Below is a great example of the evolution of a photo into a national ad. Originally I took this photo in New York for Belgard’s Catalog and that was just the beginning. It was then transformed by Wray Ward Creative Group into the ad you see now in Architectural Digest, Sunset and other magazines.

It was Wray Ward that came up with the Sunflower concept and once Belgard gave the green light the colossal task of bringing the sunflowers to life began.

Below is the final ad that is running now. Note the color of the house, tree line, oh, and all the sunflowers. Remember whenever you see an ad its all just smoke and mirrors.

This seaside hotel was establish in 1913 and is full of rich character. The goal was to capture the holiday decor in the lobby for their seasonal marketing and it was very important not to disturb the guests. So just like Santa Claus late at night we came in through the chimney which was hard with all the photo gear. Being quiet as a mouse we styled, lit, and shot the space while everyone was asleep. I wanted to dress up like Santa but my assistant was unenthusiastic about the elf suit I picked out for him. I also had a hard time finding room in the budget for the costumes and reindeer so I had to pass on the holiday attire.

We shot through the night and before the guests were getting up for breakfast we had completed our shoot and loaded up the sled. With a big wave and a ho, ho, Merry Christmas! We flew off into the sky.

Happy Holidays and I wish you and yours all the best in 2012

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You may have seen this swanky penthouse in the latest issue of San Diego Magazine. The unit is located on the 27th floor in the Sapphire Tower overlooking San Diego bay. My shoot took place on a beautiful sunny day and the penthouse was not a bad location to spend the afternoon working. I always enjoy shooting in downtown San Diego and this great location was no exception.

For this project we were focusing on the interior design which had plenty of style and character. Almost everything was black and white so color balance was crucial. With many different light sources: natural daylight, tungsten, fluoresces, and strobes it was important to let one dominate and blend the accent lighting carefully. I wanted to keep the whites, grays and blacks mostly neutral but just a desaturated black and white photo wouldn’t capture the feel of the spaces. It was important to have those subtle cool and warm tones to add a natural feel to the photos.

A great attribute to this penthouse is the large open layout. Each space easily flows into the next.

The black and white made for a very cool graphic subject but it also was inherently a high contrast scene. The key was blending natural light with my strobes to hold detail.

With such a great view we had to stick around for dusk to capture the beautiful view over looking San Diego Bay.

So, with an ever growing collection of succulents taking over the front and backyard it was time to figure out a way to show some of them off.

I’ve seen people use cinder blocks before as planters and I thought with a little glue (block adhesive) we could take this planter vertical.  After all, I wanted this planter to house as many succulent as possible.

I wanted to use cinder blocks because I knew it would be inexpensive (total cost was under $60) and simple to make. Remember I am architectural photographer, not an engineer. Also, I new it would have a great modern feel to use the simple square lines of the cinder block. I love modern design but even “Design With In Reach” is out of reach for a young photographer building up a business.

After a few trips to Home Depot I started to stack up the blocks at this time I was not using any glue I just wanted to “play” with the blocks until I found the perfect shape. After a few different tries I settled on the layout you see now. I carefully took it apart and glued metal screens to the bottom of the blocks that would be holding dirt. Once the screens had bonded to the blocks I started to rebuild the wall, gluing all the blocks together.

All in all it was a fun project and I would recommend it to anyone looking for an inexpensive modern planter wall. This is a great weekend project, just take your time and always try to think ahead so you know what your next step will be. Best of luck!

I knew photographing the pier would have its own unique challenges but wow, this one was tricky. First there were many different contractors, electricians, plumbers etc. all trying to finish up their work at the same time and most of them didn’t want to be models for our shoot (imagine that). Second was the heightened security, due to the fact it is a port; you can imagine we had to have all of our ducks lined up in a row. The icing on the cake was the exterior lighting which was control by a computer (which may have been “Hal” from Space Odyssey) that had a NASA inspired control panel. We were up at dawn setting up for our shoot and had been told that all the lights would come on for our shoot automatically but “Hal” had other plans. I guess he wasn’t feeling that photogenic that day.

Running into problems is all part of the job. Ask any professional architectural photographer and they can tell you that coming up with creative solutions to problems you can’t control is definitely in the job description. With a bit of extra time and work we were able to capture all the shots on our list, much to the clients delight.

It was important to show how the door system closes and stacks away so we decided to do three different photos with only the doors changing. This way the viewer can see how the doors function.

The key to capturing these photos was lighting and shooting at the right time of day. Dusk is always a great time of day to shoot almost any project.  The last hour of the day is normally full of deep sexy blues and pinks colors. Add some carefully placed lighting, strong composition, and a bottle of wine to set the mood. Light up that fireplace and bingo, you have a great sexy photo with a warm inviting feel.

It may seem pretty easy but actually it is a bit more work than that.  The client and I were working at this location three hours before dusk cleaning, prepping, and rearranging the furniture. Most people don’t realize how much work goes into a single professional photo but I assure you it is a full time job.