything, right? So there's also, we need to know what we are going into and then planning, trying to plan as much ahead so that we are not losing time while we are on location.

Josiah: So this is helpful. So you need to come up with a shot list of all the images that you want to create. What I'm hearing from you is you also need to make sure that there's people on your teams that are available, whether it's maintenance people or others, because there's a lot of logistics coordination there. What else should I be aware of as you're preparing for and getting into shooting these images?

Jiri: It should be a balance between like interrupting the guests as little as we can, but getting the perfect light, which is up to photographer to plan. For example, we are going to this restaurant would look perfect at sunset, but then they are going to say, well, but sunset is a rush hour for us. We make like tons of money. And then we have to say, OK, so what can we do? Can we like block a certain part of the restaurant and shoot just there and have the other guests like, you know, spread out so that we are interrupting them as little as we can? Or are we just scratching the perfect light for the sake of shooting it without the guests? But at worst, like it's always this kind of like, you know, compromise that have to be made to like, you know, because I'm looking at it from a perspective of the marketing director, because if the guests are paying thousands of dollars to stay at the resort or at the hotel, And then there is somebody saying to them, hey, you cannot be there now, please, like you want to do that as least as you can. So sometimes you have to do it. And that's why it's great to have a shortlist before and to maybe have a quick walkthrough around the property so that you know that we would like to shoot at the pool at that time. Is it possible? Can we maybe put the sign ahead like three days ahead that at this time for one hour? Can we keep people away from this? Can we offer them something in return so that they are not as pissed? Always something. That's what excites me, because every hotel and every location in different parts of the world, it's different everywhere. I'm still shooting the same thing. I'm still shooting standard rooms, executive rooms, pools, spas, but everywhere it's different. So that's great.

Josiah: I imagine the best time to shoot would be before the hotel resort opens because you have the most complexity. I'm curious, though, how you think in general about including people in photography, because you're the pro here. But sometimes I see all of these resort photos and there's no one there. And maybe it's because of the pandemic, but it looks a little bit eerie, you know, to see no one in a place.

Jiri: It should be strictly communicated before that this is an architectural shoot or this is a lifestyle shoot and it should not be mixed together. So different brands I work for have different like brand manuals that I have to stick to. And that's given to me. So that's like a manual that we have to stick to. Otherwise, these images will not get approved and the hotel cannot use those. But if it's a boutique hotel that doesn't have a corporate like above them saying them telling them what to do, I always tell them like you need to have a solid imagery without people just to showcasing the design, the architecture. And then if there's experiences like diving, if there is a leisure that they want to, or a spa treatment or something that cannot be communicated without people, then it's great to have those people. But also it should be noted that it's much more difficult and much more time consuming because you should dedicate more budget for models or actors to be there and not just the employees. Makeup, styling. And it's not as simple as simply blocking out the room, planning when are we going to shoot in the room, telling the housekeeping, get the room ready and shooting in that room. People, you need to schedule much more. So, for example, for Marriott, in EMEA at least, if hotels do not have good architectural imagery, they should not focus really on lifestyle if their architecture is not in order.

Josiah: That makes sense. And so you reference models, you know, kind of, you know, how do you kind of think about bringing them into these projects?

Jiri: I personally like to work with actors rather than models, since like models, it depends. Is it a fashion editorial? But it shouldn't, that's for a magazine. It's not for a hotel. So hotel would like to, or at least in my opinion, everything that I'm saying here is my opinion. Of course, they should think about the guests and the experiences that they should be like natural, right? Actors, you'll just give them an idea, hey, this is the situation, play it out for me, and then you can walk around and work around that. At least in my experience, you'll get much more genuine expression from them because they are playing the part. They are inside the scene and they are playing it rather than posing something and trying to make the body look as best as it can be. I don't care about that. I care about the expression and telling the story of what we are trying to achieve there.

Josiah: Tell me a little bit about why our listeners who are hospitality, you know, providers of all sorts, developers, owners, operators, why should they invest in photography and visual communication? What does it do for the business and even for the guests that are seeing these images?

Jiri: I mean, it's easy. It's an investment. It shouldn't be taken lightly because it is going to represent them five, 10, 20 years. So that's something that is going to stick to them and they'll use it most of the time. What is happening is that they are using the images until they renovate or they change something significant. these images that they are going to invest in, they should be like properly planned. So they are not paying. I believe the same thing is in every language that pay once, cry once. Right. So they should like, you know, really take that into consideration and hire somebody that is like focused. Look at their portfolio. That is the first thing that I'm trying to say to guests like you are hiring me based on my portfolio. So what you see on my website, that's what you get. If you want to force me to do a fashion editorial, i don't do that i'll do a bad job for you so you will waste your money so hire somebody that you like their work you know they are specialized for that so i'm not an influencer i will not shoot 100 images it's great for social media but if it's supposed to live on like you know booking trivago their website, their main channels that they are selling, they should focus on not hiring influencers. And that's actually like a little rant from me since when I'm trying to reach new clients, they are trying to force me like to do a barter trade or, you know, if we offer you one night, that's I'm not influencer. I don't want I'm there strictly for work. I'll do my work and they'll get the images that will represent them to many years to come. I hope that answered your question, at least a little bit.

Josiah: It does. It does. And I think you've referenced, you know, not creating so many images. I'm curious about misconceptions people have about photography. I think you touched on the influencer dynamic, but also just the number of images. Tell me a little bit about why that's such a big misconception and why people need so many images.

Jiri: It's based on, it's not that we cannot shoot more images, we can, but it's the planning. There's limited times of day that the light looks perfect. For example, if somebody's into photography, golden hour, blue hour, these are the things that I like to shoot at mostly. And these have limited, like, you know, duration. So in the end, what we are trying to do is to space the shoots for the important, the hero shots. to be at that time slot, sunset, sunrise, you know, blue hour, and then spend the rest of the day shooting, for example, like bathrooms or somewhere where there is no daylight that we can take that time. And in the end, it's always takes every image is between like 30 minutes to it can be like four hours. If it's like a huge meeting room with a banquette set up and there's like multiple rooms, it's like in Middle East, especially they like this grandeur, like big halls. You have to align every chair with a rope that takes time. That's insane. So that's why the shortlist is there so that I know, OK, we are shooting meeting today. then we should dedicate at least three hours for that and not show up there with 30 minutes. Because in 30 minutes, I move five chairs and then verify if that is that. So the number of images is usually, that's why I always, when somebody new approaches me, I'll tell them, please, do you have an idea? How many images do you need me to create? And here is a shortlist, please fill it out so we can take a look and maybe discuss how why or i'll try to steer them away that we don't need that many images maybe let's try to keep it lower so that you don't need five images from one meeting room or if you do okay but you know we have to spend more time there and That kind of stuff. So the biggest misconception is maybe the number of images because they are used from the influencers that they maybe get. I don't know. I'm not an influencer, but they'll get 50 images from an influencer that they can use. Yeah, they can. But in reality, how many images will they really, really, really use? So what we are doing is that a client is like he's present for the whole process. of the image creation where I'll suggest an angle. This is the angle I would like to do. And the marketing director or marketing manager, whoever is present there, is going to say, yeah, this is perfect. Or maybe can we try that? And can we try this? So we are finding our way. So I'm trying to satisfy my vision, but giving them the opportunity and options that they can do. And sometimes the clients, there are some clients that are very demanding and they want a specific thing. And it takes time for us to find the balance between like what looks good, you know, and they are still satisfied. So that takes time if they want to be in charge and if they want to be in control somewhat. That takes time. So no 50 images per day.

Josiah: How do you be a good client? Like, what would it look like to be a marketing director that is contributing and participating in a helpful way?

Jiri: That's a great question, actually. It's simply like having people on standby if we come to a room and there is like a badly made pet. For example, they can have somebody on hand and they'll come immediately. Sometimes we had a whole housekeeping crew with us changing the drapes for better ones because they were about to renovate but still didn't have it ready. So they just had one pair of drapes that they were hanging in a hat. While we were setting up, they were setting up their drapes. Usually, what's best for me is to have the director there and I'll offer an angle and they'll give me their input like this is perfect or can we try this can we try that and then I can you know we will find the sweet spot where everybody is happy it takes us 30 minutes to set up the shot then we uh he's going to be the director will be on hand trying to source for for example books if they want to have those that's a whole different like uh debate we can have of what should be in the room or what should not be so That's just being helpful and trying to understand that the cameras, they don't see the room as we do. We have two eyes, but the camera has one and there's limitations of what it can do. So it's like listening and trying to be helpful. That's the best they can do.

Josiah: I always, before we go, I would love to touch on trends that you see in photography in hospitality. And I'm really interested to get your take because you are always traveling at some of the best hotels and resorts around the world. I imagine for many of them, if you look at the existing photography, it looks somewhat similar, right? You have the pool, you have the glamorous restaurant, this kind of thing. What do you see as opportunities to use photography? You know, for you personally, that makes it compelling. That would say, hey, I want to visit this hotel and resort. I'm, you know, kind of what are you seeing right now that maybe our listeners should be thinking about?

Jiri: That's a great question. And actually, in 2023, I've seen a shift happening where I always want it was up to me. I always like to look at architectural imagery being the best and being there to support so people know what is where. how it looks without people. And lately, I have started seeing the demand for lifestyle images, definitely. And F&B also, the food and beverage. And that is kind of huge. So I'm a huge proponent of using those images to supplement, not base your whole campaigns on that alone. I mean, if you are a diving resort and that's all you are offering your guests, then be my guest, do that. But if you are a metropolitan hotel somewhere, then maybe doing only lifestyle is not great.

Josiah: What do you mean by lifestyle images?

Jiri: Lifestyle images people. using people experiences, using people in your images. Because to me, it doesn't really make sense if you put somebody in the room, if it's a standard room, like, are you focused on people traveling for business? Then go ahead and definitely use a model. Place them there with a laptop. But again, laptops, they date quite a lot. Right. So in two years, they'll probably want to replace those images. Do they really need that? There's a whole we can talk about this like for many, many hours. But I would definitely try to like focus on getting architectural stuff ready, stuff that we are not as focused on the technology side, because that can date, and then focus on a lifestyle and FMB. And mostly, mostly the FMB is being pushed really, really hard lately. So I'm typically shooting, trying to shoot the FMB if there is time, more experiential, meaning that it's not just a shot of a plate on a table, which the hotel across the corner can use the same image, right? It's like, you know, food shot. So we are trying to incorporate the design and everything around the hotel or around the restaurant. So it's more about here is the space and here is the experience you can have with the food in there, if that makes sense.