As a Yacht Photographer, Have You Worked on Yachts of This Size Before?

When choosing a yacht photographer, one of the first questions a captain, yacht manager or broker may ask is: “Have you worked on yachts of this size before?”

It is a reasonable question. Experience onboard matters, especially when photography, video, drone operations, navigation, tender and crew all need to be coordinated.

However, the difference between photographing a 30-metre yacht and a 40- or 50-metre superyacht is often less about photographic complexity and more about having enough time to cover everything properly.

Does a larger yacht require a different approach?

Consider a Ferretti Custom Line 33. It can already offer five guest cabins, a large main salon with an opening terrace, extensive exterior decks and a sundeck.

A Sanlorenzo Alloy of approximately 45 metres may still have five guest cabins, but adds spaces such as an upper salon and a larger beach club. Move to a 50-metre superyacht and there may also be a gym, spa or other dedicated guest areas.

Photographically, the principle remains similar. Every space needs to be prepared, composed, lit and photographed properly.

More spaces do not necessarily make the photography more difficult. They make the production longer.

This is why yacht length alone does not tell us how much time a photoshoot requires.

The biggest difference is often outside the yacht

The difference becomes more significant when photographing a yacht for charter.

Larger superyachts usually have more space for tenders and water toys: jet skis, Seabobs, e-foils, paddleboards, inflatable pools, slides and other equipment.

For charter photography, these are not secondary details. Guests are not simply choosing cabins and salons; they are choosing the experience they can have onboard.

Photographing the toys arranged on the beach club shows what is available. Photographing them in action shows what the charter experience can actually feel like.

That requires considerably more production time. The crew needs to prepare and launch the equipment, the tender may need to be positioned for photography, people may be required in the water, and drone, yacht and tender movements need to be coordinated.

On a larger superyacht, photographing the water toys properly can therefore require more time than photographing several additional interior spaces.

Yacht size is only part of the equation

When planning a professional yacht photoshoot, we look beyond the yacht’s LOA.

We consider the number of interiors and exterior decks, navigation, drone photography and video, tender operations, water toys, lifestyle, crew involvement and the different light conditions we want to capture throughout the day.

A relatively straightforward 40-metre yacht may sometimes require less production time than a smaller yacht with an extensive charter brief.

The purpose of the photoshoot matters just as much as the size of the yacht.

So, does experience on yachts of this size matter?

Yes, but size alone is not enough.

A yacht photographer should have experience working with professional crews and understand how to coordinate a production onboard without unnecessarily interfering with yacht operations.

But perhaps there is an even more useful question to ask:

“Do you know how much time you need to photograph everything this yacht has to offer?”

A larger yacht does not necessarily require a completely different photographic technique. It requires experience, organisation and enough production time to give every important part of the yacht — and the experience it offers — the attention it deserves.