1 month, 9 hotels, 10 restaurants and a photo library for each establishment. This is what I’ve been immersed for four month.
Millésime Collection, is a small but talented French hotel group that have establishments all over France and abroad.
This group was only recently founded, and its hotels and restraints are all new players in this competitive market, so a good stock of quality images was high on their ‘to do’ list.
Let be honest…several photographers had already been here before me but, the general consensus was that the images didn’t properly represent the spirit of place that the group is building its reputation on.
My mission, should I choose to accept it, was to create an entirely new image bank for each hotel and restaurant.
The wonderful Marie-Christine Mecoen is the Artistic Director of all the Millésime establishments. She truly has that very special element, a certain quality of « art de vivre à la française » that is difficult to do really well.
Her fabulous interior designs tell a unique story in each hotel and restaurant. And to take her style further, each hotel suite has its own individual identity. She is a master of detail. She put her eye and hand to every element of the design chain from construction to the choice of the silver desert spoons. She has an absolute overall vision and whats more, she’s one of those people whose able to actually see it through.
My primary objective was to represent this vision in my photos. I knew that if I did this, then the shots would evoke the ambience of each establishment and thats what a potential customer wants, don’t they.
Marie-Christine assisted at each shoot, which was an essential part of understanding her « art de vivre ». I had a great time developing each shot with her. Every hotel shoot was carefully planned and scheduled by my assistant Nina, to ensure there were no surprises on the day. Thanks Nina.
Photographing each dish served by the Chefs, was also part of the job description. I know , I know, its a tough job but someones got to do it. What a pleasure to work with Flora Mikula, the Head Chef and Paul Tranquard, the Pastry Chef. Passion and talent make work a pleasure. They also share this very special common sense of « art de vivre à la française ».
