Mark Wieland Photography

When possible, any shot which shows a view out of a window, the windows should be cleaned.

In general,assume that we will be moving most of the furniture, plants and other items in a space around a lot to make them look good to the camera. It is not important to precisely arrange things ahead of time, it will be moved during the shoot.

When shooting in guest rooms, the following should be considered:

-Take extra care when making beds to be sure the bed is as free of wrinkles as possible. This includes the skirting and pillows. Every wrinkle will show in the photograph. -Check the furniture to see if it is in good shape. If the coffee table for example has scratches or chips, it should be replaced with a newer one when possible. -Think of a theme for the amenities. If it is "business", we may want to use a brief case or laptop as a prop. If it "breakfast" we may want to have a breakfast tray coffee etc. -For floral, most times a small bud vase looks good on the bedside table, a medium size arrangement on the desk is often used and one more may be used somewhere else. The more options the better, and if they are not used in one shot, they will probably be used somewhere else. With flowers in general, try to pick colors that contrast the colors in the room. This will make the flowers stand out and not blend into the scene. -A fruit arrangement often works well in a guest room shot too. This would typically include an assortment of whole fruits. -If we are photographing a suite and there are glass doors separating different spaces, shear curtains should be removed from the doors. -We may use one of the following: coffee table book, newspaper and or magazine. -Plants. We often borrow plants from other parts of the hotel for various shots. A mental note of the options would be helpful. -Food. For shots involving food, small details are usually lost in photos, and the arrangements will be better if they involve more graphic and colorful items.

Lobby/Bar shots:

-We will have a number of lights and cords going through the space, so we should pick a time which is not too busy to avoid interference with guests. Again, we should consider floral carefully for a these shots. -Keep in mind that if we shoot at night, any windows in the shot will photograph "black" and that does not show well in the photograph.

Things in general:

-The more options the better in terms of props, flowers, food etc. We will not use everything, but some will shoot better than others. -We will need to have access to an engineer that can control lights if need be. -When ever possible, compact florescent bulbs should be replaced with standard tungsten bulbs. -We will need to have access to a bellman's cart for our gear as well as a steamer for beds, furniture etc. -It is helpful to organize the shots in an order that makes one shot close to another (when possible). We will look for proper lighting during the scout before hand. -keep in mind that often times, a shoot will have to be moved or changed at the last moment due to weather, or other complications. Having a "backup" space to photograph at any given time is important. -In order to stay on budget, we will have to be able to move from one space to another without any down time. -Assume that we will be in any given space for 2-3 hours.