Bada Sori (통영 바다소리 펜션) is a pension hotel and conference venue in Tongyeong, South Korea. It’s a very cozy, modern and comfortable venue in a great location by the sea. They recently renovated their facilities and I was hired to take photos of the hotel and make the English brochure. It was a very smooth and enjoyable shoot. Special thanks to the hotel manager Mr. Kwon and his wife for their assistance during the shoot! I’d also like to thank the owner Mr. Kwak for his trust and the awesome barbecue at the end of the day!
Photographer’s Corner: I used a Canon 5D Mark II, EF 24-70mm f/2.8L and a Samyang 14mm f/2.8 for this shoot. A wireless flash was used as a fill light for the interior photos.
Here are some of my thoughts from this shoot:
1. Don’t be afraid to offer your services. Make those sales calls. In this case, I simply heard about the hotel being renovated. I figured they would want to promote the new facilities and I offered my services. The rest is history.
2. Scout the location and make a shot list. This is absolutely crucial. For commercial jobs like this, you cannot go in blind and wing it. Go to the location in advance, meet with the client and go through the shot list together. Make sure you are on the same page with regards to the expected output.
3. Make a work schedule. This is important for you and for the staff members that will be assisting you on the day of the shoot. Having a printed schedule to follow will help you manage your time and will keep everyone organized and coordinated.
4. On a more gear-related note, the Samyang (Polar, Rokinon) 14mm f/2.8 is actually awesome for interiors and architecture, especially tight spaces. Yes, this lens has a lot of distortion but you can easily download correction profiles for Lightroom or use software like PTLens to correct it. Note that the 14mm may be too “zoomy” looking for some, due to the ultra-wide angle of view, but it can help you fully capture tight spaces and give a unique effect to the photos. Just keep vertical lines vertical and the Samyang lens should make some interesting interior images.
5. Put your other skills to use. For this job, the client specifically requested me to design a brochure. I was apprehensive at first, but since I’ve had some layout experience, I accepted the request. Looking back, I realize that being able to take the photos and make the brochure made hiring me even more attractive for the client. Who doesn’t want convenience? And of course, extra skills mean extra income. 🙂