Caribbean islands are known for bright natural saturated colors and crystal clear waters. The Dominican Republic is the largest of the Caribbean Islands and it lives particularly from 2 main sources of revenue: tourism and customs.
With well over 80,000 hotel rooms as of 2022, the Dominican Republic has the highest number of rooms in the Caribbean. And, as far as I know, 200,000 more rooms are being approved or have already been approved for construction. Basically, hotels are here to stay for a long time God willing no more pandemics and less Sargazo!
I studied hotel management back in the late ’80s and early ’90s. I actually graduated in 1992 with a bachelor’s degree in hotel management. So I know a thing or two about the local Dominican hotel industry. One of the first things I noticed was the lack of professional hotel photography. I mean, Dominicans have the location, the service, the smiles, and the quality (I might add )in many hotels all over the island. But at that time photography was not as important as it is today. Nowadays people search first the web to find out about the hotel or resort they want to stay at. And the web is graphic, the web is imagery, and the web is also inferior without photography. Basically, the first thing a client sees of a place searched is a photo (most likely).
Dominican Republic hotel photography has to be shot (both exterior and interior) at the right time and with the right equipment. Phones will not get any close to today’s professional camera quality. There is no way around it, if you want professional results, hire a professional. If it is too expensive, imagine what a cheap photographer would be! That certainly will be expensive in the end (wasted money with no professional results). Also, remember that a professional hotel photographer will have a great retouching team working in the back. Post-production is extremely important, maybe so as the shoot itself. I once had a client with very dirty rugs in their meeting and conference areas and somehow my team clean them up 80%! Of course, you pay for what you get, but it is definitely worth it!
Hotel chains such as Barceló, Meliá, Iberostar, Princess, Hilton, Marriott, Aman, and many more are here to stay. Some have been here for over 30 years. With high-quality imagery, these hotels can have the look they deserve. Many know the importance of professional photography and are already having great results.
Since I am already living in the Dominican Republic and photographing hotels for a living, I am only an email away from having great hotel photography in the Dominican Republic.
#dominicanrepublichotelphotography #hotelphotographydominicanrepublic #hotelphotographydr #caribbeanhotelphotography
Live Aqua Punta Cana pool building at sunset.
Live Aqua Punta Cana main lobby/ bar area. I shot this at night so to have less people.
Lifestyle Los Corales Golf Course I shot for Grupo Puntacana during sunrise. Everything from the time, shadows, clothing, and talent’s poses was pre-programmed.