How to shoot those night shots
One of our most common requests from architects and builders is the dusk shot. There’s a magical time when the ambient daylight and the artificial light from the scene are in balance and usually we’ve only got a few minutes to capture the shot. For this reason we usually get our shots lined up and composed well in advance – then wait it out. Over the years we’ve discovered the the best time usually occurs somewhere between sunset and one hour past (or sunrise and one hour before.) Exactly when the right time will be will depend on your latitude, the time of year, weather, which direction you’re shooting and how much artificial light there is to contend with. Also, it’s not uncommon for us to supplement the ambient light with some of our own. Landscape and structural lighting are designed for purposes other than photography, and as such occasionally need some help. We’ll also often use compositing techniques like layer masking and HDR to get our desired shot.
Shot at about 9pm, 30 minutes after sunset
Maine Media Workshops
In July I was lucky enough to attend an architectural photography workshop at Maine Media Workshops. Maine is a great place in July – much nicer than the DC area. We visited a number of great locations including…
Does good photography matter?
Since you’re reading this on a photography blog, there’s not really any suspense as to the answer. Of course a photographer things photography matters. But what about other people? One of our regular restaurant clients made a remark regarding their current summer menu. This menu (which contains more photos than usual) has been phenomenally successful. As in on the order of triple what they usually do. Now of course, most of that has to do with the quality of the product – but I’ll take some of the credit!
Kahve Cafe in Edgewater, MD
One of my regular magazine clients sends us to these small independent restaurant/eateries every month. It’s not a big production, but it’s fun. Recently we were assigned to cover Kahve in Edgewater (just outside of Annapolis.) It’s a small family run coffee shop with the twist of a built in pastry chef!
Residential Architecture Photography
A few selects from a recent residential architecture project…
And, if you’re so inclined, it’s for sale…
New home construction photos
Usually we work for architects, or sometimes designers. This time around we were working for the builder. Wonderful space and you can really see how it’s going to come together nicely. Builder: Cooper Builders, St. Michaels, MD
Don’t steal
For those who don’t know – using images without permission is copyright infringement, or to put it simply, stealing. You know that big FBI piracy warning at the beginning of movies? Same idea. So if you see an image online and you think, “That would look great on my site.” Don’t just grab it.
For those who know better, but think they won’t get caught – two words… Picscout and Tineye. Both are reverse search engines that scour the web for images. Show them your image, and they go out and find it online.
FWIW – my most infringed image…
