Natural-light photography for restaurants, stays & real estate across Galicia, northern Spain.
Hi, I'm Val — a photographer who speaks hospitality
I capture your space, your team, and your story in their best, most authentic light — photographs that make future clients stop, look, and book.
I know your world from the inside
Great photos of your place aren't luck. They come from three things I've spent my life building.
A Foundation in Hospitality
I came up through hospitality — hotels, front desks, years training teams — so I understand your business from the inside, and I know what makes a guest choose one place over another.
A Digital Marketer's Mindset
I've spent years in digital marketing, so I understand the mechanics beneath the surface: why people click here and not there, how much a single image, a review, or a first impression can decide — and that it almost always starts online.
An Eye Built Over Decades
And for over thirty years I've been crafting my eye — learning to see balance, harmony, and the details most people walk past, then to capture the essence of a place or a brand in a single frame. Graphic design crept in along the way, simply because I can’t help wanting to make things — menus, flyers, feeds — more beautiful.
A hospitality photographer sees your place differently. Here’s why.
The human eye leans toward what's beautiful — it always has.
So when I photograph your place, I hunt for exactly that: the details that make someone fall for it before they've ever stood in it. I frame them so the person scrolling feels that little catch — "I want to be there. Now."
And a viewer who feels that about your space, your rooms, your view doesn't keep scrolling.
They enquire.
They book.
They choose you.
That's what these photographs are really for.
“Valerie was working for us before at The Griya Villas and Spa in Bali, and she did excellent work in marketing. She was also able to take stunning photos that we are still using in our marketing materials.”
— Marko Kytoharju, Owner, The Griya Villas & Spa
Featuring images shot at The Griya Villas & Spa, located in Amed, on Bali’s east coast where I lived for several years.
I'm rarely ever in front of the lens, but here we are — filming underwater during my training with my teacher and mentor, Alex Lindbloom. Flores, Indonesia, 2013.
My pack of 4, all rescues from Bali. Photo taken on one of Galicia’s wild and stunning beaches of the Costa Da Morte (2024).
The road to Seña
I’m originally from Belgium and was raised in three languages. I grew up moving a lot — new countries, new cultures, new homes, new schools. That probably explains why starting over has never scared me.
More importantly, it gave me a superpower for what I do now: the ability to look at a space with fresh, appreciative eyes — exactly the way a guest or buyer does when they see your property for the first time.
Eventually, I chose Bali (Indonesia), and for nine years, it was my home. For the first years, I spent a good part of my life underwater as a videographer. Later, I worked as a business development manager for a luxury property, photographing private villas, boutique hotels, and restaurants.
Hospitality has been the thread through all of it. I trained in hotel management and spent years training hospitality teams. That world left me with one lesson that runs through every photograph I take: You never get a second chance to make a first impression. (Thank you, Hilton.)
In 2023, after almost a decade in the tropics, I craved seasons again and landed in rural Galicia. I fell for its wild coast and slower pace of life, and made it home — along with my six rescue pets (two cats, four dogs) who traveled all the way from Bali with me.
So that's the person behind the camera: someone who has spent a lifetime arriving somewhere new, finding what makes it special, and helping others see it too.
Let's make your place impossible to scroll past.
Why “Seña”?
In Spanish, seña carries two meanings that say exactly what this studio is for: hacer señas — to signal your presence with intention and warmth, not volume — and seña de identidad, the hallmark that defines who you truly are. Seña Studio turns the first into the second: the signs you make become the mark people know you by.
And say it aloud — señora is right there in the sound. A fitting echo for a studio led by a woman.
Where Seña Studio is today — and where it's headed
Right now, Seña Studio is first and foremost a photography studio — backed by a professional practice since 2013 and an eye sharpened over three decades. If you need images that make your place impossible to scroll past, that's live and bookable today.
Seña Studio is a fresh brand, not a fresh start. Photography, design, and social I've done for years — most recently in Bali, under another name. In 2023, I chose Galicia, left the old brand behind, and began Seña. What's new is Systems and AI — the one area I'm building from the ground up.
So, Seña Studio is built to be more than a lens.
It's also built to grow into four areas over time:
SCENES
Photography & video: the images that make your place impossible to scroll past.
SOCIAL
Keeping you visible and top of mind on the social platforms where your potential clients already spend their time.
STYLE
Keeping you visible and top of mind on the social platforms where your potential clients already spend their time.
SYSTEMS
The tech, the analytics, and strategy working quietly behind the scenes to keep everything running.
One studio, one consistent hand, expanding step by step. More on all of that very soon. Stay tuned.
At a glance
LOCATION
Home is between Cedeira and Cerdido, in the province of A Coruña — and I work right across all four Galician provinces (A Coruña, Lugo, Pontevedra, Ourense).
AVAILABILITY
Galicia is my base, not my limit. For the right project, I'll happily travel further — into Asturias, northern Portugal, and beyond. I'm also occasionally in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Portland, OR (USA), so if you're nearby, get in touch to align dates around upcoming travel.
LANGUAGES
Fluent in English, French, and Dutch; conversational Spanish and basic German.
FOCUS
Hospitality, Food & Drinks, Stay, Wellness & Spa, Yoga Studios, Real Estate.
