Doors Open Denver - The Oxford Hotel

I am running a bit late this month.  Between a week of vacation in the
Southwest, and some photo shoots, I've been pretty busy lately.

However, this newsletter is about Doors Open Denver, the Denver
architectural event held a few weekends ago.  While I've photographed
many different subject themes over the last 30+ years, architecture is
the subject that really excites me.  So the Doors Open Denver is
a special event where I get a chance to see and photograph many of
Denver's exceptional buildings which I wouldn't have access to
normally.

This year I didn't have a lot of time, but the building I chose to
concentrate on was the historic Oxford Hotel, on 17th St in Denver's
Lodo district.  Their website offers a good summary of the history of
the hotel.  Originally built in 1891, it is the oldest hotel in
Denver.  It was designed by Frank E. Edbrooke, who also designed the
Brown Palace.  It had all the latest technical features, including its
own power plant, steam heating, and private baths in its rooms.
Another novelty at the time, the "vertical railway", or elevator, was
installed to wisk guests up to the top of the 5 story hotel with ease.

I photographed the 2 rooms which are still authentic to the original
designs; the bar and the lobby.  The bar colors are quite bright; the
photograph is quite accurate to the colors.
 

Oxford Hotel Lobby

Oxford Hotel Bar

Oxford Hotel Lobby

Boy, that orange sure is bright!

Thanks for looking.

Greg

Why Architectural Photography will be "Constructed" in the future

Architectural photography and its methods have evolved over many years.  Much of this is due to the advances in lighting technology, and more recently, in cameras, and computer hardware and software.

Let's work our way through the evolution, starting with the basic camera, then discuss the image capture media (originally film), and how the camera/capture methods have evolved.

Camera:  The main features of the camera are the lens, shutter, and image capture media.  Now, this will get a bit technical.  For architectural photography, where the building walls need to be kept parallel and vertical, the film plane needs to be kept vertical to accomplish this.  So in order to capture the building, many times the lens needs to be moved independent of the film.  (We can't tilt a normal camera up, or the film plane will tilt as well, and the building walls will now converge to the top of the building or room in the final image.)  Originally, the camera of choice was a view camera.  The lens could be slid vertical, or even tilted.  This allowed the camera to capture the building properly, and still keep the film plane vertical, and the walls would then be captured vertical.  Some photographers still use view cameras, with their inherent features.  These cameras have been modified now, to use digital backs to capture images.  (The original large view camera has largely
been made obsolete now, since it will only shoot film.)  However, using special lenses, we can still accomplish the same thing.  New lenses for digital SLR cameras, called tilt/shift lenses, allow the lens to move in relation to the digital sensor.  This allows the camera to be adjusted to keep the verticals parallel, and still capture the building.

Now onto the image capture media.  This was originally silver-based film.  This involved chemistry in the film itself, and then in processing the film to get an image.  Decades of work by chemists made this method very advanced, resulting in very good results.  Over the last 15 years, digital capture, using solid state sensors, has largely taken over from film.  The advent of personal computers, image-processing software, amazing cameras, and speed of the obtaining final results has transformed the photography industry.

With these new tools, the camera/capture methods have also evolved.  Let's discuss some of those methods.

1. One exposure, no supplemental lighting - this is the original ( and still used) standard.  Adjust the camera settings to get a good exposure using the existing lighting and you have your image.
2. One exposure, supplemental lighting only- this utilizes the supplemental lighting as the main lighting.  This could be either continuous lighting, like tungsten lights, or flash.  The existing lighting is too dark to be a significant part of the image; the supplemental lighting provides all the significant light falling on the scene.
3. One exposure, additional supplemental lighting in combination with existing lighting - this technique balances the existing lighting with the supplemental, so we "fill" the shadows with the supplemental lighting.  This can be done with continuous tungsten lighting, as well as flash.
4. Multiple exposures, on one capture medium - this technique utilizes multiple exposures going directly on one media, for example, one piece of film.  For example, at sunset, the lighting changes quickly.  The first exposure could capture the exterior of the building, and the sky.  Then, if we wait for the sun to go down, and the building interior lights to come on, we can then photograph for the building lights, adding them to the image on the same medium.  This requires a slower shutter speed.  OR 
  We could photograph an interior in multiple exposures, using the existing light on one capture, then adding flash on other exposures.  OR
  We can use a technique called "painting with light".  This involves using a moveable continuous light, and adding light to parts of the image as the shutter is left open.  Total darkness is required, and just the light we add is captured.
5. Blend many separate exposures using computer and software, no supplemental lighting - This is a combination of 1. and 4., the intent is to get good exposures on ALL of the image areas.  But with the advent of computers and image processing software, we don't have to try and do it on one capture media.  We can take all the separate exposures, and blend them together in the computer.  This allows the balancing of all the separate exposures into a great final image.  We can use a technique called HDR photography.  Here different exposures are made, some to capture the bright spots in the image (sky, for example), and then others capture the shadow areas properly (and let the sky go white).  These separate exposures are blended together using special software, where properly exposed parts of the multiple exposures are used and blended together to make a natural-looking scene, just as your eye sees it in many cases.
6. Blend many separate exposures, use additional supplemental lighting - This is a combination of 2. and 4.  Supplemental light can be added either continuously, as with the "painting with light" approach; however, this isn't too practical since total darkness is required.  OR
  We can add the light as multiple flashes.  Since the flash lighting is quite strong, total darkness is not required, and this techniqe can be done in subdued daylight.  The main advantage of this technique is that supplemental light can be added within the scene.  That is, the light source can be located where it is actually visible in the image.  Then using computer software, we can remove the light-generating device, and only leave the resulting light it cast on the scene.

This last technique, the "constructed" approach, adds one more important technique to obtain great photographs.  This technique goes one step beyond even the new HDR technique, and can add light to small areas of the image, to highlight those areas, and draw attention to them.  To accomplish this with existing image captures would require lots of computer work, and may appear strange in the end.  While this technique is quite new, some other photographers are already using it to create incredible architectural images. 
As with all things new, it takes a bit of time for adoption; however, the technique is so powerful that it is only a matter of time before most architectural photographers will learn and use it for many of their images.

Lighting of Stainless Steel - Using the "Constructed" Approach

I've talked with some interior designers, who specialize in kitchen design, in the past year, who were disappointed in the photography of their kitchens which contain lots of stainless steel surfaces.  Polished SS, as found in many commercial kitchens, reflects light well.  However, it reflects that light in specific directions, which makes it look dark in many cases.  In addition, it reflects objects, acting like a mirror, so photographers can't just put lights in the best places to light it.

This is particularly troublesome with conventional photography, where supplemental lighting is either outside of the subject view, or placed in "hidden" locations within the subject view.  Conventional photography, where the image is captured in one exposure, really doesn't work with difficult subjects like commercial kitchens.  The "Constructed" approach is really the only way to obtain great photography.

To refresh the concept, the "constructed" approach involves using multiple exposures of the subject, where the lighting can be added in pieces.  So lighting of each part of the subject entails that the lighting sometimes is visible to the camera.  Then each of the exposures can be blended together, eliminating the visible lights, to create a well lit image.  These multiple exposures allow lots of freedom in the look of the final image, since they can be "weighted" with almost infinite variability in Photoshop.

This capture of the various exposures can be a bit tricky, since all the multiple exposures must be made with absolutely no camera movement, so all the exposures can be blended accurately.  However, good tripods and exposure methods make this doable. 

Here are 2 photograph examples of a residential kitchen, with stainless steel appliances.  In this case, the stainless steel reflects wood surfaces, so the appliances would normally look a bit wood-toned, instead of a shiny natural gray color.  So here, I used lighting to light the room well, then lit the appliances separately, adding light reflections in the appliances.  You can't do this in one set of exposures; the lights to illuminate the stainless steel must actually be placed within the kitchen where the camera can "see" it.  The visible lighting is then removed in post-blending.

One image highlights the appliances themselves, while the other has reduced illumination of the appliances, giving a more balanced look to the image.  The result is infinitely variable to taste.

Brighter stainless

Subdued stainless

Which image do you prefer?  What would improve the images?  Let me know what you think. 

Take a look at more "Constructed Images" at my website:  http://constructedimages.net.

Greg

Architectural Digest photography is boring!

Beautiful, but boring!!

I guess magazines have to have a theme, a "look".  But lots of building trade mags have the same "look"; very even, broad lighting, no interior lights on, no DRAMA!!

It's a bit sad.  These days, with fancy cameras and amazing software, and, most importantly, photographers who really know how to use them, we end up with the same look as film cameras 20 years ago.

Lighting techniques,such as my "constructed" technique, allow images to be made with the drama of targeted spot lighting.  Higher contrast, and the lighting of key parts of the image focus viewers attention.  This can be very helpful to architects and designers who want to highlight certain details of their work.

But industry folks like to be safe.  It's easy to be safe.  And boring!

Come on AD, you're in a rut!.  Break out!  There are loads of photographers that will help you create a new look.

"Habit is necessary, it is the habit of habits, of turning a trail into a rut, that must be incessantly fought against, if one is to remain alive."   Edith Wharton

Commissioning architectural photography; doing it right makes it easier to get it right!

I belong to ASMP; the American Society of Media Photographers.  This professional organization's goal is to aid the profession of photography; to aid not only photographers, but also users/buyers of photography.
In that light, ASMP and AIA, the American Institute of Architects, has put together some guidance material on architectural photography.  This covers things like selecting an architectural photographer, how a photography estimate works, licensing/usage of photographs, controlling costs, and even a checklist to make it work as smoothly as possible.  This info can be found at http://asmp.org/commissioning/overview.html.  This has much more detail and great info than I can address here.  I strongly suggest that you take a read; it will help you and all those needing images to ease their involvement with photographers.  We can concentrate on the details of your photographic need instead of the process.  I look forward to working together.

Greg

"Good enough" photography ISN'T good enough for your business

Photography has undergone a radical change in the last few years.  This is largely related to the abundance of cheap fancy digital cameras, and lots of people photographing everything.  Cameras are now even on most cell phones, so one is always available.  Someone in the office is a pretty good photographer, and these folks are shooting for their companies.  And now the photography is "good enough" and almost free for these companies.

The building industry uses photographs and other visuals to show their work.  These photographs appear on websites, printed brochures, proposals, and other marketing materials.  Photographs contribute to each firms brand.  They show potential clients what they are about, what they do.  These visuals greatly impact how potential clients come away from the interaction, and reinforce the brand.

Examine the marketing materials for the leading companies in your part of the industry.  I'll bet they have quality photography to promote their work, and reinforce their brand as "quality".  These firms promote this impression.  "Quality" is overtly all over their interaction with clients, including the most important visual; photography.  Clients want to work with quality companies.  And they will pay for it, because they know that the quality will last long after the memory of the "good deal" they got by choosing mediocrity.  

So I implore my clients to consider the feeling that their potential clients get when they interact with them.  Do their clients feel mediocrity after their initial website visit?  Or were they "grabbed" by that first photograph on that website homepage? 

I want my clients to value the quality photography that I strive to create every time I shoot.  I want them to understand that professional photography is essential to the success of their business.  And I want them to choose a professional, even if it isn't me.   I want them to choose great, rather than "good enough".

Service and Image Product Guarantee

Just like most businesses, I have to stand behind my services and final image products.  So this means a "guarantee". 

I guarantee that you will be satisfied (and hopefully delighted) with my service and image products or you don't pay for them.

I strive to have excellent communication with my clients before any work is done, so expectations are very clear.  That is a key requirement for a good business transaction.  So I offer clear estimates for the specific job, along with clear terms and conditions.  If a client deems them not clear, I will get on the phone to discuss their confusion, and clear it up before we move forward.

Then if these expectations aren't met, I will attempt to fix the situation, using the method that the client chooses.  This could be a re-shoot of the original captures, or a re-edit of the captures to create final image(s).  This could even be a refund of any retainer dollars already exchanged.  (My unrecoverable outside expenses related to the shoot will still be invoiced;  I strive to minimize that risk.  This will be made clear to clients before I contract for them.)

Bottom line, my success hinges on my clients' success.  My business is only in business to see my clients succeed at theirs.  My goal is to never forget that fact.