Intelligent Workflows · Photography & Content Plan
A shoot plan for the Nordic Inn, the Summit Mountain Residence and the Chalet — built around what the three properties actually have, and what Mt. Crested Butte gives you outside the door.
Shots are grouped into blocks. A block is one location at one time of day — shoot it in order and the light does half the work for you. The colour on each block is the light it needs, so nothing gets scheduled at the wrong hour.
Worth being explicit, because the current website blurs them together and a guest reading it can't tell what they're actually booking.
The single most valuable hour of the whole shoot. This is the "first and only remaining hotel from the year the ski area opened" — that heritage is the thing no competitor in Mt. Crested Butte can copy, and right now there isn't a photograph that says it.
Windows lit warm against blue snow or blue dusk. Every interior light on, curtains open, no cars in frame except one styled vehicle.
| ID | Shot | Format | Where it gets used |
|---|---|---|---|
| NI-01 ★ | Full frontage, lights on, dusk. Slightly off-centre, tripod, bracketed for the windows. | 16:94:5 | Website hero, Booking.com main image |
| NI-02 | Same frame, vertical crop with sky and roofline. | 9:16 | Instagram / Google Business |
| NI-03 ★ | The sign and entrance, lit, with the mountain behind it if the angle allows. | 4:5 | Brand identity, "you've arrived" |
| NI-04 | Wide from across the road showing how close the lifts are — inn and lift line in one frame. | 16:9 | Proves the 500-yard claim |
| NI-05 | Detail: snow on the eaves / timber and the original 1963 lines of the building. | 4:5 | Heritage story, texture filler |
| NI-06 | Guest walking in from the car with skis or bikes, backlit by the doorway. | 4:59:16 | Lifestyle, ads |
The emotional centre of the whole business — "come as guests, leave as friends" happens in this room. Fire properly going before the first frame, lamps on, overheads off.
| ID | Shot | Format | Where it gets used |
|---|---|---|---|
| NI-07 ★ | Wide of the Great Room, fire roaring, seating styled, mountain visible through the window. | 16:94:5 | Website, OTA gallery |
| NI-08 | Two or three guests by the fire with drinks — relaxed, not posed at camera. | 4:5 | Social, the "family" positioning |
| NI-09 | The cookies. Close, warm, on a plate by the fire. | 1:14:5 | Signature detail — it's in their own copy |
| NI-10 | Board games out on a table, mid-game, hands in frame. | 4:5 | Family / group appeal |
| NI-11 ★ | The wine dispensers — both Wineemotion units lit, glass being poured, card in hand. | 4:59:16 | Genuinely unusual for a B&B — lead with it |
| NI-12 | Detail of the pour: red into a glass, shallow depth, fire out of focus behind. | 9:16 | Reel opener |
| NI-13 | Window seat looking out at Mt. Crested Butte, low light, someone reading. | 4:5 | Quiet, off-peak marketing |
Shot early while the light through the east windows is still soft and the rooms are untouched. Breakfast has to be fully set before the first frame, not assembled around the camera.
Free continental breakfast is one of their strongest booking arguments against the resort hotels charging resort fees. It needs to look generous.
| ID | Shot | Format | Where it gets used |
|---|---|---|---|
| NI-14 ★ | Full breakfast spread, styled, morning light raking across it. | 16:94:5 | Amenities page, OTA |
| NI-15 | Coffee being poured, steam visible, window light behind. | 9:16 | Reel, story |
| NI-16 | A couple at a table with plates and the mountain view out the window. | 4:5 | Lifestyle |
| NI-17 | Wide of the room set for service, empty, clean. | 16:9 | Function-space enquiries |
| NI-18 | Snacks and small bites display. | 1:1 | Filler, upsell |
One full set per room type, plus the Signature bedding detail. Beds made to hotel standard, every cable hidden, bins out of frame, remote off the bed.
| ID | Shot | Format | Where it gets used |
|---|---|---|---|
| NI-19 ★ | Signature room — wide, from the doorway corner, bed leading to window. | 16:94:5 | Room page hero, OTA |
| NI-20 | Signature bedding detail — triple sheeting, 400 thread count, down. Shot close and raking. | 4:5 | Justifies the Signature rate |
| NI-21 ★ | Mountain-view room with the view sharp through the window, not blown out. Bracket it. | 16:94:5 | The view upsell — currently unprovable |
| NI-22 | Standard room, same angle discipline as NI-19 so the set looks consistent. | 16:9 | Room page |
| NI-23 | Pet-friendly room with a dog on the floor, settled. | 4:5 | Pet search traffic — high intent |
| NI-24 | Bathroom, clean and bright, towels styled. | 4:5 | OTA requirement |
| NI-25 | Every remaining room type, one wide each, matched angle. | 16:9 | Complete OTA set |
These are the amenities the website lists in plain text and never photographs. Each one answers a question a guest is actually asking before they book.
Steam, snow and a lit sky. This is the shot that sells a winter booking — and it doesn't currently exist anywhere on their site at any usable size.
| ID | Shot | Format | Where it gets used |
|---|---|---|---|
| NI-26 ★ | Hot tub at dusk, steam rising, mountain behind, guests in it. The money shot. | 16:94:59:16 | Paid ads, website hero rotation |
| NI-27 | Wide of the deck showing it fits ten — scale matters here. | 16:9 | Group and wedding enquiries |
| NI-28 ★ | Fire pit lit with chairs pulled up, s'mores in frame, last light in the sky. | 4:5 | Social, evenings-here story |
| NI-29 | Bare feet on the heated deck in snow — the detail nobody believes until they see it. | 1:1 | Scroll-stopper |
| NI-30 | Stars over the deck, long exposure, fire pit glowing in the foreground. | 16:9 | Hero alternative, dark-sky angle |
Unglamorous and high-converting. Skiers and mountain bikers choose lodges on exactly these details, and the competition rarely bothers to photograph them.
| ID | Shot | Format | Where it gets used |
|---|---|---|---|
| NI-31 ★ | The wall of boot warmers, boots in, upstairs. Straight on, symmetrical. | 4:5 | Ski-season landing page |
| NI-32 | Ski and snowboard storage, racked and full. | 16:9 | Amenities |
| NI-33 ★ | Secure bike storage with bikes racked — shot for the summer audience. | 16:94:5 | Bike Week, summer campaigns |
| NI-34 | Bike wash station in use, water and spray visible. | 9:16 | Reel, mountain-bike marketing |
| NI-35 | Free parking with the inn behind — frames "no resort fee, no parking fee". | 16:9 | Price-comparison messaging |
| NI-36 | Mountain Express bus stop with the inn in the same frame. | 4:5 | "You don't need a car" angle |
| NI-37 | Private function space, empty and set up two ways if time allows. | 16:9 | Events — over 1,000 sq ft, barely marketed |
This is the highest-value asset on the books and the least documented. Ten en-suite bedrooms, sleeps 26, and it can go out whole. A full set here is what makes a large group or a wedding party book without a site visit.
Note for scheduling: it's built into the hillside and full of stairs, so allow extra time for moving kit. Views are the reason people book it — shoot for the windows.
| ID | Shot | Format | Where it gets used |
|---|---|---|---|
| SR-01 ★ | Exterior at dusk, whole house lit, perched on the mountainside. | 16:94:5 | Listing hero, wedding brochure cover |
| SR-02 ★ | The private bar with French doors open onto the deck, mountains beyond. | 16:9 | The single most distinctive room |
| SR-03 ★ | Gourmet chef's kitchen, wide, styled with food prep in progress. | 16:94:5 | Group bookings, self-catering |
| SR-04 | Expansive dining area laid for a full table of 26 — scale is the story. | 16:9 | Weddings, reunions, retreats |
| SR-05 ★ | The Pearl Room honeymoon suite, wide and warm. | 16:94:5 | Honeymoon and elopement packages |
| SR-06 | Pearl Room private sauna. | 4:5 | Suite detail |
| SR-07 ★ | Private balcony hot tub at dusk, steam, mountains, two glasses. | 4:59:16 | Couples marketing, ads |
| SR-08 | Outdoor deck wide, set for drinks at golden hour. | 16:9 | Events, listing gallery |
| SR-09 | The gym. | 4:5 | Amenity list, retreat enquiries |
| SR-10 | Fireplace and main living area, evening, lamps on. | 16:9 | Listing gallery |
| SR-11 | All ten bedrooms — one consistent wide each, matched height and angle. | 16:9 | Non-negotiable for a 10-bed listing |
| SR-12 | Two or three en-suite bathrooms, best ones only. | 4:5 | Listing gallery |
| SR-13 | View from the highest window or balcony, no interior in frame. | 16:99:16 | "This is what you wake up to" |
Sleeps 10, two storeys, steps from the Inn. It has almost no visual presence online at all — a small set fixes that.
| ID | Shot | Format | Where it gets used |
|---|---|---|---|
| CH-01 ★ | Exterior showing the cottage and how close the Inn is behind it. | 16:94:5 | Listing hero |
| CH-02 | Downstairs sitting room, wide. | 16:9 | Listing gallery |
| CH-03 | Upstairs extra-large room with both queens and the second sitting area in one frame. | 16:9 | Shows the sleeps-10 claim |
| CH-04 | Both downstairs bedrooms, one wide each. | 16:9 | Listing gallery |
| CH-05 | Kitchen, styled. | 4:5 | Self-catering groups |
| CH-06 ★ | Patio with outdoor seating, late afternoon light, table set. | 4:5 | Listing gallery, social |
Half the booking decision is the destination, not the bed. Right now the site leans on borrowed resort and tourism-board photography with credits on it — which means none of it can be used in paid ads, and none of it belongs to them.
Shoot the walk from the Inn to the lifts as a continuous sequence — it proves the location claim better than any sentence on the website.
| ID | Shot | Format | Where it gets used |
|---|---|---|---|
| AR-01 ★ | The walk to the lifts, carrying skis, inn behind and lifts ahead. | 9:164:5 | Reel, location proof |
| AR-02 | Base area with the lift line running up the mountain. | 16:9 | Winter landing page |
| AR-03 | Mt. Crested Butte itself, clean, from the property side. | 16:99:16 | Backgrounds, section headers |
| AR-04 | Skiers coming off the hill at end of day, low sun. | 4:5 | Après / evening story |
| AR-05 | Chairlift from below, riders overhead. | 9:16 | Reel B-roll |
The town is the reason people pick Crested Butte over Vail or Breckenridge. A short bus ride from the door, and worth its own set.
| ID | Shot | Format | Where it gets used |
|---|---|---|---|
| AR-06 ★ | Main street, colourful storefronts, mountains closing the view at the end. | 16:94:5 | Destination page hero |
| AR-07 | Two or three storefront details — paint, signage, timber. | 1:1 | Grid filler, character |
| AR-08 | People on the street at golden hour, unposed. | 4:5 | Lifestyle |
| AR-09 | Mountain Express bus in town — ties the free-transport claim together with AR-01. | 16:9 | Getting-around page |
| AR-10 | A bar or restaurant frontage at dusk, lights on. | 4:5 | Dining pages |
Summer and winter need separate visits. Shoot whichever is in front of us properly rather than half-covering both.
| ID | Shot | Format | Where it gets used |
|---|---|---|---|
| AR-11 ★ | Wildflowers in an alpine meadow with peaks behind — peak season is the reason "Wildflower Capital of Colorado" means something. | 16:99:16 | Summer hero, Wildflower Festival |
| AR-12 | Aspens turning gold — narrow window, late September. | 16:94:5 | Autumn / shoulder-season campaign |
| AR-13 ★ | Mountain biker on singletrack with the valley below. | 16:99:16 | Bike Week, Evolution Bike Park |
| AR-14 | Hiker on an alpine trail, wide, small in the frame. | 4:5 | Summer activities |
| AR-15 | River or lake — fly fishing or paddle, whichever is available. | 16:9 | Fishing and water pages |
| AR-16 | Fat biking or snowshoeing on snow, low winter sun. | 4:5 | Winter non-ski audience |
| AR-17 | Snow falling on the inn or the town, shot slow for video. | 9:16 | Reel, atmosphere |
Crested Butte is genuinely two destinations and one shoot cannot cover both. The honest version is two visits, and the second one is worth waiting for.
All three properties inside, every amenity, the town, the trails. Roughly 55 of the 68 shots. Indoor work is season-proof, so it never needs redoing. If we can catch the aspens turning in late September, that's a bonus set with a very short window.
The blue-hour exterior with lit windows on snow, hot tub steaming in the cold, boot warmers in use, the walk to the lifts with skis, snowfall. These are the shots that sell the highest-rate weeks of their year, and they can only be taken in the season they depict.
A photo library ages. Once both phases are shot, the work becomes cutting it into reels, seasonal campaigns and listing refreshes — which is where it keeps earning rather than sitting in a folder.
The difference between a good shoot and an expensive one is preparation. None of this costs anything — it just needs doing before we arrive.
The Summit Residence sleeps 26, has a chef's kitchen, a private bar and a honeymoon suite with its own sauna. On the current site it's a few small images inside a slideshow. A 10-bedroom mountain house is a high-value booking that people will not commit to without seeing it properly.
Several pages carry "Photos by CBMR" and "thank you to Travel Crested Butte" credits. Borrowed photography can't safely be used in paid advertising, can be withdrawn, and makes the Inn look like every other property using the same resort press pack.
First and only remaining hotel in Mt. Crested Butte from 1963, the year the ski area opened, and the longest operating lodge in Gunnison County. That is a genuine competitive moat against the condo blocks, and there is currently not one photograph that communicates it.