10 SEPTEMBER 2026

By Gorka Di Capitan

Respect Is Part of the Job

When you shoot in hospitality, you walk into a house that was working long before you arrived.

There's a kitchen in the middle of service. A manager who didn't hire you. A head of house who has been there eight years. An owner who did hire you but isn't always in the room. And then there's you, showing up with a camera and ideas.

Some people don't understand the work yet

They think you came to take a few pictures and leave. They don't see why you need to move a table, wait for the light to drop, or plate the same dish three times. From where they stand, you're slowing down a service that already runs on the edge.

That one has an easy fix, and the fix is explaining. Not defending: explaining. Tell them what you're doing and why it matters for the photo, and most of them turn into your best allies on set, because once they see the result they understand what it was for. The chef who was annoyed at minute five is usually the one asking for a copy at minute fifty.

Some understand the work and still resist it

This is the harder one. Every venue has its own hierarchy, habits and responsibilities. A new idea can feel like criticism, especially when it comes from someone who has just walked through the door.

I've learned not to force it. Listen first, explain the idea, and let the work make the case. You don't need to win the room. You need to earn enough trust to do the job properly.

Leave the personal outside

Here's the real advice, and it took me years to learn it: you're not there to win an argument or to be liked.

You're there to get paid for a project, and to create work that helps that place fill more tables, present its menu properly and build an online presence it isn't embarrassed by. That's the job. Everything else is noise.

Learning to work with difficult people isn't a soft skill in this profession. It's the skill. Technique gets you the first booking. Handling a room gets you the next four years.

Respect isn't the same as agreement

People can challenge an idea, say no to a setup or remind you that service comes first. That's part of the job. What isn't part of the job is making it personal.

If that line is crossed, address it early and calmly. Most situations reset. If they don't, knowing when to leave is part of being professional too.

Setting limits is what lets you walk back in next year with your head up, which is exactly what this trade is built on.

The best work I've done didn't come from the best-equipped shoots. It came from the places where the team and I got each other. Where the kitchen knew I'd stay out of the way at half past one, and I knew that if I asked for one more plate at four, it would arrive.

That doesn't get built in one session. And it doesn't get built without respect.

Respect isn't separate from the work. It's part of how the work gets made.