We were just coming down off our last helicopter experience flying over Poas, and thought it would probably be awhile until we were up in the air again. Little did we know that another epic adventure was right around the corner.
When we connected with Jesse, the owner of The Villas at Punta Gabriela, we were immediately excited by the project. We absolutely love shooting for resorts and villas. It’s a place where we can really shine because of our versatility.
The perfect fit for our unique skill-sets and something we really enjoy doing. They say variety is the spice of life, and I believe that. Shooting for resorts is a nice mix of everything. You have your interior photography, lifestyle captures, adventure/travel, drone, nature and food photography. It’s something you could never get bored of as a photographer.
So we were beyond excited to travel to Dominical and shoot some fresh new visuals for them to promote their incredible property. And when I say incredible, I really mean it.
This epic vacation spot is situated on the central pacific coast of Costa Rica in the hills of Dominical. It has the most juicy ocean views you can imagine and all the goodies that make for an unforgettable trip.
They have a gorgeous main house with private chef, 4 luxury villas, their own rooftop helipad, the only private zipline in the country, a gorgeous salt water pool with jacuzzi and what good is a heli-pad without a chopper. Yup, they got one of those as well!
When Jesse offered to have his pilot Nathan pick us up near Los Suenos in the chopper we were ecstatic. I mean, what could be better than taking a chopper to work? Nothing. I’m telling you. No matter how many times we do this, I’ll never lose that child-like sense of awe around the whole experience. And we got some epic shots.
The project was to completely refresh their visuals with 50 updated property images to be used on their new website and a 2-3 minute promotional video with voiceover that would be both informative, but also create a sense of intrigue. Check out the video!
We only had a few production days to bring it all together, and unfortunately we ended up getting overcast and stormy weather for most of production, so it was a challenge for sure. Unfortunately one of the main things that was missed due to weather was capturing those stunning sunset views.
That being said, we always make the most of it, and I felt confident we could still surpass the clients expectations, regardless of some of the hurdles during production.
One of the things we’ve become very proud of lately is that we’re learning to be extremely versatile in taking non-ideal weather, lighting, production schedules, etc. and really amplifying the end results for our clients.
By having the right equipment, using professional lighting when needed, shooting in a way that maximizes dynamic range and developing our post-production skills (editing, color-grading and re-touching), we’re able to elevate visuals that might otherwise look pretty flat or average. The drone also helps us capture such unique perspectives that really capture peoples attention.
The feedback we’ve been getting from clients is that we’re delivering extraordinary production value at a very modest price point (especially when stacked up to industry standards). This makes us really happy.
I know how hard it can be to justify carving out the kind of budget that is required to create high end visuals to promote. But I honestly believe there is nothing more valuable than having visuals that are indicative of your brand experience.
In the end, the feedback from Jesse was amazing…
“By far these have been the best and most professional people I have ever dealt with. They do more than what they promise and deliver when and what they say they will. I can’t recommend them more highly.”
When he saw the contact sheet of proofs he said we made it tough for him to choose his favorites, and in the end, he decided it would be valuable to purchase 25 additional images.
Throughout the process he also shared with me some of his past experiences working with people who had let him down. We completely sympathized, as we’ve been there as well. Unfortunately too many times to mention.
This is probably what has created such a strong drive within us to exceed our clients expectations and leave them feeling they got extraordinary value. We never want a client to feel like we have felt in the past. I guess life experiences just shape us, and this has become part of our DNA.
Even though we’ve never actually met Jesse in person (he was back in Florida during production), we ended up developing a really unique mutual respect and admiration for one another. It was a really feel good project for everyone involved.
It really is like icing on the cake of a fun project getting to work with a client as awesome as Jesse and the whole team there at Punta Gabriela.
Thank you Jesse, Karen, Edwin, Nathan, Francesca and the whole team there at Punta Gabriela. Special thanks to Edwin for showing us such amazing hospitality while we were there. You are an incredible chef and human being, and it was an honor to visit your restaurant and meet your family. The amazing helicopter pilot Nathan, thank you for delighting our inner child on those adventures in the chopper and keeping us safe in the sky.
And thank you to our amazing models, Freddy and Vivi, you we’re so easy to work with and brought life to the space in such a natural and authentic way, which we love!
You guys were all incredible to work with and made this a really special project for us!
