Photographing The Historically Significant Director's Guild of America / ASCAP

I was recently contacted by Fleetwood/Fernandez, a Santa-Monica based architect, to shoot a new project that they had completed. While the shoot would consist of only interior photographs, the shoot was significant in that it's a remodel of  the Director's Guild of America building and the ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Producers) offices. Way cool! For those not aware, the ASCAP is the group responsible for the Grammy awards and for distributing and marketing thousands of popular musicians around the world. There was a significant amount of memorabilia (including Grammy awards) scattered throughout the building and no shortage of instruments used by chart-topping artists hanging on the wall.

While the shoot itself was relatively straightforward, I was testing out the new PowerMC2 made by PocketWizard. I recently purchased a few Paul C Buff Einstein lights and was excited to see how they would compare to my all-speedlight setup, which has been my workhorse for a number of years now. I'm glad to say I had no problems and the best part was that there was no shortage of power, something that the speedlights struggled with when lighting large spaces.

All of the spaces were staged by myself and the architects, and I think we did a great job. I've included a few photos here, and there's a new before-and-after shot featured in the gallery so you can see the staging and retouching work that went into this shoot.

 

Behind the scenes on an architectural photoshoot

I recently enlisted the help of my friend and local videographer, Peter Donaghy, to create a behind-the-scenes video of an architectural/advertising photo shoot at the Arclight Theatre in downtown Hollywood. It goes into a bit of detail about my method, including the on-location work, a look into what the camera is capturing, and a view of all the post-processing that is done to create an image of mine. We spent a ton of time on it and I hope that it gives you some insight into my process.

Enjoy!

Mike Kelley: "Baiting With Light." mpkelley.com featured on Pocketwizard website

Off-camera lighting specialists Pocketwizard recently featured my work on their website and in their blog. The article goes into detail about how I got started in interiors and architectural photography, as well as explains some of my techniques and methods used to create my images. I think it's well worth the read, and they did a fantastic job writing both an informative and somewhat humorous article. An excerpt of the article can be read below, and the entire article can be read by clicking here.

Thanks to Ron Egatz, Dave Schmidt and everyone at Pocketwizard who has offered assistance or put up with my questions for the past few years!

Updated blog, and a few new behind the scenes videos

After a few months of much re-organizing and shuffling, the blog is back. I hope you can forgive me for the downtime and removal of the old blog, but it needed a refresher with regards to content and style. So without further adieu!

Our first post brings us a few video updates. You may have noticed these in the 'about' section of the site, but if not, I've recently made a couple of 'behind the scenes' movies. The first one, by Peter Donaghy, is a quick look at how I work on location.

And secondly, though a little older, is a behind the scenes video of my capture and post processing. This video was featured on www.strobist.com, one of the most popular photography resources in the world, and garnered nearly 40,000 views from that one site in a month alone. Check out the strobist article here, and the video below:

Why aren't you writing thank-you notes for your architectural and real estate photography clients?

I am thoroughly convinced that I have landed my biggest job to date and kept my biggest clients by writing thank you notes. It shows that you care. It shows that you think a little bit more than other creatives in your field, and have a human side. People like this. I was asked to present a portfolio to a new client recently, and thanked them for their time with a hand-written note afterwards. They had the budget to fly someone in from Europe if they wanted to, and I know that they've worked with other photographers who's work I admire in the past. They certainly didn't pick me on price, I can assure you of that.  I was not the only option on their table. Yet, for some reason I am completely convinced that my simple hand-written thank you note was a contributing factor in me landing that job.  It costs next to nothing - I try to take a small percentage of my income and give it back to my clients - don't just mail bomb them with advertisements and phone calls asking them to use your service. Put a little time and effort in, whether it's either a thank-you note or a small gift. Doesn't need to be big. Just has to be human. I guarantee you'll see results.

The Gear I Use For My Architectural And Interiors Photography

Preface: Holy wall of text, Batman! Apologies in advance, but this had to be done.

Ever since I’ve started this blog, I’ve been getting emails asking me to detail what gear I’m using, why I’m using it, and how I’m using it. So let this be (as of 3/2/11) the penultimate gear post (I will be periodically updating it to reflect changes to my equipment, as well).  In order to make it easier to follow, I’ll break it down by category, e.g. cameras, lenses, lights, and so on.  This gear covers all of my work –  my interiors and exteriors, as well as my editorial and personal shots.

Cameras:

Canon 5d: A five year-old camera that I purchased used. My particular 5d has been dragged around the world and has the dents, scuffs and scratches to prove it. It’s incredibly slow by today’s standards, but the image quality at low ISOs is still fantastic. 13 megapixels is more than enough for my clients, who in most cases are printing, at the largest, 8.5”x11”, or using their images only on the web. I have felt the lust for the new 5d Mark II, but to be completely honest I don’t need the 21 megapixels or the increased wait times while I process photos. While the live view and video would be nice, neither are going to make my photos better.

Canon 1d Mark III: This camera is my main workhorse these days. It is a total joy to use: perfect autofocus, extremely responsive controls, and amazing image quality through ISO 1600. I also enjoy the fact that I can use this camera for everything from sports and action to interiors and exteriors. For my uses, there are no shortcomings with this camera. It covers all the bases well and I would have no problem taking this to any shoot. 10.1 megapixels is a good compromise between filesize and ease of editing.

Lenses:

Canon TS-E 17mm L: The lens responsible for 90% of both my architectural and landscape photography. I can’t speak highly enough of the image quality from this lens. Color rendition, contrast, sharpness and flare control are all exceptional. The tilt and shift functions are a necessity when it comes to correcting verticals and perspective. No more leaning buildings or trees, and by stitching I have what is effectively an 11mm lens on my full-frame 5d.

Canon 17-40mm L: My workhorse before I invested in the 17mm tilt shift. Still a good lens, but lacking in sharpness, contrast and flare control (as well as the obvious tilt and shift functions) when compared to the TS lens. Now mostly relegated to backup duty, scouting and recce use.

Canon 50mm 1.4: My interior detail and portrait lens.  Also the fastest lens I own. Works well to separate interesting features in homes, which is where it finds most of its use. Pulls double duty as my portrait lens of choice if necessary. I owned the 50mm 1.8 prior to this, and the 1.4 is quite a step up in terms of focus accuracy and build quality. I’ve long held that a 50mm prime is a must in anyone’s bag, and if you can’t spring for the 50mm 1.2 L, this is a good compromise.

Canon 15mm 2.8 Fisheye: My fun lens. Incredibly, incredibly wide, as well as sharp. Quick and accurate to focus, although most of my use with this lens requires manual focus. Currently discontinued to make way for the new 8-15mm f4 L Fisheye. To be honest, at over twice the price and one stop slower, I do not see myself upgrading to the new version.

Canon 70-200 f4 L: The baby of the 70-200 series. I’ve though about upgrading to the Image Stabilized version or the f2.8 version, but there’s just no need. The only time I use this lens is in bright sunlight and mostly for novelty use (e.g. Airshows, shooting friends, artsy things, occasionally some lit portraits). Because I don’t feel the need to upgrade, I’ve kept this lens for years. I also am not particularly wowed by the weight of the 2.8 version. I can see myself keeping this lens as long as I’m using the Canon system.

As you can see, I don’t have an enormous stable of lenses. My most used by far are the 17mm Tilt-shift and the 50mm 1.4. The rest are all extremely specialized and only see use a small fraction of the time.

Lighting gear:

Canon Speedlites: I have a smorgasbord of Canon Speedlites. They’re small, easy to transport, put out enough light for the bulk of the shooting I do, and work seamlessly with the Pocketwizard Zone Control system.

Pocketwizard Mini TT1, Flex TT5 and AC3: Together, this setup allows me to remotely control my Canon Speedlites. I can set my lights up, go back to the camera, and adjust the power of each light independently. An absolute godsend for interiors, where I’m often working with multiple lights across three rooms all at different power levels. Oftentimes my lights are tucked into crevices, perched in rafters, or clamped to whatever I can find, which makes adjusting them manually a total pain in the neck. Enter the Pocketwizard system: a dramatic time saver when multiple lights are scattered all over a scene. It’s also much easier to use than Canon’s built-in master and slave setup, which can be a total nightmare. It’s there for backup, but I would prefer never to use it. I imagine that being stuck in hell is being forced to light interiors for eternity using only Canon’s default IR triggering system.

Modifiers: I use a suite of shoot-through umbrellas, all at different sizes, as well as a large 12x12 sheet of ripstop nylon that I purchased at Michael’s. This is great for taming harsh sunlight, creating a huge surface to bounce off of, or just bouncing light around for fill. I need desperately to try out some new modifiers, as I do feel limited with only these two solutions.  Although not technically ‘modifiers,’ I have a large assortment of various stands and booms on which to mount my lights. Everything from 6’ stands to 13’ stands for reaching up into vaulted ceilings.

Misc:

Support: I use a Manfrotto 055CX3 Carbon Fiber tripod with a 488rc2 ballhead. While not the most amazing tripod setup, it gets the job done. The carbon fiber is more stable than aluminum and slightly lighter.  I’ve gotten so quick with lining up a shot with the ballhead I don’t really see the need to upgrade to a geared head at this moment. My next purchase here will be an Arca-Swiss Cube, but for the time being I am okay with the ballhead. It’s never given me an issue, and I work plenty fast with it.

LowePro Computrekker Plus AW: The bag that fits everything. 17” Macbook Pro, all the aforementioned gear, and room to spare. Plus batteries, gels, pens, paper, chargers, and filters. I’d like to purchase a foam-lined rolling Pelican case soon, however, as my back’s herniated disc doesn’t love carrying this thing.

Editing: I use an early-2009 17” Macbook Pro with Adobe CS3, Apple Aperture and a 27” external monitor. I use Gretag Macbeth hardware and software for color calibration. I could use a new computer for the heavy editing I do, but it’s not going to make my photos any better, so I will make due with this for now.

I hope this post helps to clear up some questions you might have with regards to my gear. Don't hesitate to send an email or leave a comment if you see anything you'd like to know more about.



Making Your Architectural, Real Estate, And Interior Photography Stand Out

We all spend our formative years trying to fit in; to be the same, longing to be accepted as 'normal'. Time to move on, kiddos.

Lately, I’ve seen more and more forum posts, blog entries, and rants about how hard it is to make it in photography. About how they’ll never be able to make a living because they’ve been undercut by the $30/hr hobbyist-turned-pro portrait photographer with a full-time day job with benefits, or the dreaded “Craigslist Wedding Photographer” posts.  My question is this: Why are you even competing with them? Why are you trying to do the exact same thing? I see it every day, there are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of photographic clones out there. Now, you can take this all with a grain of salt- I could be way off the mark. I’m young (23), I didn’t own a digital camera until late 2008, and I’ve been shooting paying gigs for half of that time.  But somehow I’ve managed to make this my full-time job. The last eight months, it’s been my only source of income. And unlucky for me, my parents, while I love them dearly, aren’t paying my bills!  So it’s sink or swim, really. Has luck played a part? Absolutely. But luck only gets you so far. You need to keep juggling, keep those balls in the air, and while it may start with some luck, it doesn’t last forever on luck alone, and luck hasn’t made my client list grow exponentially from when I started.

One of the most important things I’ve learned in my short career is to know how to differentiate yourself. Somehow I managed to sail right over the heads of all the photographers in this area shooting architecture and real estate, undercutting me by 80% in some cases. I could be a sales genius, but I’ve hated every retail job I’ve held.  I have a long list of repeat clients, and a steady flow of work to keep me busy. 

So how have I differentiated myself?  (Warning: there’s some tech talk ahead!) I hope that if you don’t shoot real estate or architecture, that you can take this and learn from it regardless. It doesn’t have to be interiors or exteriors – the whole point is that you need to be different. This is how I do it – hopefully it will spark some ideas in your head.

I try to make every shot stand out. There are literally thousands of real estate photos out there, all of them bland, with no TL or C put into them by the photographer. No lighting, no editing other than a few run-of-the-mill HDRs. Every photo I take gets a seemingly impossible amount of love put into it for the volume of work I put out.   I’ve become intimately familiar with Photoshop, my cameras, my lenses, my lights. I know how everything works inside and out. While attending school at the University of Vermont, I was lucky enough to come into contact with the brains behind PocketWizard, a photographic accessories company who makes some incredibly powerful off-camera lighting tools. I interned there for the spring semester of my senior year, and they were kind enough to send me off into the real world with a few of their new products, which I have used to great effect in my photography. In particular, the Flex TT5, Mini TT1 and AC3. These dramatically cut the amount of time it takes to light an interior. Which means that I can spend less time fiddling with lights and settings, and less time making the shot happen. Take this photo as an example. Here’s the ambient frame, before any supplemental lighting, or before I cleaned it up. Just getting in, getting the lay of the land.

Next shot – I’ve cleaned up some debris here and there, and rearranged some things to tidy the space up. I’ve popped a few flashes in behind pillars and poles. They’re Canon Speedlights on PocketWizard Flexes, with a Mini TT1 and AC3 on my camera.  Two lights behind pillars, one to my right shooting into the vaulted ceiling for a tiny bit of fill.

 

Still pretty dark. Without even leaving the camera, I dial up the flash power on my Speedlights using the AC3.

 

You can see how the light from the flashes has killed the ambient coming in through the windows on the walls.  The hotspots are all gone – we have nice even lighting after bouncing it off the ceilings and walls.

And this is where the fun begins – I grab a Speedlight, throw it on my handy monopod with an umbrella swivel on the end, and start firing off some accent shots. Maybe five or six in total where I see fit – just to make the image pop and draw attention to nice aesthetic and useful/fun features of the room.

Here’s a not-so-flattering shot of yours truly giving the pool table some light. Excuse the Beatles haircut.

And finally, I put it all together in Photoshop. Thanks to the PocketWizards, the majority of the work is done. White balance is correct and the room is lit evenly (evenly enough for what was literally three minutes’ worth of work!). I make some quick layer masks of the accent frames I took, and layer them onto my flashed frame.  Here’s the finished product in all of it’s glory.

All of my shots get this treatment. Total time making this shot happen? Probably 10-12 minutes. We’ll be generous and say five minutes in the field, and five minutes in post for this one image. For an average shoot of mine, which finishes with 10-15 interior images delivered, that’s about two hours of work in the field, maybe an hour and a half finishing up and retouching the images, giving them that ‘pop’.

So, for roughly three hours worth of work, given that I stay away from Facebook, AKA ’The Freelance Productivity Killer’, what do we get? An image that jumps off the page when it’s sitting next to the typical real estate shot, which is invaluable in one of the most competitive markets ever.  More views = more sales, plain and simple. My clients appreciate this, and they keep coming back to me because of it. 

Lastly, it took me a long time to figure all of this out. I’m using this as one example of how it’s possible for you to differentiate yourself from all of the other hacks out there, and get your work noticed. It might take you a bit of time to figure out a formula that sets you apart, but once you get it, I promise that it will help you dramatically.

Books for the working photographer

So I'm sort of a bookworm. I read a ton. Before bed, while waiting around, while driving (only semi-joking...) and wherever else there's downtime. I've read a lot of books that are directly or indirectly related to making a living in a place that isn't a cubicle. Here are my four favorites.

Preface: I know that some of these titles may be photography specific, however, I wanted to discuss in detail and share with people who do this freelance thing (or are trying to do this) for a living certain books that have helped me get repeat clients, find new clients, make enough money, and continue the cycle, and quit my day job. I got my first paid assignment a little over a year and a half ago and I'm now working full time at this, and things have only been going up and up since then. I attribute a lot of my technical knowledge to the internet, with a few mentors that I met along the way, but I have learned so, so much from reading, in terms of business knowledge, artistic knowledge, etc, from books that it would be wrong to discount that entire knowledge base.

There are a TON of crappy photography books out there. Like any subject with a huge user base, there is going to be a lot of material and not all of it will get filtered. Some of these choices will be obvious but others less so.

#1: Ignore Everybody, by Hugh MacLeod

This book is probably the greatest piece of literature to ever happen to me. It's not so much a book about taking photos, but more of general self-help book for starving artists. I've read it cover to cover probably five times (and that's not even a joke). There are some key points in this book that really need to be understood if you want to make it as a freelancer. For example:

"Good ideas alter the power balance of relationships."

"The best ideas always have the loneliest childhoods."

"Power is never given, power is always taken."

"Nobody Cares. Do it for yourself."

These are the four major points that this book makes - and in the context of freelance-dom, as ridiculous as they sound, they need to be taken very seriously. I can't even tell you how many times I was told "you're crazy," "there's no way that you'll make it," "this won't last" etc.., by people who didn't think I would last a month before obscene debt ruined my life, or I'd meet some other crazy demise. If I had listened to every  internet keyboard-jockey telling me to quit before I started, I'd be working some miserable minimum wage job, shuffling paper in a cubicle, or similar. My naivety told me to actually trust in this book - and it has let me come this far without doing any major self-harm. In fact, I'd say I'm doing quite alright so far.

Enough incoherent rambling. Buy this book. It's long enough to flesh out details, but not too long to bore you to tears. It's clear and concise, and full of witty humor in bite-size servings.

#2 (this should be the most obvious)
Best Business Practices for Photographers: Second edition by John Harrington

At $23.00, a total steal. This book has paid for itself hundreds of times over (seriously) in what it taught me. I learned none of this in school. I think going to art/photography/anything but business school grossly under-prepares you for the reality outside of school. It is said a lot but I'll say it again. I spend easily 50% (probably some weeks closer to 80%) of my working time negotiating business deals, sending invoices, following up, emailing clients, meeting clients, etc. And about 20% in any given week actually out on a job shooting. This is a business book, not a photography book, but we're doing this as a business right? It covers everything you need to know (and is eye-opening). I am still learning new things from this book almost a year months after purchasing it and reading it cover to cover multiple times. I reference it multiple times a week and use it for nearly every negotiation I take part in. He breaks down every possible scenario you could see yourself in while you're running a business.

If you're doing this for a job (part time, full time, anything) and don't own this book, there is really no reason not to. Put off buying your next lens, accessory, whatever, and buy this. Your revenue will increase, you will learn a ton, and you will have formed many solid goals for your business. He runs an awesome business and it is really something to aspire to.

#3: VisionMongers by David DuChemin

This is a sort of less technical, but just as valuable to me, book for anyone interested in doing this full time. It is a collection of tips and hints from David, who has also interviewed about 15 fairly-well-known pros about how they got started (Karl Grobl, Chase Jarvis, Joe McNally, Dave Delnea, Zack Arias, DuChemin himself, etc). This isn't so much a technical manual as much as it is a more biographical look at all of these working pros. It shows that there are a lot of different ways to get into the business, how to find and explore new markets, how to market yourself, why each pro is successful (hint: niches) etc. It is also a harsh reality check for anyone looking into getting into this - a lot of the stories contained in it show just how hard it can really be to make a living doing this. One of the pieces of advice on becoming a full time photographer is: "Don't." Certainly sobering, and all in all a great read with more of a personal feel than 'Best Business Practices,' while still giving some priceless business insight in this outrageously competitive career choice.

#4: Lurzer's 200 Best Ad Photographers Archive

This is different than the other books, as it's more of a picture book- Nothing but images here. Absolutely nothing but high-end photos. If you ever want to feel inadequate, pick up one of these books. I paid $30.00 at Barnes And Noble for the latest edition, I've forgotten what I paid for older ones but they do sell out and after that prices go through the roof. The reasons I insist on these books are:

-Nothing but the best images in photography. Whether you shoot people, landscapes, architecture, whatever, there is a section in this book for it. You'll recognize a few of the photos from national and international ad campaigns. However, most of them are from personal collections or obscure campaigns and the concepts and ideas are just not to be believed in some of the photos. Things you've never thought of. If I ever need inspiration for a job, I will flip through here and try to pull some ideas out for clients. Not only are there far-flung surreal works, but the usual 'clean' wedding shots, portraits, and so on are all included. Even if you don't shoot for commercial and corporate clients these books are an amazing source of inspiration.

-No text. Just images. Big images. I like this because a. I can reverse-engineer the photos in my head without being told exactly what happened in the photo which flexes my creative muscles a bit and I might even have a happy accident and come up with something cooler and b. the images speak for themselves. If I'm feeling bored I will look through, get some ideas and go take some shots to see if I can figure out 'how they did that' or 'how they lit that' or 'how they photoshopped that,' whatever it is.

So to sum it up, just a library of the best imagery on offer. If you do any type of photography, these (as I've reiterated) are just awesome sources of inspiration.

--

I hope this helps anyone who's interested in breaking free from the grind. These are all books that have helped me enormously - inspirationally, technically, and in business terms. They're all at least worth a flip at the local Borders, if you get the chance.

Volunteer, work pro bono, and be generous with your talents

I can hear the exasperated groans of people already. If I had a nickel for every time someone told me not to give my work away for free, I'd probably have a few dollars. "But you're killing the photography industry!" "Taking business from REAL pros!" "Devaluing all of our work!"

Blah blah.

As a freelancer, you really have (in my opinion) no reason not to volunteer. Here are just a few reasons why I give away my time and work to causes that I believe in, whether or not they have an advertising or photography budget or whatever budget that could pay a photographer to work for them.

1. Networking. Fact is, it's an easy way to meet people and get the word out. The more people you talk with, the more people will remember "that photographer kid who volunteers at ____" or "that graphic designer guy who I volunteer with" or "that girl who is a freelance writer who I see when I volunteer." This gets you into their head. Talk it up, meet people, they'll remember you.

2. Referrals. I've gotten probably more than my fair share of referrals from people that I've met via volunteering. Whether it's referrals for my architectural/real estate work, or referrals taking pictures of people's kids, or pictures of pets (which admittedly, are not my specialties), it doesn't hurt one bit. People are going to be more inclined to work with someone who they know takes an interest in their community or a cause that they align themselves with, and thus, will go to you when they need your services, rather than some random guy who doesn't take an interest in local causes or is just relying on an outdated business model to find work. Get out there, be a good human being, and work will follow.

3. Portfolio building. I have a ton of respect for the big name photographers. Here's another spot where I often hear "never work for free!" but the truth is, I'm pretty sure that Chase Jarvis, John Harrington, Zack Arias, David Hobby or [insert big name photographer here] didn't hang out a shingle and start invoicing $2500+ per shoot the next day without a solid portfolio built over months, or more likely, years. Volunteering is a low-risk way to build a photography/design/artistic/whatever portfolio in a low-pressure environment, without pissing off pros who are trying to make a living in a big-budget field where free/cheap work would be frowned upon.

4. You're a damn freelancer. I'm assuming that anyone who is a freelancer did so because they were sick of getting up at 7AM, spending all day in a cube, having basically zero freedom in terms of how you use your daylight hours, you wanted to use a talent of yours for money, etc etc. Whatever the reason, being a freelancer, you are flexible, probably have more free time than most (though sometimes I wish I didn't, because I'd prefer to be working than sitting around, but still, you know what I'm getting at). So take some of that extra sitting-around time and go do something cool with it, even if you aren't getting paid. You have talents that will be appreciated and will help out a cause that you might believe in.

5. It feels good. Really the most simple answer here, and should probably be the first point in my little bullet list, but then nobody would read the rest of the post. It should be something you want to do not for financial gain, that would be getting into it for all the wrong reasons. Do it because you want to, be enthusiastic about it, and you just may experience some nice side effects that will help your freelancing business along.

I personally volunteer at a local humane society, as you might have known if you have poked around my galleries at all. I take cute (ideally) photos of their animals for the website, with the intent of stirring up interest to would-be adoptive parents. I didn't get into it with the intention of making any money from it, as I had no idea how animals and architecture were connected, or if anything would even happen, or if they would even need my help - I just like to take photos, and I like dogs. So the solution was obvious! But regardless, it's been very rewarding and I've gotten more than I thought possible out of it. So try it out. Pick something you like, I'm sure there's a local non-profit or similar that would love your services and be glad to use your talents, especially if you're a freelancer in a creative field.

Here are a few shots from my work there.

Reno Air Races

After shooting nothing but real estate and commercial jobs for the past few months, I got a chance to mix it up and get the creative juices flowing.  Glad to say that I had an amazing time shooting at the Reno Air Races. I had almost forgot what it was like to take a picture without a tripod.  I think the best part of it was being a little kid all over again and just being completely in awe of some of the coolest planes on the planet. I don't think this stuff will ever get old.