Contributor

Michelle Chaplow

Luxury Hotel Photographer, Founder of Hotel Essence Photography, Keynote Speaker. Passionate about creating quality visuals.

Michelle Chaplow is a luxury hotel photographer who has spent the last two decades photographing a huge variety of travel destinations, and some of the world’s finest luxury and historic hotels. In 2010 she founded Hotel Essence Photography, whose mission is to capture the spirit, the very essence of a property. Michelle has photographed everything from exteriors of UNESCO-recognised buildings to Michelin-star restaurant kitchens. Born and educated in Britain, she attended Manchester University, and relocated to Spain in 1992. A truly passionate photographer, Michelle loves to go beyond the conventional viewpoint to capture the very essence of the subject. Michelle’s photographs have been published by such prestigious institutions and publications as the Library of Congress, The Telegraph, The Times, and Conde Nast Traveller. While undertaking photography assignments around the world, she averaged 100-150 hotel nights per year, in more than 60 countries. Hotel Essence Photography has been commissioned and published by highly prestigious hotel groups such as Mandarin Oriental, Paradores de España, Kempinski, Oberoi, The Most Famous Hotels in the World® and numerous independently-owned hotels. She has won a number of awards for her architectural photography, and has also been recognised by the Spanish Ministry of Commerce for promoting Spain. As a keynote speaker, Michelle has delivered speeches on the Importance of Photography for Luxury Hotels at a number of events, including TEDx Marbella, and the annual conferences of both Historic Hotels of America, and Preferred Hotel Group. Keynotes include : "The Importance of Photography for Luxury Hotels” at The Preferred Hotels Group Annual Conference in New Delhi, India in 2012. “The Importance of Photography for Luxury Hotels and Destinations” at TEDx Marbella, Spain in 2013. Consumers Crave Visual Stories: Increase the Revenue from Your Hotel Website with Strong Visuals" at the Historic Hotels of America Annual Conference in Hershey, PA in 2014. "Photography Essentials for the Digital Marketplace” at the Preferred Hotel Group Global Conference, in Pebble Beach, CA in 2014. Michelle prefers to work with natural lighting for her photography. She has perfected several innovative cutting-edge photography and lighting techniques for capturing signature hotel shots. Michelle loves the finer things in life, including traveling on assignment to exotic locations and artisan chocolates.