Interior Spaces After Hours

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We’ve had the opportunity to shoot stunning interior spaces conceptualized and created by locals. From tranquil high-rises to party pads and hip office spaces, it holds true that you can find anything you’re looking for in Vegas. Here you’ll see examples of how when the sun goes down, many of the interior features of a space can take center stage. From wall art to countertops to lighting and light fixtures, many of the design elements which create a space are best captured when they aren’t competing with the sterilizing light of day. When the sun goes down we can draw attention to specific elements in a room by casting supplemental light in areas of importance or by simply allowing a creative lighting installation to do its work. And when you want to show off a room in party mode, there’s no time like the after hours.

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Exteriors: Lighting or No Lighting?

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It can be difficult to know whether or not lighting is necessary for a shoot. When clients call to discuss a project with us, we try to careful listen and understand the budget, the end use, and the ultimate goal the photos will be trying to achieve. We then try to make a recommendation which best fits the needs of the particular project.

We take pride in every shoot, however adding supplemental lighting to a shoot gives a photographer options and opportunities he/she wouldn’t have otherwise. Adding lighting allows a photographer to add emphasis to areas of a home. When processing an image where we used supplemental lighting, we take multiple exposures and layer them in post-production. Because we light different areas individually, we can carefully control how much additional lighting goes into each area of the photo. In addition, lighting the exterior of a structure helps balance the exposure so that windows are balanced and the interior can be seen from the outside–instead of a blast of light or an unsightly glare. Here we have a competent dusk exposure of a model home we recently shot. We then have a 14-layer composite with sky replacement.

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A decent image, shot at dusk of a model home.

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A great image, shot after dusk, with lighting at multiple points and a sky replacement from a day with clouds and some dramatic orange and reds in the sky.

Just after dusk, there is a 20-30 minute period when buildings look spectacular and there are radiant blue skies which create a dramatic backdrop. This shopping center was shot at the perfect moment of blue hour. Here is an example of a shot without lighting and an example of the same shot with lighting. The image, shot without lighting, is pretty stunning. Shot at the perfect time of day, this is almost as good as the image produced with supplemental light. But not quite.

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Not lit, not bad.

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Lighting adds emphasis to the signage and removes the murky areas of the frame.

The problem with magic hour is akin to magic in general–it has a tendency to vanish into thin air. The perfect blue light at the end of the day fades quickly, which means you only get a few shots. By adding lighting, you can continue to shoot into the evening as though magic hour was frozen just for our photo shoot. Here are some examples of shopping centers we’ve recently shot when the sun set, but we kept on shooting. The nighttime shots without lighting are bright and sharp and could work great on a tight budget and tight schedule, but the images which were professionally lit and composited in post-production are eye-catching and ready to sell.

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Dark skies, but bright parking lot and visible buildings.

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Dramatic skies, and careful lighting to draw eyes to the building, not the parking lot.

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Not a bad shot for an area with very little lighting.

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A vibrant shot with detail in signs, windows, and walkways. Plus a sky which conceals the fact that we shot at night altogether.

Supplemental lighting adds time to a shoot. Each shot takes longer both at the time of the shoot and in post-processing. It also involves at least one lighting assistant. So for some projects a run-and-gun approach may be best. But to get the absolute best out of an image, you can’t beat shooting with lights.

Best of Houzz 2015

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Houzz is a fun little app which allows anyone involved with, well houses, to browse through and share images. Users can create ideabooks, rate local vendors, and even find and purchase items featured in photos. Houzz’ focus is on photos, so we thought it nice when they sent us an email letting us know we received a Best of Houzz designation in the Design and Customer Service categories. We know these awards are based on activity and positive reviews, so thank you to all those who have browsed, liked, and reviewed on our Houzz profile.

Capistrano by Ryland Model Homes

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We had the privilege of shooting the model homes of Ryland’s new Capistrano development in Summerlin. These three well-appointed models each with stunning views of the Strip, sit nearly against the mountains on the far west side of the valley. Two of the models have sliding-glass doors on each side of their living room, creating a airy open space from courtyard to backyard which was essential to capture. Taking multiple nights to properly light and shoot the models, some of the photographs borrow parts from over 30 individual exposures to adequately recreate the feel of these contemporary spaces. MarbellaInteriors_0250MarbellaInteriors_191_1MadridInteriors_0028-1MadridInteriors_0012MarbellaInterior_0147

J Jill Opens at Downtown Summerlin

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The opening of Downtown Summerlin is a big draw for the West side of Las Vegas. We enjoyed shooting the opening of J Jill at the new shopping center, but the shooting conditions weren’t ideal (which is not unusual.) The grand opening party for Downtown Summerlin had lighting towers sprawled across the area, restricting the angles we could use in capturing the new store. But at the end of the day we were able to sneak through the available space and hand over some clean, beautiful shots their newest location to J Jill. JJill655_Oct2014_0043JJill655_Oct2014_0007JJill655_Oct2014_0052JJill655_Oct2014_0064

What a Million Dollars Will Buy

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We recently had the opportunity to shoot two very different homes with very similar price tags. Both homes looking to fetch just over a million dollars, we found it interesting to compare what features one potential buyer might value over another.

The first home boasts a dramatic all-brick exterior with a two-story arch over the entryway. It is surrounded by lush grass and carefully manicured hedges. The elegant interior includes a spiral staircase, crown molding and shutters throughout, and another rare Las Vegas commodity–a basement.

The second home is a Tuscan-style villa within 5 minutes of the Las Vegas Strip. The crown jewel of home two is its tropical oasis of a backyard. Thatch umbrellas, waterfalls, rich greenery, and plentiful landscape lighting surround an immense swimming pool which could rival those of many hotels.

Many dream about what they would do with a million dollars. These two homes give a nice example of how, even given a million dollars, there are still big choices to be made!


 

Million-dollar Home #1

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Million-dollar Home #2
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You can view each of their listings here:

Home One: http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/4346-Jerdon-Ct-0-Las-Vegas-NV-89129/2106849107_zpid/

Home Two: http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/7664-Noche-Oscura-Cir-Las-Vegas-NV-89139/66851261_zpid/

2014 Trade Show Photography

Trade show booth photography is a natural extension of architectural photography. With full-frame cameras and wide angle lenses, an architectural photography is equipped and ready to shoot wide displays areas in tightly-packed show floors. When you spend hundreds of thousands of dollars designing, building, and transporting a booth, making sure it gets the photos it deserves is a no brainer. This spring has had us busy helping our friends get some great shots of their booths at ASPAN, Hospitality Design Expo, and Lightfair.  As a major convention and trade show destination, Las Vegas sees many events each year  and we love to help our clients get stunning shots of their fantastic booths.
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Daytime vs Nighttime Photography: Large Commercial Real Estate

CBRE needed fast, professional photographs of a large Las Vegas hotel in a flash. This project presented a couple of logistical challenges: 1) The weather was lousy the day of the shoot, 2) We didn’t have a lot of wiggle room on scheduling. We did our best to give the initial, cloudy photos warmth and color, but there is only so much you can do to create drama on a drab winter day. Our first solution, was to wait until dusk. Even on a cloudy day, dusk brings richer blues back to the sky. Combine them with the Vegas-style lighting on the hotel exterior and there is much more color and contrast. The final solution came the next morning, when there was an unscheduled break in the cloud cover. Without any notice, we were able to shoot back over to the site and fire another series of pictures, this time with blue skies and high clouds forming an intricate backdrop. The end result is that we have great comparison shots of the building in different shooting conditions: Cloudy, dusk, evening, and daytime with clear skies.

 

Shooting from street level and the top of a neighboring parking structure, we were able to use wide-angle lenses to fit the building in single composition. From there we added clean, straight detail shots of the property entrance and porte-cochère. Sprinkle in some signage and we have sharp, dramatic photographs with rich colors and great detail to document the building with a day’s notice.

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