The mission: Capture the fun and excitement of the outdoor Ice Rink in dowtown Silver Spring Maryland while highlighting the spectacular lighting and architecture of the Civic Center and Ice Rink for the contractor.
Of course there was only one time to do this! At twilight! However, the timing proved a little more dificult than I thought. I actually shot it twice. The first time I had it scheduled, on a Wednesday evening, Silver Spring was a ghost town! Only 3 people on the rink!
I had to reschedule for a Saturday night, but was concerned because sometime too many people can overwelm, and detract form the buildings and architecture. I think it worked out well though! Ive included images from both nights.
Wow! If I had to get my car worked on, I wouldn’t mind spending time in this service center. A beautiful design by Marty Bates of Bates Architecture . Take a look at some of the photography.
It’s hard to document the building of a commercial building from start to finish. The absolute best way to do it is to do aerial photography of the site. Not only can you see the whole site, but you can clearly see each phase and watch it progress from ground breaking, to final site clean-up!
With a background in aviation, I’ve been doing aerial photography for almost 20 years. Coupled with my use of gyroscopic stabilizing equipment, I can produce some of the sharpest aerial photography that you’ve seen. And I can reliably photograph a project at regular intervals to produce outstanding progress photography.
Take a look at this slide show of a project over a period of a couple of years.
Apartment building construction is on the rise in Maryland, DC and Virginia. I have had many assignments over the last year or so to photograph everything from subsidized and student housing to high-end luxury apartments. Architects, commercial contractors, commercial real estate companies, REIT’s, and apartment owners need to market these properties to take advantage of an ever increasing number of renters in America. And as an architectural and interior photographer I have been asked to create beautiful images of these buildings highlighting the spacious units as well as the amenities.
Here is a portfolio of architectural images of apartment buildings in Virginia, Washington, DC and Maryland.
A recent commercial photo shoot for a sign company at the Washington Convention Center. Architectural and Interior photography can come in different forms. And when you need to market your product; photograph it!
Illuminated signage poses its own problems due to that fact that it is brighter than its surroundings. A close up image of the sign is fairly straight forward. However when shooting it in its natural setting, the background will go very dark. The solution? Multiple exposures combined via high dynamic range photography. HDR allows you to compress a broad expanse of exposure values into one image. Essentially the Ansell Adams Zone System of the modern day! To enhance the signage, I allowed the overall background to go a little darker than usual which makes the signs really pop!
OK. Ok. I know it has been a while since I’ve posted to my blog. I’ve been very busy! Lots of buildings to be photographed! It never ceases to amaze me, how beautiful, inviting, and warm healthcare space has become. The Patient Care Tower at Franklin Square Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland is no exception.
Take a look!
I was recently hired to photograph the Royal Caribbean cruise ship “Enchantment of the Seas” as it made its way up the Patapsco River under the Francis Scott Key Bridge into the Maryland Port Administration’s Cruise Terminal.
With Marty Jenoff of Focal Point Productions in the back expertly operating the video cameras and Roy Taylor on the controls of the helicopter, we launched at sunrise into a beautiful June morning, complete with clear skies and calm winds.
This was one of the most enjoyable aerial photo sessions that I’ve experienced as Roy; one of the most seasoned pilots in Baltimore, skillfully maneuvers the aircraft into every needed position almost as if reading my mind. And Marty blew me away with his creative video action while he showed me the incredible capabilities of the video system onboard. Hats off to these guys for a great morning!
Architecture. People. Do you combine them? Do you like to have people in the images of the buildings you are showcasing? Architects, interior designers, construction and real estate professionals seem to differ on their opinions. Some feel that the space is designed for people to use so they want to have people using it. Others feel that when showcasing there building, the people are a distraction.
I have photographed plenty of both, and although they look great together, they have to be handled completely different.
Architecture is stationary and requires long exposures to photograph properly. People, on the other hand, cannot stay still long enough for the 15 to 30 second exposures required for interior design photography. And although having a blurred person in motion at say an airport terminal is a nice effect, there are times when the people need to be sharp and in focus.
How do I pull it off? Multiple exposures. I’ll usually place the people into the scene then photo them at a wider aperture, shorter shutter speed. Then I’ll ask them to move out off the scene and I shoot the architectural image as I usually do. After some careful Photoshop merging, I’ll end up with a beautiful mix of people in space! And of course now I have the best of both worlds, the image with people and without!
Architects. Designers. Commercial Contractors. Real Estate Professionals. Developers. Builders. You’ve designed or built a really unique building. Now it’s time to show it off! How do you make it jump out and grab people’s attention? Shoot it at twilight! Not only are twilight images lush with color, but they are great for drawing attention to the interior spaces while showing the exterior of the building. It is the only way to do that in one image!
Take a look at the slideshow below. Twilight really makes architecture look magical!
Interior design photography has changed over the years. I remember the days when you had to have Sherpas to help you carry all of the lighting required to adequately light the space while keeping the mood and presence that the designer or architect intended for the space. If there were windows in the space, most of the photography had to be done near the twilight hour so that the light coming in from outside did not overwhelm. Once it became dark, unless there was a beautiful cityscape that could be seen, the windows were dead space. And since film could only record a narrow latitude of exposure, dark areas would have to be lit (and lit as if the light was part of the space) so the scene would be more evenly illuminated to fit into the films exposure capabilities.
I remember spending hours setting up views ahead of time so that at the twilight hour, I could run around like a wild man shooting the views while the light outside was perfect. All this was fine and good during the summer when it stayed light late and you could work after the close of business. However it became quite a challenge to shoot and schedule say a corporate office project in the winter when twilight happened at 4:30 to 5:30 pm before the close of business.
Boy, have things changed! Enter digital photography. Specifically, HDR (high dynamic range) digital photography! The essence of this type of photography is basically the combination of multiple exposures to capture all of the light values in the scene then combine them into one image. It is a pretty complex process but it allows us to see an image of an interior space like our eyes see it. No blown out highlights or pitch black shadow areas.
Clients are sometimes surprised to see that when I shoot I no longer have to have lights set up all over the place. And when they see the completed images, they are amazed that I was able to really capture the space in the lighting that was designed for the space without additional light. And not only that, but I am able to complete the photography in a much shorter period of time with less inconvenience to the client. Ok. True. I do spend quite a bit more time on the computer processing the final images. But the results are beautiful! Absolutely beautiful!
Have you ever seen a photo of a building and it looks like it is falling over backwards! I’m sure you have. It is very common among snap shooters! The unaware photographer simply points his/her camera up so that the entire building, including the top will be in the frame, and voila; you have another beautiful work of architecture turned into the leaning tower of Pisa!
Architects, interior designers, commercial contractors, and structural engineers are very familiar with the concept of architectural perspective. It is a simple concept that when you tilt a camera from its vertical position, whatever is farther away will appear smaller. Just like railroad tracks appear smaller in the distance as you look down them. The only way to have them look even would be to hover over the track and look straight down.
When you tilt the camera back to shoot architecture you are breaking a major rule of architectural photography. Don’t get me wrong, there are times when tilting the camera will actually enhance the image, such as architectural details or other graphic purposes. But in general, a full view of a building that is falling backward is an eyesore and does a complete disservice to the architect and builder! And when I see a professional photographer that shows an image like that, while they may be good at portraits or weddings, they need to learn more about shooting architecture!
That being said, how do you photo a building without pointing the camera up? First of all, you may need a wide angle lens to get the whole building in the frame. Second, many photographers use architectural shift lenses which allow them to keep the camera level and shift or raise the lens barrel upward to take in the upper part of the building so that the camera does not have to be tilted. The same thing is done and has been done by many years using a view camera (Accordion type camera which many think are old-time cameras). The view camera allows the photographer to shift the front lens element upward while the film or camera back remains level. The view camera is also used by product photographers for the exact same reason; so that the product does not look like it is leaning or falling over!
So what if you don’t have all this fancy camera equipment to control architectural perspective? In a word, Photoshop! Photoshop has a plethora of tools to control perspective as well as an advanced perspective control module. It allows complete control over the perspective of an image including distortion cause by wide angle lenses.
So when you find that photos make your building look like it’s had a little too much to drink, learn to harness the power of perspective control or let a seasoned architectural photographer take the shots!
And of course here is a slideshow of architectural details where the use of incorrect perspective is perfectly acceptable. Do you have any thoughts about architectural perspective? Please feel free to comment!
I’m often asked that question. The truth is a lot goes into really good architectural or interior design photography! And although as a photographer I am sometimes asked if do weddings; I would never attempt to photograph someone’s wedding. A good wedding photographer knows the scripts and sequences of the event and has a knack for getting the great shots.
The same is true with a good architectural photographer. There are many techniques, some learned over years of experience, which allow the photographer to create that high impact architectural image. Some of the elements that need to be thought through include lighting, composition, time of day, weather conditions, landscaping, furnishings and vehicles and pedestrian traffic to name a few. And most of the time the conditions are not optimal. Not only does the timing need to be impeccable, but problems need to be solved during photography and afterwards via digital retouching.
A few examples of the multitude of daily challenges I encounter include:
-the moving van that parks in front of the building to unload furniture right when the lighting is perfect
-the mechanical crew that is scheduled to remove ceiling tiles and work on the wiring throughout the space the same day the photographer is scheduled.
-during the 10 minutes of perfect twilight to shoot a building, the cleaning crew is turning lights out inside after you meticulously prepared to have the lights in the building on.
-arriving at an office building on a Sunday morning to photograph it without vehicles only to find the people that decide to work that day park in the most convenient spots right up against the building.
-finding out that the office space that you need to photograph is staffed by overzealous holiday decorators that hang so many decorations that it would take 3 days of Photoshop work to remove.
Not to mention changing weather conditions or the gazillion times I’ve arrived at a project that I was told was ready to photograph only to find out that no furniture or artwork had been delivered yet!
Many times there are situations where there are obstructions or elements that simply cannot be physically moved. And literally in every architectural view there are physical elements that negatively impact the image. This is where digital retouching comes in. In my opinion it is an integral part of the photography process and I spend at least as much time on digital clean-up as I spend doing the actual photography.
Just like a portrait photographer retouches a face to soften wrinkles or remove blemishes, an architectural or interior design photographer needs to remove unsightly objects. Interior distractions such as bright exit signs, switch plates and electrical outlets, dangling wires from phones and computers to name a few. And exterior blemishes such as imperfect asphalt or dead grass, ugly signage or lamp posts, etc. need to be removed as well. I’m not diminishing the importance of mechanical elements in a modern building, and I usually keep a copy of the image with the removed elements in place. But for an architect, commercial contractor, or interior designer, their space is best shown without the distractions.
Although a considerable amount of work goes into a clean architectural or interior design image, more work than many realize, the final results are worth the effort! And the outstanding final images make the building and its designers and builders really shine!
Take a look at a couple after and before shots of some recent photography.
After shot of the the Ford Motor Company corporate offices in Washington DC.
Before shot of the the Ford Motor Company corporate offices in Washington DC.
I have been fortunate enough to have one of my images used for the cover of the Associated Builders & Contractors Metro Washington Chapter magazine “Building Washington”. The January issue image is of the new Congressional Country Club Clubhouse addition built by Coakley Williams Construction.
This particular “twilight” image was actually shot at about 4:45 in the morning on late spring day, one of the longest days of the year! And of course we had to get there earlier to get all the lights on and set up the patios & pool areas for the rest of the photography.
The effort was worth it! The project yielded some beautiful photography and my congratulations to Coakley Williams Construction for their project winning an ABC “Excelence in Construction” award.
The photography of the project is featured in this slideshow, or you can view it at http://www.photoshelter.com/c/jeffreysauers/gallery/Congressional-Country-Club-Photography-of-Clubhouse-Addition-By-Jeffrey-Sauers/G00003A6saS5CayA
We all look at a completed building and see the uniquness of the architecture, the beauty of the landscaping, etc. Many times it is only “the big picture” that is seen. That is why architectural details can be so fascinating. A small graphic slice of a building!
The same can be true of a construction site. Just because the “big picture” is mostly steel, concrete and lots of mud dosen’t mean that there is no exciting photography! These “slices” of construction have a huge appeal for marketing construction products and services. They make for great annual reports and corporate brochure cover shots!
I have been on many construction sites. And getting the good shots is not always as easy as it looks. A hard hat and steel tip boots are a must! And of course you need permission from the contractor and they have to know that you’re not a novice on a construction site particularly on an active site. But once you get on the site and start to make yourself at home, that’s when you start to see the good shots. And an active construction site can yeild all kinds of great shots.
Graphic Designers are often looking for dynamic images to use on the cover or throughout annual reports, brochures or marketing pieces. When it comes to architectural firms, construction companies, real estate firms, developers or other companies in the building trade, using architectural detail shots is almost a must!
Many buildings have very graphic and artistic details, that are often overlooked when viewing the building as a whole. But when viewed through the lense of an imaginative architectural photographer those graphic details “come alive” as works of art! I assure you that the architect that designed the building sees and appreciates every artistic aspect of the building that he or she so intricately designed!
One good thing about flying airplanes is that you can get where you want to go pretty quickly! But when asked to photograph cruise ships as they make their way into the Baltimore harbor it’s “hurry up and wait”!
The mission: Track the Carnival cruise ship “Pride” and the Royal Caribbean “Grandeur of the Seas” on their inaugural sails up the Patapsco River, under the Francis Scott Key Bridge, to the Maryland Port Administration’s Cruise Terminal. Since we wanted to show the ships and various terminals in the Port of Baltimore, it was more efficient to use an airplane rather than a helicopter. Had we really needed to “get down on” the ship, a helicopter would have been a better option.
I always use a gyro-stabilizer on my camera when doing aerial photography since it eliminates a considerable amount of camera shake and allows for those crisp, sharp images that clients expect from an aerial photographer. And of course given that you have a ship traveling at less than 15 knots and you’re in an airplane traveling 100 knots, you have time to shoot plenty of images and do quite a bit of zigzagging, doughnuts, u-turns, you name it! If you’re not a seasoned aviator, you might want to bring along a Sic-Sac!
All worth the effort, and the shooting sessions yielded some great stuff!
It’s one thing to take a point and shoot camera to DC to take snapshots of our government buildings; but try taking a professional camera on a tripod to the corner of Pennsylvania Ave. and 17th St. (which is right next to the White House) and camp out to take photographs of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building! The Capitol Police (not to mention the Secret Service) will be on you like white on rice!
That’s exactly what I did to get the beautiful images of the EEOB. Ok, I must admit; I did get prior written permission from the United States Secret Service before I even thought about showing up there with my camera! Even after I contacted the security officer to let him know that I had arrived, I was approached by multiple police officers verifying my authorization. Talk about high profile!
Of course this was all pre-planned and organized along with the architect that hired me to do the photography. It was all worth it! The client was thrilled with the shots and I was able to escape without ending up in custody! Check it out!
Recently I was hired to photograph the new Cultural Arts Center at Montgomery College in Bethesda, Maryland. The client had a fairly tight budget for this project but they still wanted to include some people in the space and include interiors, exteriors and twilight shots all in the same day! Ok! I can do that!
I knew, of course, that in order to accomplish it in one day I would need good weather, a day when school wasn’t in session, and reliable models. I scheduled the photo shoot during the Christmas break, managed to get a beautiful day and ended up working with a wonderful dancer/model that worked as a dance teacher at the school. Also critical in a photo shoot such as this, someone was available to open locked doors and control all the lighting in the building.
Architecture photography can tend to throw a lot of curve balls. It is always a satisfying feeling when everything goes smoothly as this assignment did. Here is a slide show of some of the shots from the project.
A while ago an architect asked me to photograph a very unique apartment building in Arlington, Virginia. The mission was to shoot some exterior views with two very specific goals. The first was to create a very sexy twilight shot of the building. The second was to shoot a daytime exterior that showed the hustle bustle of the area complete with people walking, vehicle traffic, etc.
The problem: There wasn’t a lot of foot traffic due to the proximity of the building with regards to the working district! Additionally, having vehicles passing in front of a building is not as easy as it seems. They are either blocking the building or they never are balanced in the shot along with people walking. I pride myself on creating images of buildings that are devoid of unsitely vehicles that distract from or block parts of a building. So I knew that it would have to work some magic!
The solution of course was to shoot mutliple exposures of the building as cars were passing as well as when pedestirans were walking by the building. I made sure that my shutter speed was slow enough to aloow the cars to blur as they passed. This is not a situation when you want to “freeze frame” the cars. That would be very static. The motion creats the dynamic movement for the “hustle bustle” feel. Then later in Photoshop, I would stack the images and basically place the cars and people where I wanted them in the scene. This way I could keep complete control of the image.
As far as the twilight image was concered, timing is everything! Perfect twilight on last only about 15 minutes. We were about ready to cancel the photo shoot for the evening since it had rained all day. The forscast was for some clearing later. I decided to take a chance and give it a shot knowing that often clouds can make for a nice effect at twilight. Wow! You couldn’t ask for a sexier sky!
Well, here we go! I’m looking forward to sharing images and ideas with you regarding photography of all kinds of architecture, as well as landscapes, corporate and aerial photography. I’m sure I’ll wander outside of these genres since I enjoy shooting people as well. But architecture and interiors is may forte and Ive been doing it for a living for over 16 years.
For those of you who don’t know me, I’m married, three kids(oldest in college), chocolate lab retriever, and I love photography. So much that I gave up an airline career to pursue photography full-time. Yes, I was an airline pilot with a US Air commuter airline (Allegheny). Loved flying. Still do. But photography was my real passion and I was doing quite a bit of aerial photography on the side (not out of the airliner, of course but out of Cessna’s, as I still do). The aerial photography of buildings evolved into a love of architecture and now of course architectural and interior design photography make up the bulk of my work.
Enough of the boring talk about myself. Here’s a slide show of a few images of the type of projects I’m shooting now.
