Doug Menuez Captures Women's Stories of Wanderlust, Luxury, and Romance for Seabourn

Doug Menuez’s documentary approach to shoots helps to tell a story within each individual frame. Treating it like a short film, Doug encourages talent on set to get into a role and play out a story as he shoots. It’s this iconic style that led Doug to shoot for Seabourn, a luxury cruise line. The creative direction for this shoot started with the phrase “This is Your Moment”, appealing to women in their 50s who are embarking on a new adventure and phase of their lives. With a vision through shared humanity, Doug was the ideal candidate to bring this creative to life, reminding us of a time when we too seized the moment.

For this shoot, Doug, agency creatives, and crew embarked on an adventure to Greece. Putting COVID precautions into place, they spent time on the ship and exploring Grecian towns and historical landmarks to evoke feelings of wanderlust, elegance, and romance. Doug describes this as “one of those dream shoots.” Everyone was so experienced in their respective duties and having worked with the co-founder of the agency, Grace Creative, Kathy Sjogren in the past, meant speaking the same creative language. Emphasizing the importance of long-term relationships, Doug was able to bring the cruise experience to our screens and he hopes that it lets you feel that Mediterranean sun on your skin and salty air on your tongue, even if just for a moment. Read on to learn more about how Doug brought each moment to life.

As a visual storyteller, all you really want is that you can get people for a fraction of a second to forget everything and just enjoy. I feel that one of my strongest skills is my ability to capture the attention of the viewer.

Doug Menuez

What did you learn on this shoot?

There will always be something that you don’t expect. I re-learned that no matter how much experience you have, there is always something new that will throw you for a loop. I try to tell my crew to always have an open mind and to not let your guard down. I always have back ups, but this shoot reminded me why you also have back ups for your back ups. We were challenged on this shoot in every way, and there were a few wake up calls, but ultimately our preparedness allowed for a successful shoot.

What was a memorable moment?

There were so many days packed full of memorable moments. One that sticks out was being on top of Santorini and looking out over the caldera and feeling the raw power of the massive planet. All of the elements coming together; the ocean, the wind and the sun, everything is more pronounced there. It was one of those moments where you just truly could feel nature. It is a huge imprint of where an asteroid hit the planet at some point, it reminds you how insignificant things can be. I think we all had that realization over the last two years, but there is something about having this vast natural wonder in front of you to remind you not to sweat the small stuff as much.

What do you hope people will take away after seeing your work?

I hope people can take a break and travel with us to Greece, even if just for a moment. I want the images to take viewers into the lives of the subjects of the photos, and I hope people ask questions about the scenes; what are they wearing? Are they really in love? What are they going to do next? As a visual storyteller, all you really want is that you can get people for a fraction of a second to forget everything and just enjoy. I feel that one of my strongest skills is my ability to capture the attention of the viewer.

Follow Doug on Instagram for more imagery illustrating what we all have in common.