Hilton Bayfront | San Diego, California

Summary: New suite photography for a Hilton property launch, and a case for breaking from house style when the space called for it.

The brief: Hilton Hotels of San Diego needed hero photography for a newly renovated Bayfront Suites room type. The client called for imagery built to anchor a website launch but flexible enough to also support press coverage and social content from the same shoot.

The approach: Hilton's photography has leaned toward an airy, consistent house style for years. It’s a safe, reliable standard across the brand (“white and bright”). This room, with sweeping, warm sunset views of the Coronado Bay Bridge, the Rady Shell, and Petco Park, called for something different. Rather than defaulting to that established look, the shoot leaned into lighting and angles that let the space read as distinct, while still staying recognizably on-brand. The result held up across every use the client needed—web, social, and press—without needing a second shoot for any of them.

Outcome: My images became the hero shots for the suite on Hilton's website, ran through the brand's social content calendar, and were picked up in local press coverage of the renovation. Internally, they've become a reference point for how the team wants future renovated spaces photographed across other Hilton properties in Southern California. This represents a real shift for a hospitality brand with as much established visual precedent as Hilton.

From the client: “Andy is the rare photographer willing to push back on ‘the way we've always shot it,’ and the images looked so much better for it. If you want images that actually capture what makes a space special, hire him.” — Eric Stinson, Complex Director of Marketing, Hilton Hotels of San Diego