A recent
project involved shooting the interior of a bank for a commercial builder. Now, we have photographed several banks in
past years but this one particular bank was special.
Banks are
busy places, so immediately we know that the shoot will take place either
before or after hours. I also mentally
tax myself when I think of how much cleanup the photos will require. After all, who wants to see miles of computer
and telephone cords? Or all of the
personal items that employees bring to their work stations to remind them of
home?
Usually, we
arrive somewhere between 3:30 and 4:30 am to ‘stage’ (read clean up) as much as
possible. Removing the above-mentioned
clutter pre-shoot saves hours of time in post-production work. The results for all the effort are always
rewarding.
Another
benefit of the early arrival time is being able to photograph the space during
dawn. This often provides dramatic
painted sky views through the windows.
However, with this one particular bank getting in super early wasn’t
going to be possible. We had about one
hour before the bank opened to clean up/stage AND get all of our shots in. So the pressure was definitely on.
Even more
pressure was applied when the bank manager ran a little late. The second the doors were opened we hurried
inside to get the biggest surprise of all.
THE BANK WAS CLEAN, STAGED, AND DESKS
CLEARED OF ALL PERSONAL ITEMS. We were
shocked! Even superfluous telephone and
computer cords were carefully put away.
Never in our wildest imagination did we ever think that the bank staff
would be so thoughtful. As it turns out,
they love their remodeled space and were flattered that it was being
photographed, so they all took time the night before to have their offices and
lobby tidied up for the photo shoot.
Than you
Colette! We sincerely appreciate all the
hard work. Below are a few shots.
