With more than 25 years behind the lens, internationally acclaimed hotel photographer Christos Drazos has built an elite clientele that includes over 250 of the finest boutique hotels and luxury hospitality heavyweights in Greece and abroad.
The key to his success is his unique eye and his ability to capture not just the form and beauty of things but also their soul, that intangible quality that makes each subject and location special.
“Storytelling is essential in professional photography. You have to convey the essence of the place and the experience of being there. Aegean and Ionian islands are all unique despite being so close to each other, so in order to allow people to connect with the mood of each destination, you have to shoot both inside and outside the hotel,” Christos says. “But there are also hotels that truly incorporate local elements, such as the Myconian Collection hotels, which really emanate a sense of place.”
The key is to connect with the place, stay there, become part of it, experience it, and then find a way to share that experience, that moment, through an image.
Looking at each hotel individually, Christos identifies the unique characteristics and attributes that set each apart and sets out to share them in visual stories that entice viewers to partake in the experience. His work makes it seem effortless, capturing the interplay of architecture, design and lifestyle and grounding them in an unmistakable sense of place that evokes an emotional response bordering on deja vu, an exhilarating mix of familiarity and wonder.
Christos sees each new hotel as a new opportunity to push the limits of his craft, to go beyond the surface of form and function—sometimes even of location, when working with hotels in the same destination—and explore new ways of capturing and revealing its unique character. “After 20 years of photographing hotels, there’s no stress, just the challenge. And the bigger the challenge the better,” he points out.
There are also hotels that truly incorporate local elements, such as the Myconian Collection hotels, which really emanate a sense of place.
The process of discovering each hotel’s unique essence, according to Christos, is something you can prepare for but not plan. You might have a sense of where you want to go with the project, but the hero shot only reveals itself when you’re actually there. “The process involves arriving a day early and taking time to simply wander around, and then it’s usually four or five days of shooting,” Christos explains. “The key is to connect with the place, stay there, become part of it, experience it, and then find a way to share that experience, that moment, through an image. Only then is the job done.”