This spring, The Richards Group reached out to Austin-based photographer Amy Mikler about a project for Omni Hotels & Resorts. It was originally going to take place in Florida last fall, but halfway through the planning process, a hurricane hit Amelia Island. Though the damage was minimal, it created just enough chaos to push the shoot back until April.
The delay gave Omni time to consider additional needs and decided to add a two-day social media shoot to regular production. Come springtime, Omni had a better idea of what they needed, and Amy was ready to tackle the assignment.
The goal of the campaign was to create new images that showed off Omni’s recently renovated hotels and resorts. In the previous pictures, some of the clothing was unfashionable, some of the interiors featured old furniture and decor, and some of the shots were excessive. With new ad campaigns on the horizon, fresh images were a must. Seeing as the agency and Omni personnel were already on site, it made sense to integrate a social media shoot into the regular production schedule.
The pre-planning process went over well with only a few hiccups along the way. For the creative call, the property assisted by providing Amy and her team with a defined shot list, scouting imagery, and a schedule for tide and sunrise/sunset. Sarah Brandon, agency art director, introduced her to Omnia’s shooting guide and familiarized her with branding phrases and imagery layouts. For the social shoot, another creative call took place with only half a day to scout. This was a huge challenge given the size of the 1,300-acre resort and the length of the shot list.
All of the pre-planning paid off in the end! The schedule was jam-packed and entailed a variety of shots, so Amy was grateful for all of the advance preparation. When they were shooting at the resorts, they worked from dawn to dusk to capture sunrise and sunset.
The social shoot was a run-and-gun production, minimizing equipment and allowing the crew to cover more area. Amy had a digital tech/assistant who handled the time-lapse shots, allowing her to be elsewhere to capture sunrise and sunset. They also split the creative staff so the drone photographer could work separately and capture everything. Altogether, the project resulted in 15 property selects and 150 images, cinemagraphs, and video clips for social media.
Like usual, I found myself wedged into all sorts of corners and situations… I was sweating in a bee suit, hanging off docks, lying on a busy lobby floor, waist deep walking in the ocean to capture models walking along the beach with the resort in the background, and sitting and shooting on a paddle board while my assist paddled.
With such a large production, there were a few obstacles along the way. Luckily the weather was clear and sunny every day, which isn’t a given during Florida’s spring rainy season. The downside of the unusual dryness was that area wild fires affected some of the shots. Thankfully, the smoke didn’t blow in for every sunrise and sunset that week, so Amy grabbed some beautiful skies when she saw them.
The reaction to the images has been excellent. Amy was blown away by some of the responses she received and very proud as well. Sarah reached out to Amy after the shoot with very kind remarks.
Amy, I got the drive yesterday and am sifting through everything today. They look amazing! I am so excited to show the team and client all of these.
Amy’s favorite part of working with Omni was how much the experience reminded her of shooting for travel publications early on in her career. Though there were specific images she was responsible for capturing, there was a greater sense of freedom that allowed her to gravitate towards what was inviting and record some really beautiful sceneries. She also enjoyed collaborating with the agency and found the team’s hardworking nature impressive. Since this project, Amy has estimated another Omni property shoot that is coming up in the fall and hopes this relationship will continue to grow.
See more of Amy’s work on her website.
Further Reading
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