Well I am not going to lie, until this commission, I had not spent one single night in a caravan, let alone 33 – which is the count so far from the last year of shooting for Haven Holidays – and now I’m a caravan holiday aficionado! In fact so much so, that, if you scroll right down to the bottom, I’ve posted a list of your top essential items when packing to go and stay on a holiday park.
Represented by creative agency WFREPS, I was sent on assignment at various times throughout the last year to photograph at 16 different holiday park, each one unique and with it’s own special features. In fact, it was the uniqueness that was part of my brief to capture. A year ago, if you looked at a Haven Holiday website, you probably couldn’t tell too much difference between the parks. Now you can go on each one and see what their restaurant looks like, the swimming pool and sports facilities and sometimes the local landmarks too.
Brand New Holiday Park Travel Photography for Marketing
Haven holidays have also been doing lots of refurbishment and updates. For example, their incredible park in North Wales – Hafan Y Mor – where I spent five nights in a gorgeous lodge style caravan, complete with my own terrace, has an entirely new complex, including Dragon Lakes Adventure Playground, the funky Coast House restaurant and delightful Cakery. So it was essential for them to have brand new photos to show this all off to their new and regular customers.
Other complexes had updated swimming pools that needed to be photographed, new restaurant or entertainment facilities or brand new sleeping area – such as the fun family pods at Rockley Park in Dorset. Over the last year, I got to understand what the marketing team at Haven needed from the holiday park photography and I provided a set of photographs, which will help them with their marketing and sales activity. I have also been following them on Instagram and it’s been great to see various photos I’ve taken pop up on their feed and see some of the positive responses from customers in the comments. It’s also allowed Haven to engage directly with customers, whether they are returning to a site or considering their booking.
Photography assets for the travel company for use on Instagram
Here are a few samples below:
Swimming Pool and Leisure Centre Photography at Wild Duck Holiday Park:
Newly refurbished restaurant photography at Seashore Holiday Park:
Entertainment Complex Facilities Photography at Hopton Holiday Village:
Adventure Playground Photography at Hafan Y Mor Holiday Park:
Stunning travel photography at Caster Beach for Seashore Holiday Park:
And if you’re packing for your holiday park caravan adventure, these are my top tens must haves to pack!
1. Rubbish bags. They provide bins, but not liners and there is extensive recycling on all the parks, so bring a few bags so you can sort your rubbish and be eco-friendly.
2. A bag of basic kitchen ‘tools’ – tea-towel, washing up liquid & sponge, j-cloth, salt n’ pepper, cooking oil – you get the idea. Yes you can do a shop on arrival, but no point buying what you already use at home.
3. Ditto to bathroom items – especially a bar of soap and a hand towel.
4. Camper chairs or beach towels for hanging out in the local beach/woods/parkland…..
5. Sun tan lotion for summer – winter woollies the rest of the time. But this is the UK, so it’s often advisable to pack them all – and a brolly and wellies!
6. Microwaveable heat pack – yes, when the chill sets in, this pack will serve your cold feet well.
7. Depending on the level and location of caravan you stay in, you might be advised to bring an eye mask, ear plugs (only if you’re staying near the night entertainment or play areas and don’t want to be disturbed) and a hair dryer.
8. Picnic carry items. You’re going to want to spend time out of the caravan exploring, so bring items so that you can make up a picnic and take some grub with you.
9. Things to read and games to play – if you’re a family, caravans are the most wonderful way to relax. Yes they come with a big telly, but switch it off and play some games. And if you’ve kids, they’ll probably spend hours on the play parks, so take a book to chill and read whilst they do.
10. Your camera. Well of course – I would say this wouldn’t I?
Like what you see? Please get in touch if you need photography of your Hotel, Venue, Holiday Park, Entertainment Complex etc. I have specific hospitality info and packages dedicated to clients looking for this type of photography and would live to help you plan your hospitality photography shoot.