Anatomy of a Cake Photograph

In order to make a good food photograph there are a bunch of things that go on behind the scenes. I thought I would lift the curtain and let you in on what I did in order to photograph a cake earlier this week. As the ideas start to form I am looking for a couple of things. First, I think there should a unifying theme that tells some kind of story to draw you in. Second it should be appealing to look at, and since we are talking about food it should appeal to your appetite as well.

Before I got the actual cake in my hands I started out with a iPhone picture. It was helpful because it allowed me to start thinking of how I might approach the photo. Looking at the cake I can start to make decisions. I first start with adjectives to come up with some kind of theme. The cake is beautiful, flowery, feminine, detailed, uses flowing organic forms. The cake feels sophisticated, rather than a super punchy palette of colors it has a mellower dusty kind of palette. It feels British and reminds me of floral textiles. Then, there is the sheer volume of the flowers, this is bold and expressionistic. This cake has personality!

Wider shot, doesn't crop the plate.

The real star of the show is the cake, everything else is there to allow the eye to move around the picture and to enhance the subject. So I am looking for things that aren’t screaming for attention but gently enhance. I decided, since the color was more subdued, that there should be relatively little color in the surrounding background. For the wall I decided to use a pale color that mimicked the color theme of the cake. I tried both the dusty rose and gray blue and felt that the gray blue gave more depth. I have 4’x4’ sheets of wood painted all sorts of colors to use as walls, so changing a wall color is a simple as sliding in a new sheet of wood. For the tabletop I decided to keep the color subdued as well. The tabletop is one of many that I have at the ready and is made of reclaimed wood from an old house. I have slats of all colors and textures that I can easily throw down for totally different looks. I decided to use these particular pieces because I felt that the cake’s dusty colors and delicate flowers felt somewhat nostalgic or heirloom and that more antique surface would play nicely with that theme. 

A tight vertical image. Verticals are more common for print, horizontals for web use.

Props are a crucial part of food photography especially with cakes, since the shape is so uniform from cake to cake. The familiar pill shape of a cake can get boring very quickly, so different shapes can break up the form and keep things interesting. I feel like in this case theprops not only break up the monotony of a plain background but feel inviting as though the cake is just about to be cut and served and tea enjoyed. The demitasse cups play off of the delicate nature of the flower decorations and pick up colors in the theme. The plates and linen were actually more pure white than they are in the finished versions. I toned them slightly warmer to match the cake and cups and suggest through the styling that this is a buttercream cake. Finally the cake plate is a bit of a nod to the bold flowers. The swirly pattern is a playful reminder of icing that keeps the whole thing contemporary and playful as a counterpoint to the antique cups and surface.

A wider vertical image with no cropping of the plate. One reason it pays to have different versions is if there might be text used over the image once it is printed.

Once props are decided on then I typically look for the front of the dish, there always seems to be a best angle for a plate. Everything gets put in place, and I am ready to start shooting pictures. Since I have a bunch of time with a cake I will look at the photos on my iPad and determine if things could look any better. Often I will make a million tiny adjustments till things are just right. Then, I will try a number of angles, close, low, high, overhead, till I know I have the shot. For this cake I got 5 variations that I like, and in all I made 44 exposures. Some of the exposures had different lighting or different arrangements but in the end there were 5 clear winners.

I am really fond of this one as well. The lighting is a little crisper. For the photography nerds out there, I used a beauty dish with some bounced fill, it really gives it a nice contrast.

As you may now know, there are a bunch of considerations to make when doing food photography. All of this doesn’t even begin to speak of the artistry of the cake itself, which was made by Berlyn Mellein of Honey and Rose Bakery. Berlyn sells her amazing cakes, cupcakes and baked goods at Artisan Exchange in West Chester. If you get chance visit her Honey and Rose Bakery Facebook page. I am often asked if I get to eat the food I photograph and in this case I can honestly say the cake was as delicious as it looked.

Thanks for reading, I love to hear from you and answer questions so if you have any please don't be shy. If you are a chef, baker, cook, restauranteur, food blogger, writer or food service business owner and need great food photography, I would love to hear about your project. Contact me for a free quote. If you would like to see more of my photography visit www.danieljacksonphoto.com

Controlling Light While Photographing Exterior Architecture

When photographing architecture there are a lot of techniques we photographers have at our disposal to make the most of a tough situation but sometimes we must rely on luck when it comes to the weather. We schedule our shoots around the weather and sometimes we even have to wait for the season to change to get good conditions for photography. This happened on a recent shoot where the client needed images right away the building didn’t get a lick of light on the front of the building all day. 

A tighter crop from the same image, I love all of the extra pixels I get from my 51 megapixel camera. I have plenty of options in post to re-frame and re-compose. Really useful for page headers or creative graphic design presentations. 

With a little research I was able to find out that at this part of the season the building never got light on the front. In a few months along with the longer days would come the sun, but that wasn’t going to help me now. Typically when shooting exterior architecture you schedule all of the shots to get the best results. You try and hit a perfect window of time, where the light skims the building showing the detail and texture without ugly raking contrasty shadows. Early in the morning and late in the afternoon are often among the best times but it is important to get some direct light to make things pop, so really anything goes. Getting good quality lighting can be the difference between a good and bad architectural photograph.

Sun Seeker app on my iPad pro, I can have a good idea of what I will be looking at on the day of the shoot. If I am shooting this building street side and I want light on the face of the building then I better shoot before 10am. As the seasons change the angle changes but then so does foliage, so there is a lot to consider when getting the optimum architectural shot.

One tool architectural photographers use these days are apps that plot the sun’s path and apply the information to satellite maps. These programs can really help simplify the task of scheduling how to make the most of the light during the day. I use one called “Sun Seeker” that shows the path of the sun during the day, and the sunrise and sunset times for the day of the shoot. These apps are incredibly accurate and can even project where the sun will be in three weeks or three months. While shooting a recent project I discovered that there wouldn't be any direct sun on the face of the building for months. The sun at sunrise was very close to putting some light on the building’s facade but shortly after sunrise the sun would go towards the back of the building in an arc. The brief window of time never really amounts to the perfect light that you hope for in this situation. Rather than illuminating the textures the light just put confusing patterns of shadows on the wall. Since the building’s front would be in the shade cast by the eaves during the day, I knew everything would be flat and lacking in detail. 

The best option was to capture the building in the early morning. I ended up shooting at dawn, early enough for the light to have a nice directionality to it. While there wouldn't be any direct sunlight, the fact that the sun was far to the side on the horizon gave the light some heft and show off the the design. I showed up onsite a little before dawn, set up my camera and made lots of exposures till the sun came up and made a beautiful sky. I just keep shooting until all of the warm sunrise colors disappear, then I go back through the exposures and pick out a winner. I love the quiet as the day starts, watching the sunrise is a pretty great way to spend the morning.

Twilight images don't need direct sun and often show off the building brilliantly. This one was done as an elevation, probably very close to the way the design appeared on the "blueprints" when the design was being worked up.

The twilight image was made in a very similar way. I typically set up my camera before dusk and start making exposures. Ideally, the goal is to catch the building, the dramatic beautiful sky and all of the interior lights in perfect balance. So first I am looking to catch an exposure that catches some detail in the building and makes the sky look as good as possibly can.  When it gets dark enough I make an exposure of the windows. Finally, with a flashlight I hit areas on the building that need a little light. This image had the additional issue of being extremely wide. I couldn’t back up far enough to get it into a conventional camera so I had to take advantage of one of the features of a tilt-shift lens or perspective correction lens. The image was photographed with the lens shifted to one side, and while the camera remains absolutely still the lens shifts to the other side capture the rest of the image in another exposure. I am planning go into more depth on twilight photos and Tilt/shift lenses in future blog posts, so keep checking back to this space.

A close up crop of the twilight image. Rather than hoping for the perfect sun conditions during a twilight shot you keep your fingers crossed for just the right amount of clouds, too many clouds and no sunset too few clouds and welcome to boring town.

In the end, there are all sorts of ways to make the best of the situation, from polarizing filters to photoshop. And it isn’t uncommon to turn a gray dismal day into a bright sunny day with the help of a little judicious lighting. It seems that everyday I learn new techniques and workarounds just in time for the next weird challenge that comes out of nowhere.

Thanks for reading, Let me know if you have any questions. If you are an architect, builder or developer and need great quality photography to promote your business, contact me with the details of your project for a free quote. I am located just outside of Philadelphia but can be found with my camera in hand photographing in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and all over Pennsylvania. If you would like to see more of my photography visit danieljacksonphoto.com

On The Cutting Room Floor

This last summer I was thrilled to be a part of a book project demonstrating cake decorating techniques. My job was to provide food photography for the book. There was no art director on site and no prop stylist so I was also doing art direction and prop styling for the photos. Over the course of a few weeks I got to photograph 40 some odd cakes and thousands of step-by-step images. I gathered surfaces, tabletops, backdrops and all sorts of props, and lined the walls of our shared studio/kitchen space. When I got the job the pressure of making sure that so many cakes look interesting and unique came down on me. I have tons of props, plates, silverware and the like. But for this I was going to need cake stands and lots of them, I was also going to need a metric ton of servers. I had a few weeks to prepare so I started to spend all of my free time online looking for deals. Amazon and eBay got a lot of use as did my prime membership. Every day several new cake stands and servers arrived, but I knew I needed more. It was all like a sick game of Brewsters Millions. A film from the eighties where the hero had to spend so much money as to hate the sight of money in order to get his inheritance. Before this, most shopping online was somewhat pleasurable for me, After, I was glad to be finished. Once everything was gathered together at the ready, the author, her assistant Leigh and my assistant Don and I worked feverishly in Philadelphia for several weeks. With so many cakes we really had to be creative to keep things looking fresh. We would gather cake stands, plates, silverware, knives, plates and backgrounds and props and try and figure out which combinations of colors and textures worked together. We tried to make every shot interesting and appealing. Everyone on set had ideas and were encouraged to chime in when something wasn't quite working or could be improved. Once everything was set up just right I would photograph from every conceivable angle, move things, take things in and out of the shot, fiddle with shadows all as quickly as possible so we could move on to the next cake. In the end I am quite proud of the results and can't wait to see the book in print.

A couple of different versions of this design ended up in the book but not as one of the featured cakes. I have many versions of this, it was an extremely photogenic subject.

As the author and designer finalized the book and I processed the files I was sad to find that a few of our favorite images didn't make it in. It was slightly depressing because they are some of the most ambitious cakes we did. I am glad that they will get seen here, by you, and in the end it will make a better book. All of the food styling was done by the Author Carey and her super talented assistant Leigh. I am fairly perfectionistic so watching the two of them work was a treat, they were like machines, fast, efficient, precise and most importantly creative. During the course of a food shoot of this size there are a million little issues that have to be worked out and they were unshakable. I had so much fun working on this and I can't wait to share more photos. For now this is a bit of a teaser.

An example of some of the simple propping and styling we did. Details made all the difference.

If you are interested in finding out more about the book it is called Buttercream Basics by Carey Madden published by Robert Rose and it will be released March 22nd of this year. If you are in the culinary business and need food photography and would like a free quote or just to discuss options for promoting your product or business I would love to hear about it. To see more of my food photography portfolio visit www.danieljacksonphoto.com or contact me here.

Mini Review: Styled

    To launch my new resolution of reviewing design books for the blog, I thought I would pick a recent favorite, Styled by Emily Henderson. The book covers making small changes to a room for the biggest impact, and it really focuses on the subject from a interior photo stylist’s perspective. The reason I am so fond of this book is that it fills a niche that very few design books do. Practical advice. Many design books showcase great design but are very light on the substance, especially if you are looking for real world techniques that you can apply today. I don’t know how many books I have that say things like ”pay special attention to color” or “texture can really enhance a design”. Styled is great because it gives me techniques I can use right away. For example the book goes through how to compose vignettes by breaking down the component parts and suggesting types of pairings that work well together. It states what colors work together, what shapes and textures.

Mmmmm, specifics. I love it!

    The book quickly goes through various types and eras of design and tries to help you discover exactly what your individual style is. As varied as the design within is there is anunderlying style that I really respond to. It is quirky and creative and tends towards displaying personality rather than austerity. Tending towards quirkier elements like cool paintings and flea market finds, so I get a charge from the rooms in the book. 

    The photographer side of me loves to look at how everything is composed and photographed and this book doesn’t disappoint. The photography is very bright and punchy and reads very naturally, although I suspect some lighting was used. There is a tendency throughout towards everything being bright and easy to discern rather than moodier and darker but it is a perfect fit for the designers style. As always I wish there were a few behind the scenes shots of the photography. I always love to see images of the photographer at work, if I am lucky it helps me reverse engineer how the shots were put together, and maybe try out a few new techniques or ideas on my next interior design photography shoot.

Inspiring photography, and tons of good ideas.

    One of the primary reasons that I started reading so many design books was to improve my styling, and figure out ways that I could nudge a design a bit for the camera. Most interior designers I work with have this covered in spades, but it never hurts to have another sympathetic pair of eyes on set. I have found that keeping up helps me speak the same language as the designer. Even when I shoot architectural photography where I typically work alone, all of the principles still hold true. Now I know that if I am going to move a plant in the shot, I have a good idea exactly where it should go and what it should accomplish. It might add height to draw the eye or break an otherwise harsh horizontal line it might give softness to an overly boxy or square grouping. 

Photos and descriptions that walk you through the concepts rather than inspirational quotes, what a concept.

    This book would be good for anyone looking to understand and start styling at all. The techniques apply no matter what project you are working on and there is enough meat here for the the whole design let alone for photo styling. It is refreshing to have a book in my library that is focused on styling for photography because there are so few of them. I have at least one other that is long since out of print but still a gem because the information is so perfectly directed towards what I am looking to accomplish.

    Thanks for reading. Let me know if there are any other photo styling books or resources that you know about, I would love to read more on the subject. And if you are an interior designer or decorator that needs great interior photography to promote your latest project contact me for a free quote, I work throughout the mid-atlantic, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania you name it. If you would like to see some examples of my interior design photography visit www.danieljacksonphoto.com.

Obsessed Much?

So, I have developed a bit of a "thing" with design books. As I've gotten more involved in photographing interior design I have also developed a fondness for learning about design myself. Books, as well as "shelter magazines" like Dwell, World of Interiors, Architectural Digest and Elle Decor satisfy my insatiable need for good photos and ideas. I love to pick apart what makes the images work and at the same time understand the underlying design, what makes it tick. 

On the photography side I try and reverse engineer how the photographer might have created the image. Was it natural light? Was it lit? How much styling was done by the photographer? With some careful inspection of the shadows in a picture, you can learn a lot. Unfortunately for me the quality in these magazines is so good that it can be difficult to tell.

One thing I learned quickly about doing commercial photography is that a photographer is almost like a movie producer. The buck stops with the photographer, and everything in the frame is their responsibility. So if an architectural interiors photographer steps into a space and the furniture looks wrong and things aren't balanced, then you go through the space and start editing. Maybe moving a couch a bit here, straightening the chairs a bit, even decluttering a bookshelf. The idea is not to change the design, but to make it read well on camera. A design can look amazing in person and be really difficult to translate into two dimensions.

As far as the design goes, I have noticed that masterful composition and control over lighting don't make very much difference without a compelling subject. Making good interior design photography is a synergy between the two artists coming together, the designer and the photographer. The photographer needs to try and understand the overall gesture of the design and what features need highlighting and interpret that for the printed page, portfolio or advertisement. If I'm lucky enough to work directly with the designer then we both work together to decide how to best show the designers intent. And if I am shooting solo, a decent understanding of interior design principles is invaluable.

I don't expect my love for books to wane at all, after all this is just some of the design books I have collected in the past few years. I would guess I have about ten times as many art and photography books. In the interest of sharing I might do a few reviews over the next few months of some of the books I have really enjoyed. Maybe in return you can tell me of any books that must absolutely be checked out. I hope to hear from you. As always, if you are an interior designer in, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, anywhere in the Mid-Atlantic and would like to discuss your project I would love to hear about it and provide a free quote. Or, if you are similarly fond of design books and want to share some titles, let's hear it. Visit www.danieljacksonphoto.com or contact me here.

The Fine Art of Digital File Processing

One of the things that keeps me interested in photography is just how difficult it is to master. There are all of the technical issues to overcome, like aperture and exposure and keeping things sharp. Then a slew of artistic concerns like composition, color, harmony and design. All of this comes to play, in the field, when you are out there with your camera in hand(or on tripod). But, where it can get really interesting is what happens later, when the files get processed.

one of many files used to create the final image, this one  captures the exterior lights over the garage bays. As you can see the colors very different between the inside and out. In person it doesn't look this strange, so it is my job to make the colors match and look natural.

In architectural photography it is not uncommon for photographers to take advantage of the fact that buildings don't move, which puts all sorts of creative possibilities on the table. The reason that an unmoving subject can make things more interesting is that the photographer can put their camera on a steady tripod and if things stay absolutely still between shots they can combine multiple exposures. The different exposures can each provide a function, one image might capture the perfect sky exposure, another might get the lights just right. An exposure can be made using a large black sheet to block reflections from glass or metal in the shot. As long as you are careful to only include the best parts, you can literraly be in the shot, and removed later. As you can imagine, things get complicated quickly and require excellent photoshop skills to massage everything into a usable image.

This image is another of the many used to create the final composite. This image catches the interior lights, but another exposure was needed to light the fronts of the trucks. By adjusting the length of exposure every element can be exposed properly.

The way files are added together and constructed into a final image is learned through experience and reflects the "eye" of the artist. Over time, I get better and better at compositing and often wonder just how different my images would be if I were to re-process the same project a few years later. I do this from time to time to perfect different techniques and compare the results to an earlier image constructed from the exact same set of photos. It seems strange that the exact same set of images can get such different results but it's true. Photoshop is such a vast program with so many methods to achieve similar results that it behaves like more organic media, like clay or paint than what we expect from digital media.

Which brings me to the last two images in this post. They are the result of revisiting an image that I was quite happy with. This image is in my portfolio so it represents some of my best work at the time. The first of the two was processed about two and a half years ago and the other was processed today. I am happy with the results, I feel like I am progressing well. I think the color is a little more complex or rich in the new version. The new version has a nice snap to it without so much data lost in the lights and darks. I was happy with the roof since I was able to get a lot more detail and color out of the same images. Over the years I have collected techniques to get the most out of my files, of course this could be in part due to improved raw processing with newer software, but it is a fairly significant change.

This image was composited two years ago. I am still quite fond of the results. Simple bright colors, it almost looks like a 4th of July image.

In the end I am not 100% sure which version is the best, but it doesn't matter much since these pictures bring back such good memories of spending the day at the firehouse. Luckily, no alarms happened to sound during this final image and the whole thing went off without a hitch. I probably spent about 2 hours in post processing for each version. I think of post-production sort of like the darkroom of the digital artist and just another tool in the arsenal of the professional architectural photographer.

This is the version from today. I opted for a new sky, the sky in other version was such a long exposure it was noisy and lacked something. This sky works well with the shape of the building and feels more alive.

Thanks for reading. If you are interested in commissioning architectural photography of your latest project I would be glad to answer any questions you might have or provide a free quote. To see examples of my work head on over to my portfolio.

Showing the Functionality of Architecture

It seems like I am always photographing schools and churches. They are exactly the types of spaces that require an architect. As teaching methodology changes so do the classrooms and the architect brings a lot to the table. They know the trends and can design something that takes into account the needs of the institution on a case by case basis. Something I am starting to see more of, are classrooms that quickly change from one task to another. The class might look to one side of the room for the whiteboard to another for the projector. To facilitate all of the moving around the chairs and tables roll. I have watched during classes and it works perfectly. The students seem more engaged because there is no front or back of the classroom. At one moment the teacher can be making a point, a moment later a student giving a presentation. The teacher can design the shape the class can take in a few minutes before class, perhaps a lecture, or group work, a large circle or even one giant table.

In this example I was asked to rearrange the desks to show that the focal point of the room can change. There are countless ways that I could have arranged the desk. For these images we decided to keep things simple . When I got into the room I got a peek into how the space might be used on a daily basis. There were workstations against the wall, where a student might use a computer or work privately or take a quiz. The desks in the middle of the room faced forward , bracketed by side facing desks. It really becomes a creative tool that the teacher and students use together to shape their experience together.

Here is another example from a different school. You can see many of the same ideas at play here. In this design the desks are all independent and attached to a chair. In practice it means the students can follow the teacher around or form groups. I got to observe a class in this room and I was really impressed by how easily the class could turn and regroup.

The students could work on the white boards(pictured to the right of the image) and share their work with the class. The flow of the class was fascinating. The teacher could have an idea and move freely between different types of learning in a natural and intuitive way that kept the students engaged. This certainly feels like the way things are moving and is a perfect example of how good design can impact lives.

As the architectural photographer my job is simplify and let the design shine. I end up doing a little bit of clean-up. I get rid of distracting elements, like cords, boxes, bins, papers, strange things on the walls, ink on the whiteboard, pretty much anything that doesn't help show the space and it's functionality. Then I go through and make sure everything is straight and not crowded. In this case using the floor tiles to align the desks and chairs as perfectly as I can. Lighting plays a role too, depending on the angle I am shooting from the light can flatten the image and make it difficult to distinguish where one thing begins and another ends. On rooms of this scale I always use lighting to shape the room and give volume where it is needed. I combine images that are artificially lit with ambient light images in photoshop. I may use very little of the lit image or a lot depending what looks best. Lighting insures for me that I don't finish the shoot, get back to my studio and realize I didn't get the shot. I always have options and can hopefully turn any shot into something to be proud of. I am well aware that I am documenting something that may have taken years from start to finish so I want to get it perfect. Once back in the studio, I can look over the files and determine how to process the images to best tell the story of the space. There is a fine art of perfecting and retouching architectural photography that takes years to refine, but if you will take my word for it, it is also seriously fun.

Thanks so much for reading and if you have any questions or comments let me know. If you are an architect, builder, developer or designer and you need great photos to promote your business, contact me here and I would be glad to provide a free quote for you project.

Thoughts on the 5Ds for Architectural and Food Photography

Several months ago I decided to invest in a new camera, I was really excited about the new Canon  cameras the 5Ds and the 5Dsr. These new cameras had huge files, 51 megapixels, more than double the pixels of the camera I was currently using. It was such a giant leap in resolution I began to fantasize that this camera would be similar to the medium and large format cameras I used to use during the film days. I ended up going for the 5ds since architectural work is often full of repeating patterns like tiles and bricks I figured the anti-alias filter would save me a bunch of effort. I think the first thing to hit me after getting the camera was a little buyers remorse. I was impressed by the files but double the resolution doesn't always seem like twice as sharp. But really the issue ran deeper than that.

Once I began shooting I started to worry about these huge files, I had grown accustomed to working on a laptop with a calibrated monitor and hard drive space is at a premium these days with the switch to solid state drives. My whole system of backing up required some serious scrutiny. So, the camera sat there collecting dust. I would break it out for really important stuff but it was really just floundering there. On my little experiments with the camera as it was largely unused, I started to really enjoy the camera and the creative leeway that the huge files could provide. I was able to crop and re-compose my images like never before. The more I cropped the more I began to realize that distortion in lenses increases exponentially as it gets farther from the lens's center. So I could compose a shot and make editorial decisions later that could really improve my work.

wide shot at 51mp, more than enough for almost any use.

It was time to figure out how to deal with all of the space required for these huge files. I like keeping some work on my laptop so that I can re-visit and rework files even when not at home or work. (I can't help it, I am always messing around trying to find new cool techniques). I ended up getting a Raid drive, R.A.I.D. stands for something like, redundant automatic ice cube dispenser or something, (too lazy to check right now). The important word being redundant, in the case of my drives there are two in one enclosure and they are being run as identical copies, that way if one drive fails the other is still there with your data safe and sound. Then I signed up for a remote service that backs up everything off-site over the internet.

Tighter crop of the same image. The file is still huge, big enough for a billboard even after throwing out a ton of pixels.

Now that everything is running smoothly and I can choose between the big files or my other smaller camera, I usually opt for the larger files of the 5Ds. I might go for the other camera when I am shooting a lot or I am shooting something that I will never need to print huge like a head shot. But the advantages are so great when shooting architecture or food it seems like a no brainer. It feels like a win-win, I can deliver more options, customizable compositions that can be a dream when working with text and ad copy. It is one more thing that makes me stand out as a professional architectural photographer that always delivers solid work.

Thanks for reading, let me know if you have any questions or comments I would be glad to help if I know the answer. If you would like to get to know more about Daniel Jackson photo or my work please take a look at my portfolio, for quotes and availability I can be reached here.

Philadelphia Interior Design Photography

This was project I shot for both the designer and and a really great company that I have been lucky enough to work with a few times now. I have to say it is so cool to work with such amazing people, with a design like this it is hard to make a bad photograph. Not to mention in this case the designer is very visual and has great ideas about how to best show off the space. Interior design is fun to shoot because it is collaborative, everyone there becomes a team focused on the same goal, to get great shots.

A truism of shooting architectural photography and interior design or decor is that wide angle lenses introduce distortion. The closer to the center of the frame the less distortion and as you get farther to the sides the distortion can get quite bad. One trick is to keep objects out of the far corners where you are likely to see lens distortion. Another trick is to stay away from wide angle lenses when at all possible. It is always better to back up as far as possible and use a longer lens. I used that technique on all of these images. In this kitchen for example, the camera  was pushed up to the window on the window ledge. The only way to get farther back would be to shoot through a window, which I do rather often. of getting as far back as possible to use a longer lens and get a distortion-free shot. The farther back I get the longer lens I can use, or if I have plenty of pixels, I can crop off the distortion. A long lens is part of the solution but 99% of my architectural photography shots are done with special architectural lenses called perspective correction or tilt/shift lenses, combining these two techniques keeps all of the vertical lines parallel and insures great big files that can be blown up and used for huge prints. I have been lucky enough to see several of my standard images made into huge billboards and they still look nice and crisp blown up huge.

A wide angle lens on this shot would have made the space artificially long and made the foreground elements huge so again I pulled the camera waaaay back and then added an extender to my tilt/shift lens. The 1.4 extender made by Canon has the effect of making the lens less wide without sacrificing much quality. It is a common technique to architectural photographers. It always pays off in better images because it feels more like the way we experience being in the room.

I really love this space, the way the architectural geometric forms play against the organic forms of the chairs. The balance of the warm wood herringbone with the warm tones in the furnishings. The soft rounded shapes playing against the angular and the playful quality of the textures and colors of the textiles. I think If I save my pennies, I should be able to move in soon. I could get used to the view of the Philadelphia skyline. Let me know if you have any questions or comments. Perhaps you have an architectural or interior design you need photographed? Drop me a line, I would be glad to provide a free quote. To see more images, including of this project click here.

Kitchen from Delaware Designers Showcase

This is the maiden voyage of one of my New Years Resolutions, To get off of my duff and blog once in a while. I am going to try and periodically post on my blog about some of the interesting things I have been working on, with a little insight on how each project was completed. To start things off I wanted to post an image that didn't quite make it into my architectural photography portfolio. There wasn't anything necessarily wrong with the image, In fact I am quite happy with it, this was more of an editorial decision since there are plenty of kitchens in my portfolio right now.

When composing this shot, I ended up moving the camera as far back as I could, and using a longer (more telephoto style lens) to keep the proportions accurate. Kitchens tend to be smaller spaces, but it is important to avoid going straight for the widest lens available. In design or architectural photography it is really important to go to great lengths to get rid of any distortion. People often think that the best way to shoot architecture is to use a really wide lens, but really the opposite is true. It is better not to get all four walls into the shot, because the proportions get all out of whack. So it is not uncommon to shoot through doorways, or have the camera all the way into the corner. I even keep a tiny tripod with me because I so commonly need to get the camera on a shelf or countertop. The tiny tripod is just one of many items that I keep with me to get the job done.

For this image I moved the kitchen table so that the camera could be all the way in the back of the room. If I moved any further back I started to see a closet and desk to the right. I ended up having to push the chandelier to the side to get it out of the shot. In the end I mixed the ambient room light and some flash to bring out the colors and texture, and voila. I went for a punchy well lit look that I thought would appeal to the kitchen designer. It is amazing how many options you have in post processing to change the look of the space. Certain uses dictate what style to use. Also the designer will often have a look they are after. In architectural photography it is common to have the practical lights on and for the room to look well lit, after all lighting design is part of the whole package. Interior design for magazines, usually has the interior practical lights off and shows no signs of lighting though it is often used.

Well, for my first blog of the season, that wasn't terribly difficult, so hopefully there will be more content in the near future. If you happen to be reading this and have any questions or suggestions, let me know I would be glad to answer. And if you are an architect or designer in Delaware, Pennsylvania or the Mid-Atlantic and need an architectural photographer I would be glad to provide a quote for your next project 

Making Sense of Image Licensing and Copyright - the very short version

    Working as a commercial photographer, I constantly bump into the same problem. Explaining to clients why image licensing is necessary and probably even the best way to do things without boring them to tears. So, here is quick and dirty attempt to break it down as quickly as I can.

    According to United States copyright law, when an artist creates a work they automatically own the copyright. One reason for this is that it insures that the image cannot be used by another individual for their personal gain without the consent of the artist. For example, an image cannot simply be grabbed from a website and used in a national advertising campaign or resold as posters. The artist has created an intellectual property and that is protected by law from being used without payment.

    Another thing that copyright law guarantees is that the artist can control the way his or her work is used. When an artist allows a work to be used for advertising, the artist still holds the copyright. What is being sold, is the right to use the image. There is no transfer of ownership. The artist then charges based specifically how the image is to be used. And since there is no transfer of ownership the image(s) are non-transferable, once purchased, they cannot be shared with other businesses, or be re-sold by anyone but the creator of the image.

    When an image is needed for advertising, a license for use is drawn up between the photographer and client that establishes how the image can be used and for how long. Pricing is established by determining how useful the image is. For example, imagine a photographer is commissioned to make an image of a hamburger for a national burger chain. The image might be the centerpiece of a national advertising that will increase sales by millions, or might be barely used for a test run of a new product in a limited release. Rather than charge the same for both, the client can purchase a license for use that covers exactly what they need. A business is able to commission works of different scope and scale and pay only for what they use.

     Now imagine the same photographer shoots a burger much like the one used in the national campaign for a local business. The image is to be used for social network and blog posts. Of course the price will be less because the usage and potential for profit is much smaller. Without the protection of copyright law and the guarantee that the artist controls the use of their image(s) the work could be resold by the local business to the national chain at great profit. This would make it impossible for photographers to price their work, because they would never know the end usage. The inevitable conclusion would be that, either, prices would be driven so low that it would no longer be possible to get quality work, or, every job would be priced as though it were for a massive campaign.

    There are a couple of exceptions. Sometimes a brand will want complete control of the images produced for their campaign, they might ask for exclusive rights. In this case they would pay more for licensing because exclusive rights would cut some of the profit potential for the artist. In rare instances the copyright can be "bought out" where the copyright is transferred to the client but typically the price is quite a bit higher because the potential that the images will be used in a large campaign is always possible. The last exception is "work for hire" when an artist is employed full-time by the client. In this case, all of the creative output of that employee as well as copyright becomes property of the employer. This does not apply to freelancers who retain all rights to the images they produce.

    Well, that's it, my fast and loose, lay-mans explanation, which is in no way intended to be an exhaustive look into licensing. It can take a little time to get your head around the idea, but it is difficult to imagine a better solution. As confusing as it can be, licensing allows photographers to work for clients of all sizes, it gives small businesses access to high-quality reasonably priced images, and it allows larger clients to pay only for what they need. 

    Thanks for visiting and reading, if you have any questions I will be happy to try and answer them. And if you get a moment and want to see my architectural or food photography stop by and take a look at my portfolio. I have a new shorter version of this same topic called Understanding Image Licensing in Two Minutes Flat, be sure to check it out.

Museum Display

A good percentage of the photographic work I do involves documenting an artist's, craftsman's or architect's work. It brings me to studios, cool buildings , businesses and if I am lucky a really great museum show from time to time. They all present different challenges to overcome. Lighting to accurately show color or volume can be a challenge, and when lights are present with reflective objects glare is always an issue. Sometimes, as important as the equipment I bring along to light can be, the equipment to block and take away light is even more. Most importantly some kind of high quality polarizing has to be done. Polarizers are filters that restrict light waves to one direction. They are very useful for removing haze. Fine art photographers most often use a circular polarizer on the cameras lens along with separate polarizers for the lights. As the circular polarizer is "tuned in" the glare and haze disappears from view. Almost any time I am shooting paintings I am using a high quality polarizer, otherwise there is a fine gray haze present that kills the colors vibrancy. There are few applications where color has to be more perfect than documenting priceless works of art.

So, recently my good friend and super talented artist Christian Kanienberg was commissioned to create some very authentic looking wood and build a display case that resembled ancient planks of wood from Midas' tomb. All of the wood had to mimic perfectly the color and texture of wood exhumed from an ancient Egyptian tomb. The project was to be installed in an exhibition based on excavating Midas's tomb. I was called because Christian needed to document his work to include in his portfolio of musuem displays.

It really is amazing work that is accurate down to the details, he even painstakingly reproduced the rust from decaying nails. The sides in the display are trompe l'oeil painting that is hard to distinguish from the wood just inches away. I brought in some supplemental lighting to soften some of the hard shadows and make everything read well to the camera. Often the challenge is to make the exhibit appear as it did to the naked eye. Modern cameras are great  but have a long way to go to approximate the human eye. So a little bit of massaging the light is sometimes required to get everything looking its best. It is interesting as well to notice how well the exhibition designers craft the space to keep you moving through the exhibit, to convey a bunch of information in a fascinating. What could be a confusing mess is designed to draw you into the space and around the exhibit so I take my time and make sure to capture the functionality of the architecture.

Photographing artwork has been a part of my business for more than 20 years. I started by documenting my own paintings. I had a color darkroom and would work with large format 4x5 sheet film to get very high resolution images for print. Over the years as digital has caught up and the functionality of the cameras has improved with tilt shift lenses I made the switch. Along the way I picked up a lot of artist friends as clients. They appreciated my perfectionism when it came to reproducing artwork. I knew what it was like to get work photographed and get less than great results, so I refined my technique and applied my painters sensitivity to light and contrast to my copy work. Over the years I have reproduced thousands of artworks for major museums, auction houses, publishers, books, catalogs, magazines, you name it. Anywhere the absolute best quality is needed.

You can find Christian at www.wishpainting.com

And if you would like to see some of my architectural photography take a look at my portfolio here.

As always if you have an architectural or design project or artwork that you need great photography for, let me know I would be glad to provide a free quote.