The Hotel Stay Shot List

Shoot for someone who has never been there

The person booking this room has never stood in it. Every shot you take should answer a question they'd ask if they could walk through it themselves:

• How big is it, really?
• Is it bright? What's the view?
• What's the bathroom like?
• Would I feel at home here?

Get the shots below first. Once they're done, you're free to get creative.

The room, before you unpack

The room looks its best in the first 20 minutes after check-in. Film and shoot before your suitcase is open.

• The first look: from the doorway, door open, the way a guest sees it walking in.
• The bed, straight on: centred, curtains open, pillows untouched.
• The bed from a corner: this is the one that shows how big the room is.
• The window: the view, with a little of the room still in frame so it's clearly this room.
• The bathroom, wide: step out of the mirror's reflection first.
• One detail: the robe, the toiletries, the coffee corner. Something people zoom in on.

Around the property

• Arrival: the entrance or lobby, shot wide, so people can tell what kind of place it is.
• The pool: empty, in the first hour after sunrise.
• Breakfast from above: style one plate, and leave the rest as it came.
• The restaurant or bar: just after the lights come on, before it fills up.
• The outside: the building or grounds, so a stranger understands the setting.

The shots with a person in them

Hotels rarely get these from their own photographers, and they're the shots that make people want to book.

• Walking in: you stepping into the room, filmed from behind.
• Hands doing something: pouring coffee, opening the curtains, a book open on the bed.
• A tiny figure: you, small in a wide shot, there only to show the scale of the place.

Turn it into a Reel

Plan the Reel as a sequence before you film, instead of hoping your clips will fit together later:

• Hook (1–2 seconds): the door opening, or the curtains pulling back.
• The reveal: bed, then window, then the view.
• The feeling: hands, coffee, the pool.
• The why: one line of on-screen text answering "why stay here?"
• The ending: the view at golden hour, or you settling in.

Shoot everything twice

Take every photo both vertical (9:16, for Reels and Stories) and horizontal (for the hotel's website and booking pages). After check-out, you can't go back for the one you missed.

Agree on this before you arrive

• How many videos and photos, and when they're due.
• Where they'll be posted (your page, theirs, or ads) and for how long.
• Whether the stay includes meals and transfers.
• What happens if bad weather ruins the outdoor shots.