Maddie.

Last summer, I received a call from an interior design client of mine. She asked if I would do some portraits of her daughter, Maddie, who was graduating high school.  With a smile I thought to myself ‘senior photos’.  They aren’t something we really do, at least not for years.  

 

Like most photographers, I cut my teeth on shooting anything anyone ever wanted - models, rock bands, weddings, portraits, and yes… seniors.  But that was then….now I mainly focus on commercial projects.  I listened as she said that she had done some iPhone shots and that maybe I could just process those and they would be fine.  After looking at them, which were nice, I set up a date for the shoot.  They wanted to do the session outdoors as opposed to in a studio, so we schedule an afternoon at Cantigny Park in Wheaton, Illinois.  

 

When they arrived on-site for the shoot, her mom said that Maddie had some definite ideas about what she wanted, and that this wasn’t going to be a typical ‘seniors’ photo shoot.  Maddie seemed a bit shy, which we expected.  What I wasn’t expecting was the level of professionalism and attitude that Maddie brought.   

 

When we started shooting, the shy Maddie disappeared and a confident model showed up in her place.  Wow! She was a blast and as professional as any model I've ever worked with.  We all just kept smiling at each other as we went from one location to another. We definitely had a great time, and got some great shots of Maddie.  For those curious, Maddie was photographed with a Sony A850 using a Minolta 85mm 1.4 portrait lens and a Vivitar 285 flash on a Vivitar flash handle. Below are a few of the highlights:

 

Creative Spotlight: Orren Pickell Builders

We had the opportunity to shoot a beautiful home in the Northwest suburbs for Orren Pickell Builders.

The home is situated on a corner lot in an established neighborhood.  Simple, understated yet comfortable and elegant.  Walking inside, you get a modern, contemporary, European feel to the architecture and design.  

 

Rooms are open and spacious; hand-milled woodwork and wood flooring  reminds one of a clean Danish/Scandinavian style home.  As with everything Orren Pickell, the finishes and execution are all first rate with no room for improvement.  Upstairs houses a large primary suite with three additional bedrooms.  The lower level is quite large and is the perfect area for gatherings and entertainment.  It also features a large play area for the kids.  

 

Below are a few of my favorite shots.

Getting the Shot!

Every now and then you find that you need to get into a 80 foot lift to grab just the right elevation shot.

Shooting a remodeled hotel last month near a Chicago airport forbid the use of a high quality drone, so we went one better.  The Construction Super (thank you Nick!) asked if I wanted to go up into the lift to grab a shot.  You bet I do!

Using a high quality DSLR with an architectural lens will give you superior results when compared to using even our best drone.

Below is just one of the views we captured along with my business partner Mary Beths quick iPhone grab shot.

 

Creative Spotlight: Level X Group

A couple of weeks ago, we had the opportunity to do a photo shoot for Level X Group.  LXG is a culmination of many talents including Level Hospitality, Level Capital and Level Construction. 

 

In this instance, they took a well-worn hotel, built back in 1958 and located near Chicago’s Midway Airport then transformed it into a showplace.  There is not enough space in this blog to mention the extensive design updates and construction improvements that are featured in this project.  The images below show the results of what an excellent team of high-end construction craftsman, and fine architectural designers are capable of accomplishing.  

 

We have photographed many hospitality projects for Level over the years, so we knew the bar would be high for this extensive rebuild.  I am certain, that Level exceeded everyone’s expectations with this one.  The attention to detail is impeccable.  Well done.    

 

Clean Shots:

I will often hear from other photographers and clients that our work is clean and sharp.  Makes me smile.   

It’s from high quality hand processing and using very good lenses.   A good photographer will know instinctively which lens to use for any given project.  We have an extensive arsenal of lenses to choose from, one of which dates back to the mid 40’s and is my favorite portrait lens when shooting 35mm film.  

 

We have specific lenses for architectural interiors, exteriors, product, art, landscapes, portrait, film and digital.  Using the correct lens is imperative to yield optimal results.  I can always tell when an architectural shot was done with a portrait lens, or when an architectural lens was used for a portrait.  Each lens has it’s own specific characteristics and it’s so important to use the proper one.  Take a minute and visit our website galleries, and be assured the correct lens was used every time regardless of subject or format shot.

 

Below are a few shots from a Benvenuti & Stein photo shoot a couple of years back.  

Shooting for Interior Designers

I have often said that one of my favorite clients to shoot for are interior designers. Interior designers are very decisive and know exactly what images they are looking for with regard to their online portfolios, prints and wall art for the office.

 

They also are fastidious about making sure that a project is ‘shoot ready’ when we arrive for photography.  Many that I regularly photograph for will arrive hours beforehand to stage the selected rooms, often bringing their own accessory items with them.  This result in images that not only looks great, but will need minimum clean up in post processing. 

The importance of using a high-end photographer to shoot your images cannot be overstated.  Still images have a captivating power and can be used for years in a client’s arsenal of marketing tools.  One wants to be sure to have a diversity of images for social media, website portfolios, brochures not to mention print and online advertising.

Be sure to select a photographer who has excellent composition skills and someone who knows how to actually run a camera and process an image to perfection.  When selecting a photographer be sure that their images do not contain blown out light fixtures or windows that you can’t see through, curved walls or distorted views. The image should be clean, accurate and beautiful, displaying every detail of what you do as an interior designer.

 

If you have a project that you need photographed, please contact me personally.  We have packages that will fit any budget.  

Shot on Film: Teamwork!

Taking a little time to archive some film.  I love doing this.  Pulling out archival film sleeves of outtake images and scanning them.  Stuff you’ve never really looked at because they were not shot as product for a project.

It’s fun, gives a quick flashback in time and always makes me smile.  

 

The images here made me think of the importance of assembling a good team to work with.  Something that we still do with every project we photograph or video.

 

When someone looks at a photo of a model, they really have no idea of the time, work and team effort that goes into producing a beautiful shot.

 

These outtakes, shot handheld without flash, were something that we regularly did between shooting sessions just to document the day.  They really weren’t intended to be seen by anyone other than our staff.

 

Back in the days of shooting film, post-production was critical.  Remember, print work was done in a chemical darkroom, not a digital one. Image adjustments were made by a skilled lab technician that could consistently give you perfect results.  For this we relied on ‘Film Guru’ Bruce Starrenburg, owner of LightBox Inc.  

Ann, one of our makeup artists touches up the pant leg of model Jill Fernandez, while photographer/business partner Mary looks on, camera in hand.  

Here Ann, preps the hair of model Jill.

The talent of a good makeup artist can never be underestimated.  Beautiful!