Galleries > Exteriors

Exterior Hotel Photography

HOTEL: Mayflower Park Hotel

LOCATION: Seattle, Washington

SUBJECT: Doorman Greeting

Not many exteriors encompass an actual human in the shot. This shot done at the Mayflower Park Hotel in Seattle was a certain exception. The doorman was a great character, in a great outfit, and we had to work him into an image somewhere.

Mayflower has a spectacular alcove at the entry way, but when you shoot a traditional exterior, much of the intricate detail would have been lost. The problem was the sheer scope of the image. To really tell the story, we needed to show the lobby through the glass doors. So our area of lighting involved the alcove, the doorman, and the lobby. We were able to accomplish this with some fast work from our photo assistant, and were able to capture the base elements of the photo in 20 images, in a matter of minutes. It was a careful balancing act between getting the exposures we needed and not interrupting too many guests who were coming and going through the front of the hotel.

In the end the image was successful based mostly on the fact the alcove is so stunning, and the doorman had such a wonderful personality - all the elements needed for a great image.