From a Winter in Pesaro to a Mediterranean Superyacht Photoshoot

Photographing a superyacht is rarely just about arriving at a marina with cameras and a predefined shot list. Yachts move, itineraries change, weather conditions evolve, and a production originally planned in one country can eventually take place hundreds of miles away.

Our recent photography and video production for M/Y G.B., a 40-metre classic explorer yacht, was a perfect example.

The original plan was to photograph the yacht in Pesaro, on Italy’s Adriatic coast, after she had spent the winter at Cantiere Rossini. The objective was to create a completely new collection of photography and video content for the charter market.

What initially appeared to be a straightforward production soon became a journey across the Mediterranean.

From Pesaro to the Mediterranean

Pesaro has become an interesting location within Italy’s superyacht maintenance and refit sector.

Cantiere Rossini, based in Pesaro, continues to develop its facilities and services for large yachts. Its recent expansion, including a new Crew Village dedicated to captains and crews staying in the shipyard, was also covered by SuperYacht Times.

For us, however, Pesaro represents the beginning of a very different story. Our first plan was to meet M/Y G.B. in Pesaro and produce the complete photography and video package there. But superyacht schedules are rarely static.

Pesaro became Montenegro. Montenegro subsequently became Athens. And before we could begin shooting, the itinerary changed once again.

The Photoshoot Finally Begins in Sicily

Eventually, our cameras met M/Y G.B. much further south, in Syracuse, Sicily. This was where the actual production finally started.

The brief was specifically designed for the charter market, which requires a different visual approach from photography created purely to document or sell a yacht.

We needed to photograph the yacht’s interiors and exterior spaces, but also communicate what spending time onboard could feel like. That meant combining traditional yacht photography with crew operations, hospitality, navigation, aerial photography, tender activities, water toys and lifestyle imagery.

Photography and video also needed to work together as part of the same visual story. But there was one element we could not control: the weather.

Conditions in Sicily did not allow us to complete all the exterior, navigation and lifestyle material to the standard we wanted. Rather than compromise the final result, we adapted the production once again. M/Y G.B. continued her journey through the Mediterranean. And so did the photoshoot.

Completing the Photoshoot in Antibes

The final stage took place in Antibes, on the French Riviera. Here we could finally complete the missing parts of the photography and video production.

Some of the shooting started at around 7:00 in the morning, with the yacht completely prepared before sunrise. Interior and exterior lights were switched on, decks were arranged, curtains opened and the yacht was ready while the first natural light appeared over the Mediterranean.

As daylight developed, we continued with drone photography, exterior images, navigation sequences, tender operations, crew at work and water toys in action.

One of the challenges was making material produced in different places and under completely different weather conditions feel like one coherent photoshoot. Composition, light, colour grading and the overall visual language therefore had to remain consistent from Sicily to the French Riviera.

Creating New Content for the Charter Market

Professional charter photography has a specific purpose. A potential guest viewing a yacht online needs more than a record of its interiors. The images have to communicate space, atmosphere and the experience of being onboard.

A dining table needs to feel ready for guests. Exterior decks need to suggest how they can be used throughout the day. Crew, tenders and water toys help explain the service and activities available during a charter.

For this reason, producing new material after a yacht has spent a period in the shipyard can be particularly valuable. It provides the opportunity to present the yacht again with current photography and video, reflecting how she looks and operates today.

More Than a Superyacht Photoshoot

Our original plan was simple: photograph M/Y G.B. in Pesaro.

Instead, the project followed an itinerary that took us from the original plan in Pesaro to Montenegro and Athens, before the cameras finally started working in Syracuse and the production was eventually completed in Antibes.

It is a good example of a part of professional superyacht photography that rarely appears in the finished images.

Working with yachts means adapting to their itineraries, captain and crew operations, weather conditions and available light, while maintaining the original creative objective throughout the production.

The final photograph might show a quiet morning at anchor, a perfectly prepared deck or a yacht cruising through calm Mediterranean water. Behind that photograph, however, there can be a much longer journey.