2009 Holiday Message

Wow... what a year! With 2009 drawing to a close, I am sure, like everyone in the industry you're looking to 2010 with anxious eyes.

Rather than drone on and on about what you need to be doing to be successful in the upcoming year, let’s take a well-earned pause... sit back… have a virtual cocktail together (clink)… and toast ourselves that we made it through the year. Just making it is an accomplishment.

We’ve seen long-time friends and associates become victims of the economy. We’ve watched pillars of the industry shudder. Some of us are more bumped and bruised than others. But, we are a little older, a little wiser, and, as much as it doesn’t feel like it, our businesses are going to be stronger for it.

To look positively, we’ve learned creative ways to keep things going, techniques and approaches that, in a good economy, we never would have thought of. How much is that benefiting our businesses now and will be long into the future?

So, in looking at 2010… let’s apply the three P’s… Positive… Productive… and Patient. Or, to borrow from the slogan used in Great Britian during WWII, “Keep Calm and Carry On.” :-D

Cheers (clink)… one thing is for certain, 2010 is going to be an exciting year!

Happy Holidays!

--Kimberly

and everyone on the team at R2 Photography, LLC

www.r2-photography.com

Planning Your Architectural Photography Project

As they say, a little planning saves a lot of pain, and that holds true for Architectural Photography. It isn’t as easy showing up and clicking a shutter. To ensure excellent final images, a thorough pre-planning process can save everyeone from headaches, miscommunication, and surprises later in a project.

Below is an outline of typical planning milestones we have found to lead to a successful team effort with our clients.

Image Requirements Discussion

Before our initial meeting it is important that you and your design team identify views that best represent your designs. Questions todiscuss include:

• Are there any specific concepts/elements/features you want highlighted?

• Are there areas that illustrate creative problem solving by your team?

• Are there specific “must-have” interior and exterior views?

After discussing and listing all the desired images, prioritize those images in order of importance.


Site Visit

The Site Visit is vitally important for several reasons:

• Face-To-Face Discussions. We review your desired shot list and identify them in the facility. Notes are made concerning the specific expectations of individual shots and any challenges or requirements to create your vision. We will also discuss logistical requirements.

• Facility Representative Coordination. We can discuss with them what is happen during the assignment. They can ensure all lights are in working order,undesirable items are removed, landscaping/cleaning, various “housekeeping” items completed, etc. We don’t want them surprised by cases of equipment and several individuals descending on their facility for a day or more. Without their cooperation, it would be nearly impossible to complete the project.

• Technical Preparation. Color quality and light levels are measured and notated to determine technical requirements for illumination and color correcting . Scouting photographs are also taken which will be posted to your private section of our web site for review to prepare for the final photography meeting.


Site Specific Checklist

After the Site Visit we will provide you a checklist of items and details that need to be addressed or corrected prior to the photography.


Final Photography Meeting

Usually performed via telephone, together we will review your online scouting photographs and the Site Specific Checklist. We will agree on specific final views to be performed the day of the assignment.

Whether you were there or not, and whether we are your photographer on a project or not, if you have any questions or comments about commissioning architectural photography, please feel free to drop us a line anytime. We'd be happy to help!

Kimberly Blom-Roemer
Photographer
R2 Photography, LLC
r2-photography.com

866-722-9506

AIA and the ASMP-Working Together!

Did you know the AIA and the ASMP have been working together now for over six years to continually improve the working relationships between architects and their photographers?

In 2003, James Dinegar, American Institute Architects (AIA) Chief Operating Officer, and Vicki Allums, AIA Associate General Counsel met with Victor Perlman, ASMP legal counsel and managing director, and Eugene Mopsik, ASMP Executive Director. The purpose of the meeting was to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and approve a new permission form regarding use of photographs created by ASMP members submitted in connection with AIA's award programs. This event was the culmination of over six months of negotiations and has resulted in a new and mutually beneficial relationship between ASMP and AIA.

Together they formed a new agreement and permission form and MOU.
Release form PDF
AIA/ASMP MOU Agreement PDF
AIA/ASMP MOU Press Release PDF


Other activities the AIA and ASMP work together on:

• ASMP and the ASMP Architecture Specialty Group have worked with AIA on the AIA Annual Conventions and have had booths at the conventions.
• ASMP works with the AIA in the presentation of continuing education seminars on the relationship of photographers and architects.
• ASMP and AIA have co-produced a checklist for architects to use as a guide to their business relations with ASMP photographers.

As the Vice-President of the ASMP-Kansas City/Mid-America chapter, I believe strongly in the codes of professional standards and business conduct in which the ASMP has established. I see myself as a team member of my clients, and because so much hard work has been done on both sides at the National level, I work with my clients following the framework and guidelines developed at those levels.

Here's information from the AIA Best Practices Library. These documents are freely downloadable and may be viewed on screen or printed on a desktop color printer.

• 06.03.05 Selecting a Professional Photographer
• 06.03.06 Understanding a Photographic Assignment Estimate
• 06.03.07 Preparing for Professional Photography: A Checklist
• 06.03.08 Controlling the Cost of a Photography Assignment
• 06.03.09 Licensing Photographs for a Publication

And from the ASMP:
Working With An Architectural Photographer

Whether you were there or not, and whether we are your photographer on a project or not, if you have any questions or comments about commissioning architectural photography, please feel free to drop us a line anytime. We'd be happy to help!

Kimberly Blom-Roemer
Photographer
R2 Photography, LLC
r2-photography.com

866-722-9506

When to Photograph?

When is best time to schedule your photography? This question comes up when planning any project. Often the dates that are most convenient to the property owners or your contest entry deadline are what determine the schedule. However that's not necessarily the best season, day, or time of day to create images that truly capture your design vision.


If you project is in a high traffic area and you don't want cars in your images, choose off peak use times, like the weekend or holiday for an office structure project. Other commercial and retail buildings can benefit from including the public/people in some of the views. However, this requires careful planning, in many cases a longer time to create each image, and a little luck for the right balance of people and light.

Whether you were there or not, and whether we are your photographer on a project or not, if you have any questions or comments about commissioning architectural photography, please feel free to drop us a line anytime. We'd be happy to help!

Kimberly Blom-Roemer
Photographer
R2 Photography, LLC
r2-photography.com

866-722-9506

R2 Photography, LLC Interviewed by Wall Street Journal

To support their article, The Best Shot_A Photography Lesson for Homeowners, the Wall Street Journal approached me for expertise and insight on how to photograph residential interiors with a target audience of real estate professionals. I was flattered to be asked.


Because of their tight deadline (I could NEVER be a reporter, much less a press photographer) I quickly provided them some essential guidelines that I have developed as part of my "How to Photograph Residential Real Estate" seminar I presents to real estate agents and firms throughout the region.


Because most real estate professionals take their own images with point and shoot cameras, the topics covered in the seminar are easy, general tasks that can dramatically improve the impact of their images, and even more importantly, catch the eye of the prospective buyers. These guidelines discuss points of view, lighting, color casts, perspective, clutter, and lenses.


The article can be found at the following link:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125086600376449445.html

Whether you were there or not, and whether we are your photographer on a project or not, if you have any questions or comments about commissioning architectural photography, please feel free to drop us a line anytime. We'd be happy to help!

Kimberly Blom-Roemer
Photographer
R2 Photography, LLC
r2-photography.com

866-722-9506

Quick Half-Day Downtown Chicago Study

As part of traveling to any destination on assignment, I try to include time to photograph local landmarks.


On August 21st, after leaving 11" of rain in 36 hours and an office flooding, I was in Chicago and had the most glorious weather one could ever hope for to photograph the busting and exciting downtown area. Setting a land speed record, here are a few rough images from my adventure.


The last image, which looks like a bizarre abstract is actually the underside of "The Bean". In it, you can count my reflection at least 13 times.

Whether you were there or not, and whether we are your photographer on a project or not, if you have any questions or comments about commissioning architectural photography, please feel free to drop us a line anytime. We'd be happy to help!

Kimberly Blom-Roemer
Photographer
R2 Photography, LLC
r2-photography.com

866-722-9506

Is Your Project Location Ready to Shoot?

With the significant preparation needed to complete a successful architectural photography shoot, not to mention the costs involved, great attention should be given to how well prepared the location is for the photography day.


Everyone seems to be very busy these days and the importance of this step can sometimes be diminished or overlooked in the budgeting and scheduling process. As our Client, you want your images to look perfect, and we of course want you to be happy with the images. But sometimes, there can be an over reliance on what can be accomplished with photo retouching in post production, and even then, the costs to do so.


The best approach to ensure your images are the best they can be, and your costs (post-production) are kept as low as possible, is review all aspects of the shoot with the property manager and maintenance staff. A simple checklist comes in handy.


Interiors

• make sure the desired furniture and fixtures have been installed,
• make sure all fixtures are operational (no burned out bulbs),
• painting has been completed,
• are any seasonal or event specific items removed,
• desktops, counter tops, or anywhere papers, etc. can be left sitting is cleaned and organized,
• is the facility clean? (you'd be surprised).

Exteriors

• are the green spaces and trees maintained?
• are seasonal or temporary signage or structures removed?
• are other firms/companies, etc. working on site that day?

Sometimes property owners schedule multiple parties on the same day as it's convenient to them. It is often difficult or impossible for each party to stay out of each others way when trying to achieve their goals. Sometime it's inevitable, so try to determine potential conflicts before hand and see if it will affect the shoot plan.

Whether you were there or not, and whether we are your photographer on a project or not, if you have any questions or comments about commissioning architectural photography, please feel free to drop us a line anytime. We'd be happy to help!

Kimberly Blom-Roemer
Photographer
R2 Photography, LLC
r2-photography.com

866-722-9506

Your Shot list

The "Shot List" is one of the most important discussions you can have with your photographer in preparation for a photography assignment. If you do not determined your Shot List by a walk-through or scouting of the property with the photographer, it still needs to be created. Just saying to your photographer, "Shoot everything" is too broad an explanation and will only set yourself up to be disappointed in the images created, the number of images created, or the cost of creating such broad number of views because the photographer is guessing what you're looking for.


And, what happens when you create your Shot List, and you realize it is too long to accomplish during the scheduled single photography day. Only you can prioritize that list by order of importance. It is important to remember that typically only a small number of views will be frequently used from a particular project. It makes the most sense to direct your photographer to spend the time on those important views, and less time on the photographs that are more "for the record". Having this conversation with your photographer prior to the Estimate will help you maximize your photography budget, increase your satisfaction, and yield a better final product.

Whether you were there or not, and whether we are your photographer on a project or not, if you have any questions or comments about commissioning architectural photography, please feel free to drop us a line anytime. We'd be happy to help!

Kimberly Blom-Roemer
Photographer
R2 Photography, LLC
r2-photography.com

866-722-9506

What Makes a Successful Architectural Photograph?

In my opinion most successful architectural photographs exhibit these four qualities, which I believe are all of equal importance:

• Purpose
• View
• Light
• Execution

If your photograph fails on any of these points it will not successfully communicate to the viewer your design vision and project objective. This easily could leave you with substandard snapshots which will be limited in how the they can be used.


Purpose
Why you are photographing the subject? Are the photographs for your portfolio, a marketing campaign, competition entries, or to advertise a product or service? Among other things, your WHY?s help define your Usage in your photographer's Estimate. You don't want to pay Advertising Usage rights for an image that you may intend just be used as documentary.


View
Since you're familiar with a project as it was created, you have probably noticed more than one angle of view of a structure that really caught your eye. Be sure to convey this to your photographer, together you can identify the best camera positions to convey that purpose. This is where a site walk through or scout of the location with the photographer is so invaluable. Consider if there is a view that shows several features in one angle. Equally important, be sure to tell your photographer, and clearly identify aspects of a project you do not wish to highlight? This saves the photographer time, and you money.


Light
Orientation of a structure on a site often dictates when it looks the best. Is it in the morning or afternoon light or is it best at dawn or dusk? Is the natural and/or existing lighting sufficient or is it in need of supplemental lighting to make up for existing deficiencies or site limitations? Again the site walk through or scout visit can pay off exponentially.


Execution
With the tsunami of digital cameras and their built in programs it has become easier to make a “good” photograph. But, will you be happy with just "good"? Will it show off your capabilities to win that competition? Will it land your firm the next big project? The question is when is “good” not good enough. Anyone can snap a shutter, but it takes someone dedicated to the art of photography to how to process the camera’s auto-generated file for maximum quality.


The professional architectural photographer not only uses equipment capable of much higher resolution, we also use special lenses and supplemental lighting to capture an image that embodies your defined purpose. That image can be further refined through the use of specialty software and image processing techniques to maximize the success of the final photograph.


Among the many decisions you will need to make are: what is the purpose of these images, how important are these images to your marketing efforts, and will you have access to this subject again in its present condition?


We wish you the best in all your projects and if you need any help to understand terminology, approaches, technical aspects of photography, I’d be happy to speak with you about it.

Whether you were there or not, and whether we are your photographer on a project or not, if you have any questions or comments about commissioning architectural photography, please feel free to drop us a line anytime. We'd be happy to help!

Kimberly Blom-Roemer
Photographer
R2 Photography, LLC
r2-photography.com

866-722-9506

People in Photographs

People often add scale, personalization, and a sense of purpose in architectural photography.


Considering having people (talent) in your images, and what would be a proper in each of the images is subjective. But should want people in your images, it should always be considered and discussed when planning your photography.


We strongly recommend you hire the talent directly, however, we would be happy to hold casting sessions for you, and recommend individuals for your shots.

Whether you were there or not, and whether we are your photographer on a project or not, if you have any questions or comments about commissioning architectural photography, please feel free to drop us a line anytime. We'd be happy to help!

Kimberly Blom-Roemer
Photographer
R2 Photography, LLC
r2-photography.com

866-722-9506

R2 Photography, LLC's New Web Site

Today we launched our newly redesigned architectural photography web site at:
http://www.r2-photography.com


We display many new images in categories such as Architectural, Aviation, Panorama, Aerial, and Construction Progress.


Ever wonder what an architectural photographer does in their spare time for fun? You guessed it... take even more images... and you can find that in the Personal Work section of the web site. Enjoy!

Whether you were there or not, and whether we are your photographer on a project or not, if you have any questions or comments about commissioning architectural photography, please feel free to drop us a line anytime. We'd be happy to help!

Kimberly Blom-Roemer
Photographer
R2 Photography, LLC
r2-photography.com

866-722-9506

ASMP at the 2009 AIA National Convention

This year the ASMP (American Society of Media Photographers) will again exhibit at the AIA convention in San Francisco at the end of the month. ASMP member photographers will be on hand to pass out free copies of the AIA-ASMP collaborative booklet titled "Commissioning Architectural Photography". The 20 page booklet covers selecting a photographer, estimating, controlling costs, licensing images and a photography preparation checklist. Architectural Photographers will be available to answer any questions you may have about how to organize a successful photography project and ASMP.

You can also download this document from here:
http://www.r2-photography.com/documents/ASMP-Working_With_An_Architectural_Photographer.pdf

Whether you were there or not, and whether we are your photographer on a project or not, if you have any questions or comments about commissioning architectural photography, please feel free to drop us a line anytime. We'd be happy to help!

Kimberly Blom-Roemer
Photographer
R2 Photography, LLC
r2-photography.com


866-722-9506

Budget for Successful Photography

We're well into 2009, but it isn't too late to think about your Photography budget and scheduling for the rest of the year. Professional photography of your best projects is an invaluable asset for your upcoming business marketing.


When structuring your budget, it is important to have complete coverage of your most important projects, but remember to saving enough to record your other projects.


When at all possible, try to schedule your photographs when the project is newly completely, and crispy clean so your project is shown in the best possible light. Access to your structure is typically more easily obtainable at this point as well.


To stretch your photography budget, contact other interested parties such as the owner, occupant (if different), your subcontractors, etc. We are happy to divide the Creative Fee equally between multiple parties, and if you bring on even one other party, you have already saved yourself 50% of the creative fee. So, as you can see, the savings can be significant.


We view ourselves as part of your team, and hopefully a long-term member you can count on. We'll work with you to create images that bring in more projects, which thus needs to be photographed. We all win!

Whether you were there or not, and whether we are your photographer on a project or not, if you have any questions or comments about commissioning architectural photography, please feel free to drop us a line anytime. We'd be happy to help!

Kimberly Blom-Roemer
Photographer
R2 Photography, LLC
r2-photography.com

866-722-9506

Photographing Northern Exteriors in Winter

Winter in a northern climate can sometimes make for a tough time to photograph exteriors. Wind, snow banks, mud, leafless trees and brown grass challenge capturing your structure looking it's best. So as not to just let the whole project slide until spring, why take advantage of that gorgeous reflective light from outside and photograph the interiors and room details that are ready for photography. Save those exteriors for Spring when the weather is better and fall plantings have taken hold.


Then again if your project is an ice sculpture or an igloo.....it's time to shoot!

Whether you were there or not, and whether we are your photographer on a project or not, if you have any questions or comments about commissioning architectural photography, please feel free to drop us a line anytime. We'd be happy to help!

Kimberly Blom-Roemer
Photographer
R2 Photography, LLC
r2-photography.com

866-722-9506

Kansas City Architecture-Hidden Treasures

The architecture in the Kansas City area, especially downtown, is amazing! Just walking from a parking garage to a meeting I came across this Kansas City Historical Landmark. The detailing in this structure is beyond anything we would ever attempt today with new construction. The saying, "they don't make 'em like they used to" applies to this building. And how many times a day do people pass this building, and never bother to really "notice it?"


I hope you enjoy this image!

Whether you were there or not, and whether we are your photographer on a project or not, if you have any questions or comments about commissioning architectural photography, please feel free to drop us a line anytime. We'd be happy to help!

Kimberly Blom-Roemer
Photographer
R2 Photography, LLC
r2-photography.com

866-722-9506