I started out as a still photographer taking black and white photos and occasionally shooting color slides and large format color transparencies. In 2011 I purchased a DSLR (digital single lens reflex) camera and my clients began to ask me to take video clips and still photographs during the same photo assignment. I needed to learn about recording sound and video editing. In 2012 I was asked by Google to produce 360 degree panoramas of businesses. It was a quite a learning curve.
I recently accepted a challenging photo assignment that required all three formats: creating a Google virtual tour, still photographs, and short videos of two model apartments at Park Place Towers in Hartford, CT. The kitchens had been recently remodeled with new cabinets, countertops and appliances. Due to the current pandemic it is more important than ever for people to view the interiors of residences and businesses, virtually before they visit in person. The Google virtual tours are here:
The views from the apartments are quite stunning, which presented a lighting problem and an opportunity. Many photographers take a short cut by utilizing HDR to photograph interiors. This technique known as “high dynamic range” is done by taking multiple exposures and then blending them into one image in software. The problem with this technique is the photos look overprocessed and unnatural. This technique does not make a home interior look warm and inviting. HDR photography does not add lighting where there is none.
Photographing a one-bedroom and two-bedroom unit took me an entire day. Much of my time was spent fussing with the lighting for the still images. I have eight small flash units that I can hide in the interior scene, along with utilizing the existing natural and artificial lighting.
The real skill is to have the scene look like it wasn't lit. Since I worked with film for over 30 years; I am a big fan of getting the final image correct in the camera, rather than spending hours with editing software later.
For the short web videos, I utilized a combination of still images which I lit with flash and live video that I lit with daylight balanced floodlights. I added a music track in the video editing. The attention span on the web is short, so each video is 30 seconds. You can view them here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/2euubmzdff7xme3/One_Bedroom_2020.mp4?dl=0
This assignment tested three of my photography skills which I am constantly working to improve. It is my hope that my photography helps people find their new home. I am sure that watching the sun set behind downtown Hartford every evening, from the Park Place Towers, never gets old.
Tim Becker
Creative Images Photography
901 Main St.
Manchester, CT 06040
860-528-7818
tim@2cimages.com
Thanks for the tour of Park Place Towers. I had more fun touring the one- and two-bedroom suites panoramically than I would have with a real estate agent chatting at me. Keep the artsy touch in your work. It seems to have served you well since your newspaper years.
Monica