By Tim Cotroneo
Shawn Talbot is one of the fortunate few who knew his career path at an early age.
Talbot’s journey as a hospitality and architecture photographer began as a teenager when he was selected for what turned out to be a summer dream job.
“At 17 years old, I had the opportunity to work for the British Columbia Film Commission. I traveled around the Okanagan Valley photographing beautiful locations that would ultimately promote the region for future film production shoots,” Talbot said.
Talbot is still based in British Columbia, but now he travels extensively around the world capturing amazing architectural, hospitality, and advertising images.
When he isn’t shooting hotels, resorts, and dream homes, Talbot shifts to aerial photography where his portfolio of clients include world-class golf courses, vineyards, and city skylines.
Travel Dreams asked Talbot to share his photography story and insights into some of his favorite photos.
Travel Dreams Magazine: Where are you based?
Talbot: I am based in Kelowna, BC but about 90% of my work takes place outside of the Okanagan Valley. Kelowna is a beautiful city and it’s where I grew up so I choose to spend my retouching time there.
How did you get started in photography?
I have had a camera in my hands since as early as I can remember. But professionally, my career began in 1998 when I was hired as a photographer for the BC Film Commission. I was 17 years old and was awarded a summer dream job. I traveled mostly around the Okanagan Valley capturing interesting locations to promote the region for film productions to shoot in.
What is your favorite camera or “go to” camera?
My current primary body is the Canon R5. For many years I used the Canon 5DSR and it remains my backup camera body.
How do you educate yourself to take better pictures?
I do a lot of networking with other architectural and hospitality photographers and enjoy discussing latest techniques and styles with them. I also rely on YouTube tutorials a lot, especially when it comes to retouching techniques. I am a contributing writer and avid reader of Apalmanac.com. It is a great resource!
What is the one thing you wish you knew when you started taking photos?
There are certainly lots of things that I wish I knew but I suppose I would have loved to have discovered earlier how much I would fall in love with architecture and hospitality photography. I spent about 15 years working primarily as a commercial advertising photographer and it was great but I really feel like I discovered the perfect “fit” for my skills and interests when I discovered architecture (and specifically hospitality architecture).
What is your photographic niche and what is it about this niche that appeals, inspires, or satisfies you?
Generally, I call myself an architectural photographer but I think that my specific niche is in hospitality. I love photographing hotels, resorts and restaurants. I love the ability to really spend a lot of time lighting and crafting interesting compositions, I love the opportunity to be an absolute perfectionist and I love the travel aspect. Generally speaking, it’s also a very accommodating and supportive industry where you are treated really well and the efforts put into the work are respected and appreciated. There is a also a strong demand for excellence and so I love that challenge.
How did you get started including aerial photography into your skill set?
For the first 15 years of my career, everything was done by helicopter. Those were fun days but it was a lot of work and lot of expense. There were also a number of really close calls that sometimes still wake me up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night. I was actually one of the first commercial drone operators in BC. In those days, the technology had really just transitioned from military to commercial applications and so the operation of drones was very crude. Looking back, it seems so archaic and so dangerous. My first drone was a $30,000 8-rotor behemoth that looked like it was built in someone’s garage with spare parts and had no GPS hold capabilities. If you weren’t actively flying it, it was falling out of the sky. Now, the technology is incredible and it’s just so easy to produce exceptional results.
What are the typical preparations that go into your photographic shoots?
Typically, each shoot begins with a shot list from the client and a discussion of the “look” that they are going for. Often I will be provided with a moodboard to convey the desired tone. From there, we build a shooting schedule that generally balances logistical concerns with the desired time of day. For example, recently we did a photoshoot for a new Gordon Ramsay restaurant. The vibe is a fine dining steak restaurant enjoyed by guests exclusively in the evening. So over two nights we shot from dusk into the early hours of the morning to ensure that every image fit the desired look.
How did you get involved with Sandals Resorts?
In 2023 I was contacted by the marketing team of Sandals Resorts. They found me online and felt that my style would be a good fit for their brand. We had a number of meetings and discussed what would become a massive project spanning almost one and a half years and multiple resorts in the Caribbean. It was an incredible opportunity and I hope to continue my work with them and their fantastic team for years to come.
What do you try to say in your photographs?
What I try to convey in each photograph is an “enhanced” sense of space with each image. Some photographers desire to capture a space exactly as it is in a very natural and editorial way and I do love that look. But for me, I think my go-to style is to try to pump it up a bit, enhance the experience and give the images depth and a kind of cinematic drama with lighting. I think my many years of advertising photography kind of influenced how I like to give more of a “commercial” look to a space to try to grab and hold your attention and make the viewer go “wow, I want to be there.”
Anything I haven’t asked that you’d like readers to know about you or your photography?
Last year I was offered an incredible opportunity to partner up with my favorite hospitality photographer, fellow Canadian Brandon Barre. I am now one of the photographers that he sends out on jobs that he is unavailable for and it’s been an incredible opportunity and experience. So shout-out to Brandon. In my opinion, he’s as good as it gets in our industry and if you haven’t seen his work, definitely check it out! It’s a visual experience.
Travel Dreams readers can find more of Shawn Talbot’s work at https://shawntalbot.com/
