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Case Study: Refreshing Photo and Video Visuals for a 14 Year Old Hospitality Brand in the Heart of Ipoh.
- yzhensiang
- 5 days ago
- 5 min read
As I vividly recalled, it was the beginning of January when I was first approach for this shoot. The intention of the shoot was to refresh the visuals for marketing purposes—presuming to better position themselves within the Ipoh market. While it might sounds straightforward enquiry asking for a quotation, I will usually still start processing it with a brief research and consulting session to get more information from the client. This will allow me to better tailor my approach towards their needs, budget size, requirements and most importantly providing a holistic solution for their issue. And I have to say, this is one of the good example of a great collaboration between client and creative. Read on to find out more.
Their initial brief was to create up to an estimated amount of 185 images for 2 hotels (One 14 years old 3-Star hotel and one newly built boutique hotel) under the same chain company. That immediately triggered me to look deeper as it is both expensive and impractical to deliver such an amount without further understanding the full context and needs. My initial research found that the visuals online are inconsistent and some may poorly represent the space but that alone still does not justify the sheer amount of images needed. Based on my experience, I tailored an action plan and returned a proposal with a more much logical amount of 85 images. Though it is still on the high side, it is far more manageable be it in terms of budget size, quality control, or even execution plan for the hotel team especially when this is their first proper photoshoot.
Thankfully, they agreed with my action plan and gave me the green light. During the recce, I had the pleasure to meet both the hotel's architect and owner himself, Mr. Chin—how rare it is to meet both the brain behind the building and business itself. Honestly, the conversation went on rather pleasantly as he clearly understood what he was going for and that align with my intention. At the back of my mind, I knew I did not want to just simply "update" their visuals as that will not be much different with the previous photographers other than better quality and lighting control. I wanted to create something that stood out in the market and truly represent the space as it is. Putting the newly built boutique hotel aside, the 3-star hotel was still in a remarkable condition, with character and intent embedded in its design despite being in operations for 14 years. This contrast with my initial visual research confirmed my intention, to accurately portray and present this part of the hotel because a lot of it is lost in translation when it comes to their visual branding. After further understanding their needs during the physical meeting, I also propose for a supplementary introductory video shoot for the main hotel to go concurrent with the photoshoot since they will be preparing the site for us already—saving future cost and thankfully they agreed.
After the fruitful meeting and recce session, I had proceeded with the detail schedule planning, styling notes, shoot areas and execution plan for the hotel team to prepare the site. 3 weeks went by, we are forced to push to shoot further as the hotel was in the middle of transitioning into Chinese New Year decorations which is not suitable for the shoot. In the end, we had to hold off the shoot for about a total of 2 months to cater for both the ongoing maintenance and also my availability, even then we are still scheduled on the fasting month for the Muslims.
Fast forward to the shoot, like every other production, it always came with its own set of challenges. In this case, we are dealing with a rather tight schedule, covering two hotels within five full days of photo and video shoot, coordinating movements, setup and styling all at once. On top of that, we had to juggle between turning over the venue to accommodate the last minute venue booking with the low manpower during the fasting month. Though I am not 100% happy with the arrangement as that meant compromises has to be made to the some of the images but it was necessary to keep the impact low for the hotel team as they have been greatly accommodating for the shoot. I am thankful that the housekeeping and maintenance team went beyond their jobscope to support us throughout the project, especially Rayyan, the marketing manager who was also fasting, stayed with us throughout the entire shoot week. Even with the owner who was in Australia at the time, maintained a constant communication with the whole team to make sure every styling decision stayed aligned with the overall vision. Special mention to my assistant, Joshua, who was there to handle all my big and small requests behind the scenes. From managing secondary video coverage while I focused on the stills, to simply being there to push me a little further when needed. Not forgetting our model for the shoot Bonnie, who was also very accommodating to our request.
Some Behind The Scenes.
Looking back as I am wrapping up the post work, it was really a physically demanding five days. But at the same time, it was also one of those projects where I found myself enjoying the process more than expected. There was room to experiment, improvise, refine, and to push beyond what was initially planned. And even though this shoot is as glamorous as the usual five-star hotel and resort shoot that I had, this remains one of the few memorable projects that will stay with me not because of the output but because of the people, opportunity, relationship and experience.
For now, I’m sharing a few selected moments from the process. Some before-and-after styling comparisons that I manage to take, along with a few still frames from the introductory film. Just enough to hint at what’s coming, without revealing too much as I am only halfway through the 3 weeks targetted delivery date. There’s more to come once everything goes live on the client’s end. Gotta respect the paymaster's rights first. Until then, stay in touch! Do let us know if you enjoy reading this kind of case study for hospitality brand photo and video shoot. And if you are also looking to refresh your hospitality visuals, do contact us or email us at yzhensiang@gmail.com, we will be sure to consult and advise you accordingly.
Before and after styling
Some stills extracted from the film. Would you have imagined that a space like this could feel so different with the right styling and perspective?
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