.. and then some, to tell the story about what all goes on both in front and behind the camera, during what one would assume would have been a wee easy shoot.
Which in this case started back in January, when I received an email from Elaine O’Halloran, Director of Sales at the Dylan Hotel in Dublin, which read:
“Good evening Ashley,
I hope this finds you very well?
I would like to arrange some new photography of our suites here at Dylan. Can you please send me through a costing and your availability?
Many thanks
Elaine”
And so after a few emails to help answer her questions and a visit last month to have a quick look around…
.. it was time to load up the wagon once again as I had a story to tell – or five in this case, as that is what we had narrowed it down to, to keep within their budget.
Which started of with me having to replace a flat type…
.. on the first morning, before we even got started
Anyway, first up was room 106…
.. which we mentioned in our concept report after the recce, about this one probably needing two shots – but ideally it would just be one – and possibly capturing a ‘corporate feel’ but still leaving it open to the leisure market.
Naturally, I had asked both Marie and Claudio for their help here – so when Claudio had a minute, he took some quick shots to help tell the story of what goes on behind the scenes…
.. which in themselves I think says it all…
.. as it sure wasn’t a case of just turning up and taking some quick snaps of whatever happened to be there, to please this 5 Star client…
.. as two and a half hours passed – and so what started out looking like this…
.. ended up looking like this…
.. with Barry standing in to not only complete the ‘corporate feel’ story but also to draw one’s eye through to highlight the fact that there was a bedroom area in this room too.
Which meant just one image was needed in the end, rather than two – which was also our goal, as we wanted to stay within their ‘5 image’ budget as well.
Next up was room 101…
.. which we mentioned in our concept report, about this being the “Experience Suite” -which was a lovely bright room (especially on a sunny day like it was when we recced it) with a large bay window.
Anyway, with the camera now in position, Barry worked on the bed, Claudio worked on the lighting and Marie began doing her thing…
.. but as Claudio’s behind the scenes pictures show here…
.. this was by no means a quick shot…
.. as every last detail was checked…
.. over and over again.
So what started out looking like this…
.. ended up looking like this…
.. some two and half hours later – with Elaine standing in to complete the “Experience” story – and so that was it for the day, as the light was beginning to fade and so were we
Next morning, bright and early, we started in the seating area of the bar…
.. which as you can see looked good as is.
However, since the goal here wasn’t just to see if I could take some pictures of what was there, as they already had lots of pictures like that, then we set about trying to create an image that they would want to use a lot instead – so once again we started…
.. by first turning the grand piano and thinning it all out – then checking to see how that looked on screen…
.. before seeing how it would look with a person in it…
.. more checking the results…
.. trying that for real…
.. while Claudio recorded us in action…
.. then more discussions…
.. and so finally after 2 hours, what started out looking like this…
.. ended up looking like this…
.. so that was three out of the five in the bag.
Next was room 303…
.. to convey a “shopping message” as we were in the heart of Dublin.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words – and this one tells a story…
.. which no doubt I will talk more about some day – as replacing a flat tire on the Land Rover is easy, compared to what looks to be flat out-of-steam Marie here
Still, the show must go on – and so once again we tried different things – seeing how it would look with people in it…
.. seeing how it would look with some food…
.. and so some 2 and a half hours later once again, what started out looking like this…
.. ended up looking like this…
.. which meant that was four in the (shopping) bag
The final image was the bar…
.. which they had wanted a ‘late evening’ image of, with some guests drinking cocktails and staff in it, to make it look like somewhere you would want to be tonight.
So lights up…
.. lots of test shots…
.. before the models arrived and the cocktails too…
.. then it was time to shoot, while Barry and Elaine kept a close eye on the screen…
.. before a quick look at the results…
.. and so what started out looking like this…
.. ended up looking like this…
.. just before 6pm – which was perfect timing, as that’s when this place became naturally busy, as this was Easter weekend here in the heart of Dublin.
Which meant it was then time to pack – very tired but very pleased with the results – and so to complete the story, Claudio took one last picture…
.. of me with all the gear that we had used, to make it look like I used nothing at all
So at the end of this (short) story [within this (very long) story, which unfortunately also shows the end of another chapter, which is another story in itself], I would just like to say a big thanks to Elaine & Barry from the Dylan Hotel for this opportunity to tell your story and for also making us all feel so welcome too.
From Marie, Claudio & me @ ampimage.com