Driving Home a Design Teams Vision via Dynamic Imagery of Connective Corridors

When photographing spaces for commercial clients, it’s often important for us to come up with a set of images that weaves the story of the design functions together in a way that is clear and concise. One way of doing this is to show how various spaces connect to one another to help give the viewer a better idea of how a project flows throughout. Design teams often utilize a number of strategies to engage project functions with its circulation spaces in order to create an environment that feels dynamic and open. For photographers, this can be a unique sort of challenge. Corridors with adjacent meeting rooms and/or offices often feature glass partitions that pose the ever present challenge of reflections and unwanted distractions, so we are tasked with how best to convey both this circulation core as well as those connected spaces.

In the examples below, we use a number of techniques to transform what might read as too busy of an image into ones that help to tell a rich story of the design teams visions. When on site, I am careful to think ahead at how I might assemble the final imagery, which allows me to work strategically and to focus on individual portions of the frame that will later easily be able to be put together. In both of these cases, I used a mixture of a base layer using the available light and frames taken using strobes and flagging to both control reflections and give the space within the glass walls some shape. As you can see from the before and after versions of both scenes, this allows a clear and concise depiction of how these spaces relate to one another.

Before: Makers Gym by IA Interior Architects

After: Makers Gym by IA Interior Architects

Before: Digital Matrix Systems by Perkins+Will

After: Digital Matrix Systems by Perkins+Will

Overcoming Challenges to Create a Clean, Descriptive Image of a Tight Space

Every composition when shooting workplace interiors comes with a unique set of challenges. Reflections, varying color levels and temperatures, malfunctioning building systems and more are often things we have to overcome in order to convey the overall design intent and vision. In the image below, we were tasked with showing a fairly complex space located at the end of an office space that contains a variety of spaces - two phone rooms, an open breakout space, work stations, offices and an adjacent conference room - WHEW. To make things even more tricky, lighting levels between the spaces were very inconsistent, particularly the central breakout space which was only lit with one large pendant, making it appear quite dark in an image with available light compared to the corridor and adjacent rooms. And on top of everything, I wanted to capture all of these spaces in one image in order to show their connectivity, so opted to do a vertical stitch using my 24mm tilt shift lens to help illustrate the open ceiling of the corridor.

When approaching a shot like this that joins multiple spaces which all could benefit from supplemental lighting, my instinct is generally to treat them individually, with an overall plan to combine them strategically in post. To begin with this strategy, I first run through a round over ambient frames in order to capture things as they are. From here we begin shooting each individual space with supplemental lighting at a fast enough shutter speed to regulate any ambient light that we could not control. Once this has all been captured, all that’s left to do is to jump into the computer to piece it all together, which is where the video below picks up.

As with most of my interiors shots created in this way, I first run through some quick RAW processing in Capture One to get each frame that will be used dialed in at the levels and white balance that I want including one frame specifically for the ceiling information which I spend a little more time on ensuring that the white ceiling doesn’t have any color contamination. From here I move into Photoshop, run a script I’ve got to auto merge and align the images, and can begin the exposure blending, color corrections and retouching. Since beginning to share these processing videos, I am frequently asked about the time it takes to do this work in post and the value of it. This image took 50 minutes from start to finish in the computer. As for the value, all I can say is that with time, I feel that I have become very efficient in the way I go about both my post-processing and shooting on site and think that with some practice, these things can take far less time than they may first appear. Workplace interiors and similar spaces are inherently challenging ones to photograph, but the reward of providing clients with images that convey their designs as cleanly and straight forward as possible is invaluable.

BEFORE

AFTER

Refining an Architectural Image Using Subtle But Powerful Color Corrections in Capture One and Photoshop

Although composition may be king, a strong second in separating mediocre architectural and interior images from great ones is often reproducing the colors and tones of the materials and finishes within a space accurately and without contamination. In this latest video, I share my process for toning down competing color temperatures in a large, complex space consisting of large volumes clad in warm, natural materials and varying light sources.

One of the bigger challenges we face when photographing architectural and interior spaces is learning how to balance a variety of light sources with competing temperatures. In smaller spaces, we can often have full control of the light that we allow into our camera, whether by shaping the existing light sources using flags and diffusion, or by layering in our own lighting in order to represent a space as truly as possible. When we start getting into larger spaces, we are often left at the mercy of the existing lighting and can employ a few key techniques to balance out the mixture of lighting conditions. In this example, which is of a beautifully designed space at Texas A&M University designed in tandem by BORA and Perkins + Will. When you enter the building, you are greeted with a very large double height space consisting of large drum like volumes that contain large classrooms. These drums are clad in warm, natural material giving the space a particularly inviting presence that feels very connected to the lush campus the project sits on. Due to some of the level changes present in the space and the compression designed around some of the more intimate functions above and around these volumes, we began to encounter some issues with color casts in parts of the frame as we photographed it. Throughout the processing of this image in particular, I utilize a couple of techniques to balance the colors throughout all spaces to end up with an image that I think represents the feeling of being within the space. The main methods used here are controlling the neutral tones through a combination of saturation control and color layers, the latter of which helps to keep the natural tones of a material by overriding colors cast onto them from light sources such as daylight and incandescent fixtures.

Using Patience and the Pen Tool to Create a Clean Interior Composite

For my latest video, I returned to an earlier screen recording (partly due to some more recent screen recordings being in the wrong format) of an image we created for IA Interior Architects in 2019. This particular example helps to illustrate how Photoshop’s Pen Tool can often be the best way to create a clean transition between the exterior and interior, particularly when it comes to a large workplace interiors with a darker interior core and perimeter of floor to ceiling windows.

Making selections in Photoshop can be an incredibly powerful mechanism for isolating specific areas, whether that be to assist with color corrections, blend exposures, or incorporate models and other portions of individual frames where the lighting might not allow for simply brushing in masks. Though I employ a large variety of methods when creating selections, the one that I’ve come to lean on the most over the past several years is the Pen Tool. The pen tool, though very tedious at first, can provide the most accuracy in a relatively short amount of time once using it is mastered and becomes second nature. One great resource for learning the ins and outs of the tool is a website called The Bézier Game, which walks you through using the pen tool to create increasingly complex shapes. After honing my skills at the tool, it’s now one of my most used and is often something I reach for when beginning to create a selection of any kind.

Anyone who photograph’s spaces, particularly commercial spaces, knows that there are certain ones with the potential for great imagery, but whose challenges jump out at you from the moment you encounter them. This image is a perfect example of that. Upon entering this space which serves as a break area for a workplace, it was immediately clear to me the potential that it had - warm would ceilings with great depth and texture, a variety of great furniture that are rich in color, unique lighting design and interesting geometry. Also very apparent the moment I entered was how each of these elements along with the wall of glazing that enclosed the space on two sides created a very challenging scenario for an image that shows the entirety of the space cleanly and with the lightness that you feel when you’re inside of it.

In order to tackle the variety of challenges within the space, we had to mentally break the space up into sections in order to cleanly light the furniture and finishes to best reduce color cast and reflections from the outer perimeter. A circular polarizer was also used to create ambient frames that cut down on that reflective glare as well, knowing that all of the above frames would be combined strategically in post-production in order to create the final result seen below.

Architectural Photography in 2020: Face Masks or No Face Masks?

As many of us find ourselves returning to photographing projects after several months of limited work, the most common consideration of the times when working out the logistics of shooting spaces in these unprecedented times is whether to depict models/people within the spaces wearing masks or not. Even well before we returned to shooting, I was having conversations with several clients discussing what photography would look like when we were able to safely return to it and most specifically, how do we think about the treatment of our new normal of wearing face masks in shared spaces. Early on, many of us felt that it would likely feel reactionary to photograph people wearing masks when creating imagery for a project that will be used long after the pandemic is over. As things have evolved and we continue to see rising numbers and no end in sight for the near future, I have experienced a variety of viewpoints on the subject as we all work through how to best depict projects in the current times.

The answer to this question may be largely dependent on project type. For civic, cultural, education and public spaces, I think that it can make sense to show people as they are (or would be, if spaces are not opened) in the moment, giving the images and honest, journalistic quality. I have heard from designers of these types of projects and their PR teams, that it may be particularly desirable if there are plans for the work to be published in the near term. Workplaces, retail, restaurants and hotels on the other hand may not have an immediate benefit or obvious use for showing people masks and images of those spaces with masked subjects may lose their usefulness over time as we move past the current situation. Many design teams recently have been opting to have us capture a few images in the set featuring people both wearing and not wearing face masks in order to have the option for the immediate use, but also having the ability to use the unmasked photos with more flexibility down the line. This is the case with the image shown in this video that was created recently in collaboration with the design team at Perkins + Will Dallas of an office for a health care company.

This question is just one of several floating around our industry these days as we all adapt to the current situation and return (at varying frequency), to work. Others include what project types are appropriate to photograph. Education projects have been pushed back because as campuses are empty, how do we consider documenting the spaces in an era of architectural photography where it’s common and desirable to show people using a space. Workplaces, office buildings, and other commercial spaces have incorporated significant efforts in signage and restrictions on usable spaces, requiring us to often have to adapt on the fly as we enter a space that may not be quite as expected or that poses significant challenges when trying to photograph them free of clutter that take away from the original design intent. Many firms are reprioritizing their strategies for photography to fit with what makes the most sense to photograph in a time of limited occupancy and sensitivity to the unknown future of certain project types.

What are you experiencing in the sectors that you work in? How do you feel we should be portraying these spaces and the people within?

Architectural Photography: Natural light vs. shooting with strobe

In architectural and interior photography, the debate between shooting using only available light versus supplementing the lighting with strobes has been around for a long time. In my latest video, I discuss the thinking behind choosing to use flash to help best define the interior of a space we recently shot. When relying solely on the existing lighting conditions within a space that has no natural lighting, we often are presented with the challenge of whether we show how the lighting design alone defines a space or if we are to supplement that light with our own in order to best show the materiality, tones and forms within a space. In this instance, I opted for the latter while softly blending in the existing lighting where it made the most sense. In my experience, I find that when we rely only on the lighting within a space, we are often presented with strong shadows and variations in color that while not present when experiencing the space in person, can create bold visual distractions when translating the space into a two dimensional image.

Photographing a space with strobe isn’t without its problems though and we are often left balancing the benefits with the compromises. For example, in the second shot shown in the video and displayed below, there is some very clever lighting design including a cove light above the vanity and a recessed light behind the floating mirrors within it. The challenge of combining both soft, pleasant lighting of the space and forms overall and showing these light features is that if we’re able to achieve them both, we begin to create a very flat image, void of any shadows or depth at all. As a result, we have to make the decision of what is the most significant aspect to illustrate for our purposes. If shooting this space for the lighting designers or a lighting manufacturer, there would be no question that we would lean these decisions towards the lighting in the space but when shooting for the designer, we have to think about all of the other aspects of the space that they were responsible for in choosing how to best showcase it. Custom casework, finishes, furniture and overall spacial layout are all important to illustrate within an image.

Image taken using ambient lighting only.

Composited image using flash and ambient lighting.

So what do you think? If you’re a designer, how would you most like the space be represented in an image? If you’re a photographer, what is your preferred direction?

Controlling Reflections in Glass

Ahh, reflections. On set, I will often joke that reflections are the architectural photographer’s arch nemesis. Specifically with commercial and workplace interiors, our objective is generally to show spaces and how they relate as clearly as possible in order to convey the design teams intent without unwanted distractions. One thing that makes this a challenge more than anything else is reflections in glass and other surfaces. Over the years, through a lot of on the job learning, skill sharing with others and trial and error, I have come up with a few techniques that I commonly will employ in order to remove unwanted reflections in order to best tell the story we are trying to convey through a particular image. These can be boiled down to essentially either controlling the offending ambient light on the camera side of the glass or overpowering it within the space that you are trying to show through it. Controlling the ambient light most often means some combination of lighting controls within the space (i.e. turning off all lights on the camera side of the glass that might reflect) or flagging it off using window shades, black fabric/plastic, and other methods. When these options aren’t enough, flash has proven to be an invaluable tool within the space we are trying to convey by overpowering any ambient light therefore removing what is being reflected in the glass from the camera side. Very often we are using several techniques for an individual shot in order to get the best results.

Cockrell Foundation by Kirksey

Firmspace Austin by Page

Zebra by IA Interior Architects

Page Materials Lab by Page

In the video below, I walk through four different scenarios where we were shooting single point perspectives through glazing systems that presented challenges with reflections that we had to troubleshoot in order to get the best shots possible. One thing that helped me greatly over the years is developing an understanding of how reflections work. In the study of photography, we are often taught about the angle of incidence, which is a way of describing how light sources and other objects will be reflected in a subject matter back into the camera. In the case of this topic, it is one of the things that helps me think of what is needed to control objects being reflected into a surface that we are trying to show as transparent. The diagrams below are my attempt at illustrating the angle of incidence when shooting similar shots to the examples below from my video. I have found that our instinct is often to think that all we need to do to control a reflection is build a flag the same size as the surface of the glass area, when really it is far larger. In my career, I’ve done a lot of work photographing for the art community and shooting framed work behind glass was one thing that really helped me get a grasp on this due to the more controllable scale of artwork versus that of architecture and interior spaces. The angle of incidence can be thought of as the reflected angle of that of the projected line from the point of the camera lens to the outer most portions of the reflective surface (glass). This is a complicated concept to describe in writing, so hopefully the diagrams will illustrate this clearly. The import part is to understand that not only are we having to consider what’s directly behind the area of the glass, but also above, below, left and right of that area relative to the camera position and angle. For example, the diagram below shows that the two lights nearest the wall will not be seen in the camera view, but the subsequent to will show up, as will a similar portion of the floor below.

Diagram of the angle of incidence when shooting a single point perspective of a wall with a window in it.

A similar diagram, this time with a flag behind the camera.

Hopefully the above information and below video give some insights on how you can go about troubleshooting similar challenges in your own work and help result in cleaner images for yourself and your clients.

Photographing and Post-Processing an Interior Vignette - Pandemic Edition

Whew. Well, kudos to anyone who made it all the way through part two of this video series, where I walk through the photography and post-processing of the image below. The original plan was to share the editing process in real-time, but I quickly recognized how boring that would be to sit through as I fumbled my way through describing my every move as I made them (turns out that’s not so easy). So I hope to have found a happy medium with this final result where I speed up the screen recording and talk over top of it.

Post-production has always had a huge impact on the final outcome of a photograph. Whether it be dodging, burning and other techniques in the darkroom or complex compositing that some of us employ digitally today. There are endless debates out there on how much is too much, and I’ll leave that for another discussion. The ability to manipulate color, tonality and light is limitless with todays technology and many of us utilize these tools to create the images that we think are most fitting for a clients needs and show the true essence of their design intent.

There are a few noteworthy things about how I went about shooting this space. First of all, by controlling the amount of natural light that is allowed into the frame by flagging (blocking) off the two smaller windows to the cameras left, we can already achieve a very nice shaping of light within the space. In the ambient frame shown below, we can begin to see how that natural light fills the space, but also begin to see the problems that arise from such a large window which introduces a variety of color casts from the trees and sky outside on to the walls and other surfaces. We are also not able to define both the interior and exterior’s exposures correctly in one single shot as our eyes are able to perceive, which is where using strobes becomes such a powerful tool. As you can see in the flash frame below, this already gets us 80% to the final result. By utilizing Photoshop to merge these and a few other frames, we are able to seamlessly blend exposures to come up with a crisp, natural looking result that is true to the spaces finishes and likeness.

On the right, an ambient frame of the space using only natural light. Notice the strong colors being cast onto the surfaces from the foliage inside and out and the blues of the sky.
On the left, a single exposure with flash allows us to balance the interior and exterior much better, while being true to the material pallet inside of the space.

Once I found the balance I was looking for in the flash and ambient exposures, I moved the files into the computer where I dove into the RAW conversion, which involves basic adjustments to contrast, white balance and clarity and from there, send the files into Photoshop for compositing. This process for this image is fairly simple (all things considered) as it frequently is with interior vignettes because we are not trying to capture the entirety of a space which can often involve many more challenges such as those introduced when trying to light a much larger area. There are a few tools that you’ll see I lean on heavily when doing work in Photoshop, and those include layer masks, the pen tool, adjustment layers and cloning/healing. Instead of going deep into the details of those here, I will begin to think about separate videos I can create in the future that walk through my use of them more thoroughly.

With time, you begin to develop a general set of methods that you use to put your images together and will be able to always have these in the back of your mind as you’re shooting a project to ensure that you’ve got everything you need to come to the desired result.