7 Tips On Taking Interesting Photos at Hotels

Are you a blogger or photographer looking for inspiration for hotel photography? With years of experience in hotel collaborations and media trips, I’m sharing my top 7 hotel photo shoot tips. Use these photo shoot poses, ideas and advice so you can rock it out at your next resort or hotel photo shoot.

7 Hotel Photo Shoot Tips & Pose Ideas

I’m sharing 7 hotel photo shoot tips that will help bloggers and photographers with resort and hotel photography. After blogging for nearly 6 years, I’ve learned a ton when it comes to capturing content at resorts and hotels. I’m so excited to share my top photo shoot tips and ideas on to help inspire your on media trips and travel collaborations.

NEWS FLASH!! I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the content I share here on the blog and how I can make it more meaningful to you all. To start, I asked myself, “what do I type into my Google search bar most often??” Usually it has something to do with motherhood and babies or photography and blogging ideas. And then IT HIT ME…

These are the SAME TOPICS that I get the most questions from YOU about in my dm’s or in my inbox. And so begins a new series on my blog…BLOGGING & PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS!! Drawing from a recent learning experience at my media trip at the gorgeous Seminole Hard Rock Hotel in Tampa, I’m sharing 7 hotel photo shoot ideas and tips to help you with your travel collaborations.

 

Seminole Hard Rock Hotel Photo Shoots – A Back Story

(WHY THIS TRIP TAUGHT ME MORE ABOUT TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY THAN ANY OTHER TRIP!)

As a blogger, I’ve been on many media trips for various hotels and resort properties (as you probably have or will if you’re in the blogging world). What that means is a resort or hotel will send a small group of influencers/bloggers to a property in exchange for social posts and blog coverage.  The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel media trip was especially unique though. That’s because it included a mix of both influencers/bloggers, myself, Erin from Cohlab NYC and Isabelle from Allons Y, AND traditional journalists as well.

As amazing as this media trip was, it also presented some challenges I’d never dealt with before. You see, the Hard Rock Hotel was going through a HUGE renovation (which is why we were there!). This included a brand new hotel tower, a beautiful new spa and the most gorgeous outdoor pool area. The only problem was, the renovations weren’t quite complete when we arrived. If you’ve ever done construction on your own business or home, you’ll be familiar with the fact that renovations ALWAYS take longer than the expected timeframe.

This was especially challenging for the three of us influencers, who were required to capture unique content to share on our instagram feeds. As you probably know, natural light is the KEY INGREDIENT to taking easy, beautiful photography. That goes for whether your taking photos on your iPhone or a professional camera. Not only was the outdoor pool still under construction and much of the outside of the hotel, but since the hotel is also a casino, there were hardly any windows to provide natural light inside!! YIKES!!

BUT YOU KNOW WHAT?? I’m sooo grateful for this experience. And not just because the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel in Tampa is absolutely beautiful, with amazing food and he sweetest staff. But also because the experience really made me put my creative brain to work, and I ended up capturing some of my FAVORITE hotel photos to date. It ended up teaching me so much about shooting in low light situations and hotel photo shoots in general especially hotel photography.

That’s why I decided to take that learning experience and share my 7 tips on hotel photo shoots with you. From tips to make sure you’re prepared for any photography situation to photo shoot pose ideas, keep reading to see all of my blogging tips.

1 – ALWAYS BRING A PROFESSIONAL CAMERA

(HERE’S WHERE I MADE THE HUGE MISTAKE!!)

I’ve heard many bloggers suggest using iPhone photography only and I honestly have to disagree! I learned this lesson the hard way on this trip. I had gotten into this same iPhone-only mindset after going on a few media trips in tropical destinations. I’d bring my heavy professional camera, only to use my iPhone the whole time. So for this trip, I decided to lighten my load and leave my professional camera at home.

As you can imagine, once I realized that many of my photos would have to be taken indoors with artificial lighting, I went into panic mode. I KNEW my iPhone simply wasn’t gonna cut it! Thankfully, Erin fro Colhab NYC is an absolute DOLL and was sweet enough to let me pop my memory card (which I happened to have in my backpack) in her professional camera to take some shots, like the above one we shot inside the Hard Rock Hotel’s amazing casino floors. I’d tried capturing the same image on my phone and it was AWFUL…the difference was just night and day!!

So next time you’re headed on a media trip with a resort or hotel, DO NOT LEAVE THAT CAMERA BEHIND!!

2 – RESEARCH THE PROPERTY + PLAN OUTFITS AHEAD OF TIME

While on group media trips, I often get comments about how amazing it is that my outfit just-so-happened to match the resort, destination or setting we’re headed to. That’s DEFINITELY no coincidence, y’all. Before each trip, I spend no more than an hour researching the property on Google. I also research the property instagram using the hotel’s hashtags and geolocation. Then, I save these images in a folder on my phone.

This is SO helpful once I start planning my outfits. Thanks to my research, I knew that even though it was a Florida resort, the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel was not a beachfront property as I had expected. Rather, it had a classic rock and roll theme and was no where near a beach. So instead of beachy items, I planned outfits like the above featuring darker colors and band tees.

Another thing that’s a huge time-saver for blog-related travel is planning EVERY outfit from HEAD-TO-TOE before I leave. I like to try on each outfit, complete with shoes and accessories, take a mirror selfie on my phone and save these in a folder on my phone too. This helps me save space when packing and is super essential when I have 10-15 minutes in between events on my itinerary to change outfits for.

3 – SAVE POSE & ANGLE IDEAS FROM INSTAGRAM & PINTEREST BEFORE YOUR TRIP

One of the biggest challenges about capturing blog travel photography is that you don’t have a ton of time. Often, you may have less than 5 minutes to capture THE shot! It DEFINITELY helps to have some pose and/or angle ideas in mind ahead of time. I’ve experienced a few mini panic attacks in those you-have-5-minutes-to-get-the-shot situations in past media trips. What I’ve learned is to set aside time to look up and save pose ideas for a trip before you leave. Even if that’s on the plane! This is helpful to do AFTER you research the hotel property. That way you know what kind of shots will work best for the location.

Before each trip, I save pose and angle ideas from instagram and Pinterest onto a folder on my phon. Then, I can quickly resource them when I find myself stuck on coming up with photo shoot pose ideas. Such was the case with this low-angle shot. Erin from was literally laying beneath my dress for to capture this shot, haha (told you – she’s a gem!!). That brings me to my next point…

4 – MAKE NEW FRIENDS

Often, resort and hotel media trips are done with groups like we did at the Hard Rock Tampa trip. Lots of times you’ll be traveling solo too, so it is so essential to MAKE NEW FRIENDS! That way you can take photos of each other. And best of all, it makes the trip more enjoyable! I’m always so overwhelmed by the things I take away and learn from other creatives when I travel.

GOING ON A SOLO MEDIA TRIP?? I’ve been there too! Become friends with staff that works at the hotel. Explain why you’re there, and ask them to take a quick shot. Of course, not if they’re super busy or occupied! But you’ll be surprised at how often staff is eager and happy to help with photo shoots!

5 – BRING REMOTES FOR YOUR PHONE & CAMERA FOR IN-ROOM PHOTOGRAPHY

For this guitar shot shot on the bed and the one below with the cards, I used my iPhone remote control to capture. If you look closely, you ca see the remote in my left hand above and in my right below. The remote connects to any smart phone via Bluetooth and is only $8 – you can purchase it here!

You’ll also want to bring a remote for your professional camera. This is case you need to get any shots with you and your plus one. I also use my remote when I can’t find staff or anyone to help capture photos on the property. This hasy happened to me more than once, and I’m always thankful I have my remote for hotel photo shoots.

6 – DON’T BE AFRAID TO REARRANGE THINGS IN THE ROOM

(JUST BE SURE TO PUT THEM BACK)

I actually didn’t have to do much rearranging in my room at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel. They are brand new and I love the clean, modern design! Sometimes to get the perfect in-room shot though, I literally move mattresses (like I did for this shot), but in the one above, I simply moved the table a bit.

7 – JUST ADD PROPS

When all else fails, just add props!! On lots of my travel, I even bring my own props to use, because they just make photos more interesting. Luckily, the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel had SO many insta-worthy props, from the adorable milkshakes at the Hard Rock Cafe to the croissants at Rise, pictured above. The hotel even allows guests to rent guitars and equipment for their room (hence the guitar in my photo on the bed) through their The Sound of Your Stay program. GET CREATIVE! Bring some backup props of your own. And when you arrive at the property, give yourself a full tour! During your tour, make note of good photo shoot settings and potential props you can use in your photography.

Stay tuned for more blogging and photography tips and my full review of the Seminole Hard Rock in Tampa, Florida.

MORE BLOGGING TIPS & TRAVEL ADVICE:

-7 Things I’ve Learned About Blogging

–Advice For New Bloggers

-My Top 3 Packing Tips

 

Fair-well xx,