And now for something completely different...Interior shots for client's remodel

[Brownie]

A client of the consulting firm I work for called the other day and asked me to do some photos for an upcoming report they do every year. This goes out to citizens as part of their state of the city stuff and is a fairly slick production. Evidently their regular photographer couldn't get there until the end of March. Knowing I'm into photography, they offered to pay me to come do it. I declined out of concern for conflict of interest but agreed to make the photos and have them bill the company. Normally I'd say no to something like this but since it was this particular client I agreed. I did tell them that if they wanted more than a few shots we'd have to work something else out, like pay my company and cut me a check for equipment rental, and I asked for photo credit in the report to which they agreed.

The idea of these photos is to show some of the projects that have taken place in the past year. Kind of a "Here's where your tax money is going." type thing. I took a few photos of some pipe improvement projects, but they wanted to showcase their new administration and control room remodeling.

This is a total departure for me, but it was a lot of fun looking for the correct angle, lighting, etc. It reminded me of real estate photography in that the goal was to portray the space in the best possible manner. I've never attempted these kinds of shots other than in museums and abandoned/historical buildings, but I'm confident those experiences helped out quite a bit. I took a tripod but ended up shooting everything hand-held, no flash.

The new Control Room
DSC00490 by telecast, on Flickr

The new Break Room. The blue cast is intentional and from the custom LED lighting. Operators can choose any color they like. Sounds stupid but there's a sound reason; they stare at computer screens for up to 12 hours a day, the lighting is designed to ease eye strain.
DSC00496 by telecast, on Flickr

Remodeled lobby and reception
DSC00504 by telecast, on Flickr

Remodeled conference room
DSC00506 by telecast, on Flickr

New work space, shot through glass
DSC00478 by telecast, on Flickr

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

What lens did you use Tim?

 

[Brownie]

Not sure why exif from Flickr isn't showing up under the photos? Of the forums I visit, this is the only one that doesn't display it. I used two, the Tamron 17-28 and the Samyang 35/1.4

Pretty sure the lobby and workspace are the 35, the other two are the Tammy.

There are more shots on Flickr, I just didn't post them all. You can click through to get there, the exif is show below each one.

 

[Jeff A]

Not sure why exif from Flickr isn't showing up under the photos? Of the forums I visit, this is the only one that doesn't display it. I used two, the Tamron 17-28 and the Samyang 35/1.4

Pretty sure the lobby and workspace are the 35, the other two are the Tammy.

There are more shots on Flickr, I just didn't post them all. You can click through to get there, the exif is show below each one.

Excellent shots.

 

[Brownie]

Thanks!

 

[AlphaWorld]

On the last one there is some visible reflection from the glass. I try to get as close the the glass as possible for shots like this, sometimes to the point of having the lens hood touching the glass. The other option is to get them to turn out the lights in the space you are in and close the blinds behind you.

Only mentioning that because there is nothing to criticise in the others - very nice work!

 

[Brownie]

On the last one there is some visible reflection from the glass. I try to get as close the the glass as possible for shots like this, sometimes to the point of having the lens hood touching the glass. The other option is to get them to turn out the lights in the space you are in and close the blinds behind you.

Only mentioning that because there is nothing to criticise in the others - very nice work!

I've shot with the hood/lens against glass in aquariums and on store fronts, through airplane and car windows, etc. I should've taken more time with it. That was kind of a passing by "oh take a picture of this" shot. I didn't think it'd be worth a crap from an interest standpoint so didn't pay much attention. Had no plans to even process until I saw how well it turned out. Oops, my mistake! I did reduce the glare some in post.

I asked them the day before to clean up the spaces, make sure things looked nice. They did nothing. We spent a lot of time moving chairs around tables and taking stuff off of desktops.

Thanks for the kind words!

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

Really nice shots! Even more impressive that they were hand-held and not locked off and leveled tripod shots.

On that last one, would a flexible rubber lens hood have been the best choice? I've used one from an airplane and there were zero reflections to worry about. Alternatively, and I'm thinking out loud here: would a polarizer have allowed you to shoot from a distance away while minimizing the reflection?

 

[Brownie]

Really nice shots! Even more impressive that they were hand-held and not locked off and leveled tripod shots.

On that last one, would a flexible rubber lens hood have been the best choice? I've used one from an airplane and there were zero reflections to worry about. Alternatively, and I'm thinking out loud here: would a polarizer have allowed you to shoot from a distance away while minimizing the reflection?

Thanks.

A lot of things could have been done. A polarizer may have helped with some of the glare but since there are different planes it wouldn't have eliminated all of it, more than likely one or the other. It would've also added another stop or two requiring even a slower shutter.

There too, some of that glare is on the glass I'm shooting through, and some is on the glass beyond from other sources. Alpha is correct about closing doors and blinds to eliminate glare beyond the glass. The best way to handle it completely would've been a combination of things. Lights, doors, blinds, lens on the glass, polarizer?

Whaddya' want for nuttin'?

 

[AlphaWorld]

I've shot with the hood/lens against glass in aquariums and on store fronts, through airplane and car windows, etc. I should've taken more time with it. That was kind of a passing by "oh take a picture of this" shot. I didn't think it'd be worth a crap from an interest standpoint so didn't pay much attention. Had no plans to even process until I saw how well it turned out. Oops, my mistake! I did reduce the glare some in post.

I asked them the day before to clean up the spaces, make sure things looked nice. They did nothing. We spent a lot of time moving chairs around tables and taking stuff off of desktops.

Thanks for the kind words!

‘They did nothing’ - forgive my lack of shock and astonishment

 

[Brownie]

Here's the end result. They used two of my shots on the front cover, top and left

 

[AlphaWorld]

Congratulations!

 

[jonhawk]

Well done! Worth all the effort.

 

[Brownie]

Thanks!