Zach Anderson Markets to Gen Z and Millennials in Two Distinct Cities for RenoTahoe Tourism

An unassuming city marketing to millennials and Gen Zers and a resort town looking to expand its reach, each with unique qualities to promote, but needing the right photographer to weave their assets into a cohesive campaign. Zach Anderson’s vision through consciousness means having no ego on set and boldly communicating emotions to make an impact, making him a perfect fit for this project for RenoTahoe Tourism.

Travel and tourism photography requires artists to imagine themself adventuring to shoot locations and highlighting the best qualities without sometimes, ever having been there before. It takes a unique artist to be able to showcase a community, as an outsider, and make you want to get online and book a flight. With epic vistas and intimate lounges, Zach takes Reno and Tahoe to the next level. Read more below.

What do you like about travel campaigns? 

I think it’s a very unique opportunity to get to know a place as a tourist, while having access to things a tourist typically doesn’t. The client will want the vantage points that you don’t get to see as a tourist so you can show the entire experience. I love traveling and exploring new places so it’s a lot of fun to get to shoot in places I either haven’t been before, or don’t get to go very often.

What was a challenge on this shoot?

While I think it’s an awesome opportunity to be able to travel and photograph different places, it’s also a big responsibility. I am an outsider dropping into a city for a week but you need to make sure you represent it accurately. I try to keep my eyes and ears open as much as I can while traveling to the city and then within it to see what locals do. Any challenge on this shoot was remedied by the team on set. Collaboration is always super important to me, and the agency, BVK, the client and producer, Vail Palmer-White, working together on this shoot allowed us to come up with fast solutions when needed. 

Who were the talent you worked with?

This was a unique experience because all of the talent were influencers. They had a good energy on set since they are used to creating content and they brought their own creativity to the shoot. Also, having influencers as talent was exciting to me because I knew that this campaign would reach even more people through their social media networks. 

The color in these images are very distinct, can you talk about your intention there?

Color is a huge part of my photography. I think that color can change a photo entirely, so I’m also sure to be very conscious of that. When scouting locations, working with stylists and on set, I always try to find places that respect color theory and will pop when used online or in print. You can convey distinct emotions through color so I keep that in consideration when shooting. The client liked my work because of my use of color so I wanted to be sure to keep that at the forefront.

What was a memorable moment on this project?

While we were in Tahoe, I was shooting on top of a mountain and as we were shooting I saw a parasailer pop out of the trees. That was totally unplanned and I had no idea it was even going to happen until I saw his feet. I changed angles really quickly to get it in the background and it ended up being a very cool shot, I love that one.

What do you want people to take away about you and your work after seeing this campaign?

I am able to shoot fast and move quickly. This project had 6 different locations in 3 days, which required the entire production to move swiftly and in an organized manner. These images don’t reflect the hecticness of that, it all looks like we had way more time in each location that we did. I credit the client collaboration, agency creativity and all of our combined visions and motivations with allowing us to create all of that great content.