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Hanoi, Vietnam-based photographer Tim Gerard Barker recently completed a new stills project for the New World Hoiana Beach Resort, a luxury resort near the historic city of Hoi An in central Vietnam. The resort offers stunning ocean views and a variety of dining options, including authentic Vietnamese and international cuisine. Tim’s photos were later used by the client in a promotional campaign aimed at attracting potential visitors to the resort.
This was Tim’s first time working with New World. They discovered Tim’s portfolio online and reached out to him.
The client picked me based on my hotel and resort portfolio, particularly my interior and exterior work for other hospitality clients across Southeast Asia. After a few conversations, it became clear they were impressed with my portfolio and eager to work with me.
In creating the visual and design narrative for New World, Tim focused on understanding the goals that shape the imagery and aesthetic choices of the hotels and resorts.
The goal of the images was to evoke a sense of wanderlust and make the viewers imagine themselves traveling to the resort. The brand identity of New World is contemporary — Asia’s landscape and culture through architectural statements, seamless indoor-outdoor spaces, and luxurious pool experiences. They value rich hues, strong color depth, and an editorial feel in their imagery to create captivating and visually immersive content. The brand also emphasizes its Asian roots through clean lines and neutral color palettes in furniture and finishes, accented by bold art, accessories, and uniforms.
The shoot was split into two parts. The first part took place during the soft opening of the resort when Tim and his team shot all the rooms and some of the outdoor facilities that were finished. Six months later, they then came back when most of the resort was complete.
In the initial stage of the shoot, I collaborated with New World’s Director of Brand Marketing, Jennifer, and her colleague Cherry, who flew in from the Rosewood Hotel Group’s corporate office in Hong Kong. The resort’s marketing manager, Annie, was also part of the team. They were well-prepared, as Jennifer’s colleague Ivan had visited the resort weeks earlier and created a detailed brief for the shoot. Before the shoot, we had a video call to review the brief, followed by a full-day scouting session the day before, where we walked through each location and planned the best angles and shooting times.
The second shoot required more detailed planning, as it involved two days of lifestyle photography with professional talent. My producer, Nga, collaborated closely with the resort’s new Marketing Manager, Jolie, and Florence from the corporate office to cast and book talent. They also worked together to coordinate with the stylist to select outfits for each shot. Since the corporate team didn’t travel for this part of the shoot, I stayed in touch with Florence and the resort’s Director of Sales and Marketing, Dawn, via a WhatsApp group. Jolie joined me for a scouting day to visit all the locations and plan the shoot in detail.
Each part of the shoot had its own unique challenges.
During the first shoot, we had a smaller crew but a larger client presence. I really enjoyed working closely with the corporate team, as they knew exactly what they wanted. Being able to bounce ideas off them and get immediate approval for each concept was a great collaborative experience. The second shoot, however, was a different dynamic. My producer and her assistant were with me the entire time, and when we worked with talent, we had our stylist Vy, her assistant, a hair and makeup team, two adult talents, and two young talents with their mothers supervising them.
When he thinks about the shooting days, Tim remembers how weather conditions and timing impacted the project.
During the first shoot, a haze from nearby rice field burning made the skies dull, so I had to replace most of them in post-production. The second shoot was scheduled just before the monsoon season to ensure most facilities were finished. We were lucky with the weather until the last afternoon when heavy rain forced us to adjust the schedule. We had to shoot a poolside concept inside due to the rain. Overall, we spent nine days on site — four for the first shoot and five for the second.
There were also several logistical challenges that Tim and his team faced.
In the second part of the shoot, there was a lighter presence from the client side, and unfortunately, the marketing manager, Jolie, wasn’t authorized to give final approval. We were sending the work to a WhatsApp group for approval from her manager, Dawn. As a result, I had to reshoot several completed concepts based on feedback requesting changes in angles or furniture adjustments. This slowed us down, affected the energy on set, and forced us to shoot some planned shots in less-than-ideal conditions due to delays.
These types of projects often require careful planning and adaptability, especially when working on a tight schedule and in multiple locations.
We had seven days to capture 70 images, but some locations weren’t ready during the first part of the shoot. Initially, we aimed for nine shots per day, but later adjusted it to eleven. I prefer scheduling one-hour blocks per concept, including travel time, to minimize downtime. While most locations were within walking distance, we used buggies to reach farther spots. We also agreed with the adult talent to shoot no more than nine concepts per day, and even fewer with the children, to ensure they stayed well-rested and energetic when needed.
Another challenge was to avoid construction sites and ensure other hotels were not visible in the photos.
We had to be careful with the framing. For one room shot, it was challenging to capture the view without including the competitor’s hotel in the background. To resolve this, I shot a view from another room and masked it in, which was a complex process, but I made it work.
For the exterior hero shot, Tim faced specific demands regarding lighting and angles.
It was a top priority for the client, as they planned to use it across all their marketing materials. Initially, the plan was to capture it from an aerial viewpoint using a drone, with all the room lights in the resort turned on. Since the rooms have sensors that turn off the lights after 20 minutes of inactivity, the housekeeping team was tasked with turning on the lights in every unoccupied room within that window, just before dusk. However, during the scouting day, I used a drone to explore potential angles but couldn’t find a suitable aerial shot.
We decided to shoot from the neighboring Hoiana Resort, a competitor within the same complex, where I could secure the camera on a tripod. This setup was crucial due to the significant inconsistency in the brightness of the building’s exterior lights. The best time to capture the brightest lights was 30 minutes earlier than for the other lights throughout the resort. Using a drone would have been too complicated, so the tripod allowed us to manage the varying exposures effectively.
As a photographer, Tim’s collaboration with talent is crucial for capturing moments as they happen.
I think it went really well. Working with children can be difficult so I love it when the adult talent are great at engaging with the children. This makes my life much easier, as I’m able to capture a great range of authentic moments. When I’m working with talent I like to set up my frame and then place the talent in situations where they can be themselves and have fun.
After the shoot, Tim had to enhance his post-production skills.
The weather was often cloudy and foggy in the early morning and late afternoon, which made many of my shots appear dull. The client wanted me to enhance these images in post-production. I did my research and found a great course, along with several tutorials, to learn the best techniques for smoothly swapping out the skies. During this process, I also created a library of skies from old work that I could use for this and future shoots. I was really happy with some of the results.
On a final note, Tim revealed what he enjoyed the most, and what it took to achieve these results.
I always enjoy shooting during dusk and dawn the most. These times are challenging and require thorough pre-planning to ensure that camera positions and compositions are set ahead of time. I usually arrive very early to rearrange furniture and be ready to capture images throughout the blue hour. This approach allows me to gather enough exposures to produce the best possible shot. Although it often means early wake-ups and late evenings, the effort is well worth it when the hard work results in a beautiful final image.
See more of Tim’s work on his website.
Credits:
Production: aostudio
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