Construction + Photography at Monte Carlo Las Vegas

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Bostik, an adhesives company based in Wisconsin needed construction images in Las Vegas of part of the massive renovation taking place at the Monte Carlo Hotel and Casino. A new product was being used in the installation of an elaborate hardwood floor being installed in an upscale new steakhouse, and they needed photos of the product in action. The specifics of the task were: 1 Capture their product in use during construction. 2. Capture an award-winning hardwood pattern as it was being installed. 3. Work unobstrusively in an environment where multiple crews were expected to work in the same space at the same time. 4. Deliver a few same-day images of the shoot for a time-sensitive press release.

From making sure we had all our necessary safety equipment to being cleared with all the necessary insurance requirements to work at an MGM property during construction, there was no shortage of red tape to get through before the shoot ever started. But with good preparation and excellent cooperation between all the parties involved, the shoot went off without a hitch.

The circumstances were not hospitable, nor conducive to great photography: There was no functional lighting in the steakhouse. The only lights present were the work lights crews brought which were powered via long extension cords. There was dust everywhere–the lenses needed to be cleaned constantly. There were materials everywhere and the various crews (flooring, millwork, etc.) were fighting an unspoken turf war as to who could stand and places their things in any given spot–so just finding somewhere to put the standby camera equipment was a challenge.

Armed with a couple of speedlights and some cameras which function great in low light, we think we were able to create some crisp, beautiful images which make it look like the place was a lot brighter, cleaner, and organized than it was–and Bostik came away with the images they needed.

Luxury Real Estate Photography in 2017

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Palm fronds framing the top of a photo of a desert luxury home backyard at dusk with patio chairs, wading pool, lazy river and swimming pool, and view of Las Vegas in the background.

As one might imagine, it is always a great deal of fun to photograph a luxury home for sale in Las Vegas. But this time, it wasn’t a party pad that was going on the market, but a large family home with amenities suited for kids and adults alike. I thought it would be fun to walk through some of the creative ways we capture the images of this home.

In the above photograph, we tried to capture all the most dramatic and valuable aspects of the home in a single photo. We wanted to showcase the desert-and-palms landscaping, the wading pool, swimming pool and waterslide, the landscape lighting, and ultimately, the city view. The composition walks the viewer beneath the palm fronds, past the pools and lands on the colorful view in the distance. Just what we want to encapsulate all these features in one image.

A wading pool, backyard grill with stone enclosure, palm fronds int he foreground, hedges and trees about and a daytime view of the Las Vegas strip in the background.

The photo above performs a similar job, but in a tighter composition on a longer lens to compress the scene and bring the city view and outdoor grill closer to the viewer and suggest a daytime outing in the backyard.

 

A luxury home backyard at twilight with swimming pool and lazy river in the foreground and palm trees, patio furniture and large home in the background.

While we are still on the subject of the backyard, one can’t miss the opportunity to place the expansive exterior of the home just behind its massive pool and lazy river.

A large dining room with an area rug atop beige tiled floors, and large table with seating for twelve and a stained-glass light fixture hanging from a coffered ceiling with wall-papered inlay and recessed lighting.

Walking inside, we get to show off a spacious dining room which makes this table for twelve look tiny. With a wide lens, we are able to show off the sprawling tile floors and coffered ceilings. Shooting at dusk allows the light fixture to show off a little as well.

A dark, moody study with a recessed, blue and gold painted recessed medallion and chandelier on the ceiling, slate stone walls, 3 chairs, and dark-wood furniture.

Deep inside the basement, a very rare thing to find in caliche-soiled Las Vegas, is a dark a quiet study. With a tripod and a long exposure, we can capture a, bright and detailed (but still moody) image of this underground getaway.

Double doors opening to a home theater with brown recliners, blue ceiling, blue and tan carpet and a blue a brown curtain covering the screen.

Another dark space which we tackled with multiple, long exposures, blended and cleaned up in post-production, was a three-tiered home theater which features an actual stage set for film an live productions alike.

 

A driveway leading to a stucco-and-stone luxury home with porte-cochère, and two turrets, lined with palm trees and landscaped with trees and hedges.

The front of the home is obscured with abundant landscaping, so to create an image which captured the windows of the turrets and some of the beautiful roof work, we elevated the camera about 15 feet to create a balanced and vertically centered perspective of the home. We hope you like the images! If you’d like to see more, check out the listing here.

Variety and Creativity in Commercial Real Estate Photography

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We have the regular opportunity to photography commercial shopping centers which are for sale. When shooting, we don’t have the luxury of a controlled environment, with shoppers, cars, weather, and all the complications of shooting during business hours. Nonetheless, we often have the task of creating professional images in this less-than-professional environment. In addition, we get requests to feature the setting of the shopping center, such as being adjacent to the strip or having views of the valley. At Lake Mead Crossing, the setting included the dramatic desert mountains surrounding the complex. With large, big-box retail buildings, seeing surrounding landscape can be a challenge–after all, the mountains, though large, are 20 miles away. So while we provided strong wide-angle images of the major retailers at the property and its luscious landscaping, we walked backwards and pulled out a longer lens to allow the desert mountains to peek over the buildings and add context to the images. Shooting in both daylight and at the beautiful twilight hour, we were able to provide the agency’s designers a variety of images for their sales materials for the property. Producing a diverse set of clean, beautiful and authentic visuals for our clients is not only one of our biggest goals, it’s creatively challenging, and a lot of fun.

 

 

CON/AGG, ACFAS, and ExhibitorLive! 2017

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An elevated perspective of a Danfoss White Drive trade show exhibit with red carpet, white tables and counters with multiple red vertical displays throughout and a suspended banner with their logo above and a pony wall with a black and blue print of a gear in the foreground. Photo edited so that the outside area is darkened and colorless.

We’ve had the chance to photograph some beautiful exhibits at different conventions and trade shows in Las Vegas during the first quarter of 2017. From construction exhibitors at CON/AGG (CONExpo), to medical device makers at ACFAS, to conventioneers at ExhibitorLive!, we’ve shot a diverse array of trade show booths and we want to share some of the photos we came away with.

To draw attention to the most important features for our clients, we process these images and “turn down the lights” so that all the background distractions are muted, yet the exhibit is still visibly in the convention space. We typically deliver our clients dozens of images, usually taken in a 30-90 minute window. Have a look!

 

Trade show exhibit with an orange and white color scheme, a suspended rectangular banner with four faces above and multiple product displays within and a two-story platform in the background. Photo edited so that the outside area is darkened and colorless.

Czarnowski trade show exhibit with a wood-paneled exterior and low decorative planter as an exterior border with classical art on a wall in the background and edited so that the outside area is darkened and colorless.

A trade show exhibit from an oblique angle with a red wall in the center, rectangular red banner floating above and red carpet with modern white tables, chairs and kiosks edited so that area outside the booth is darkened and colorless.

A centered photo of the Stryker booth at ACFAS 2017 with hanging banner, welcome counter with LCD screen, and four vertical signs all with the Stryker logo--edited so that background is dimmed.

Capturing the Mood of a Property

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It’s great to be part of the sale of a beautiful home. We work with a lot of great agents that take pride in the work they do–both listing and showing homes for sale. A good agent does a lot to close a sale–from the hard work of marketing, to dealing personalities (not always charismatic ones), to piles of paperwork, and in the end, doing whatever it takes to make something happen. And now with so much of the process of buying and selling properties taking place online (especially viewing properties before you visit them), the agent needs to provide online listings which capture attention and get people in the door. Great photography is the starting point in this process. Having gone from a luxury to a necessity, the photographs you have online are the single biggest draw you have for a property.

Every home has a visual selling point, that a good photographer will try to capture and encapsulate in a single image. Take a look at some recent photos we took of a beautiful home in Green Valley. Using the backyard foliage to frame the foreground in the above photo, we created a scene which emphasized the mood that the lush landscaping gives to the backyard. Paired with crisp, solid images of the well-maintained house, this listing will stand apart from its peers.

Whether you need to make a property look better that it does in person, or whether you need to make sure it shines in photos like it does in real life, professional photography makes all the difference when selling a home.

 

SkinnyFats’ Third Location

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SkinnyFats is taking Las Vegas by storm, offering healthy food options alongside some down and greasy guilty pleasures. With an innovative menu and fun interiors, the restaurant is making food look like an easy business. We were thrilled to be able to shoot some fast-food retail restaurant photography of their newest location in Centennial Hills. Opening locations as quick as possible you need to get some quality photos as quickly as possible and we’re happy to be a partner in getting the word out. With the exterior still under construction, we offer you a look at the very cool interior of the Centennial Hills location of this up-and-coming titan of a food chain.


Oddello Retail Space at World Market Las Vegas

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In all our time living and shooting in Las Vegas we had never set foot in the massive World Market buildings just off the I-15 in downtown Las Vegas–until January. With the call to photography a brand new retail space inside World Market we finally had the opportunity to go inside on of these three massive edifices to do what we do best–capture a stunning space in a photograph. The Oddello store inside the “mall” is modern and beautiful with under-illuminated pedestals,  bold graphics, and a generous amount of lighting. The blue and white retail space has a clean, modern feel and draws attention to the products being featured. We hope you like what we snapped!

 

 

Consumer Electronics Show 2017

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We had a great time shooting the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this month. From Panasonic in Central Hall at the LVCC to Philips at the Venetian to BMW and Visteon in the tents outside the convention center, we had a great time running around like crazy trying photograph as many exhibits as possible. Empty exhibits are only found before and after the show, so early mornings and late nights are part of the trade-show-shooting process so that means we get some of these magnificent booths to ourselves for a time (without bumping and tripping into a horde of onlookers.) But make no mistake, we spent plenty of time feeling like cattle like everyone else in the massive crowds that occupy the spaces during convention hours. Shooting candids of booth employees and guests can get grueling when one barely has enough space to aim one’s camera, but all said and done, we think we came away with some rewarding photos. Have a look and we’ll see you at CES 2018!

   

 

 

 

SEMA / AAPEX 2016 Las Vegas

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An angular view of the ACDelco tradeshow booth with a suspended grey banner and graphic blocks as walls with barstools, tables, and displays inside.

Stunning trade show booths have been the subject of some of our favorite work over the past few months. SEMA and AAPEX came to Las Vegas at the end of October / beginning of November and we had the chance to shoot some incredible exhibits. At AAPEX, the ACDelco booth featured ipads with virtual reality apps installed which allowed visitors to aim the tablet throughout the booth and view the exhibit as if it were an early 1900s auto parts shop. It also featured 3D printed auto parts which could be placed on flat-screen displays which recognized the part and brought up interactive information on the part including specifications and videos.

At SEMA, Chevrolet’s massive booth at the heart of Hall C in the convention center was a tribute to the Camaro, featuring several classic Camaros including the worlds first, and the worlds fastest. The exhibit also offered attendees the chance to check out the array of Chevy accessories and Chevy engines along with a few choice trucks and a prototype utility vehicle.

 

The inside of the ACDelco tradeshow booth with a red circular medallion on the floor, white seating to the right, computer kiosks on the left and in the rear the ACDelco logo suspended on a banner.White sofa seating facing tables with auto parts encased in transparent cubes in the foreground with a red suspeded banner above emblazoned with the ACDelco logo and the words "Quality Auto".An ACDelco caliper atop a solid transparent cube resembling glass with the ACDelco logo and part numbers etched into the cube.An elevated angular view of the Chevy booth at SEMA with classic Chevy Camaros lined up in the foreground and the Chevrolet logo emblazoned on a dark grey banner floating above.A prototype chevy utility vehicle behind stantions in a grey circular carpeted area with a video screen, two vertical displays with Chevy parts attached and the chevrolet logo in the background.A Chevy engine on a pedestal atop tradeshow carpeting with a fauz brick wall and garage door in the background.

IGT Exhibit at G2E

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The IGT logo on a circular frame surrounding a video chandelier which hangs above slot machines at the IGT booth at G2E 2016

The IGT exhibit at G2E was a very Vegas booth for a very Vegas show. We had the privilege of shooting IGT’s massive booth at the Sands Exposition Center at the end of September. With a 100-yard curved video wall, three paneled-video “chandeliers” and flashy new products including a 4D interactive slot experience, the exhibit was a hit. With the help of a 10-foot ladder, we were able to get a birds-eye feel of the space which was crowded with banks of slot machines ready for anxious attendees to try out.

An elevated perspective of slot machines and video chandeliers at the IGT booth at G2E 2016.The red chair from The Voice in the foreground with The Voice slots in the background at the IGT booth at G2E 2016

Sofas and tables on an elevated deck beneath a curved video wall at the IGT booth at G2E.An illuminated circular frame with an interactive video screen inside and the IGT booth in the background at G2E.