I hate being stuck behind a computer, editing, so my goal when shooting is to get everything as close to perfect IN CAMERA as possible. Here’s the progression of a kitchen edit.
First we start with the SOOC, or straight out of camera, version. Compositionally I love shooting kitchen one points. They’re just so clean and and lend so well to kitchen lines. With this composition I wanted to feature the pantry as well as the flow to the family room in the distance. With a one point it’s imperative to get your lines PERFECT, both verticals AND horizontals. Even one degree off, your image looks sloppy. Many interiors photographers shoot on geared tripod heads to make this easier. I was pretty happy with this composition but the orangey color of the wood combined with the pendant lights gave this kitchen a sickly orange cast so the next step is color editing.
We worked the levels and color and ended up with an image much more balanced and true to life. There’s a bit of a blue cast on the candle but I’m okay with that. There’s a wall of windows, camera right, which is causing that so it’s a natural cast. I leave those alone. I’m pretty happy with this image with one exception. The shelf to the right of the refrigerator had some messy cables that I wasn’t able to do anything about on site. That had to go!
Voila! This is the final image. It took about 10 minutes on site to set up the comp and place the lights and an addition 5 minutes in Photoshop to perfect the image.
What do you think?
There are a few buildings in Seattle that make me positively giddy to shoot. The Mosler Lofts in Belltown definitely qualifies. I’ve been here twice before but this one, by far, is definitely my favorite.
In case you missed it I’m teaching Property Video Workshops now! The first one is next week (January 17th) in San Francisco (two spots are still open for this workshop) and then I’ll be in Boston on February 7th and Atlanta on February 28th!
It’s going to be a (long) two day, hands on workshop and you’ll want to come prepared to work. On the first day we’ll cover gear, shooting styles, how to approach the property, how and what to shoot, and all the basics and then we’ll break into groups to actually shoot the house. Day two will be in the classroom going over editing. We’ll use the footage that you shot on day one and, by the end of the day, you should have a pretty killer piece for your portfolio.
Can’t make those dates? I’m opening up my (new!) studio to private mentoring. Come to Seattle and spend a couple days with me shooting a house and editing in my studio. This is ideal if you need a little more personal attention, have specific things you want to work on/learn or just can’t make one of the workshops I mentioned above.
Questions? Hit me up in the comments! Hope to see you soon!
We’re moving into a new office next weekend! And! It’s HUGE (compared to the 150 square foot office I’m currently in)! To celebrate, for the entire month of December I’m opening the studio and discounting my Headshot rates by $50! Come check out the new space and get your headshot updated (it’s time right?)! It’ll be a blast! Give me a call to schedule your sitting!
I shot this cute Craftsman a few months ago and thought it would be fun exercise to break down the shot. In Seattle for the majority of the year we get these gorgeous, overcast days that make shooting interiors absolutely perfect (exteriors is another story). When you have a nice cloud cover the ambient light is so perfectly even that it makes lighting a house a breeze!
This particular day, though, was a rare sunny summer morning. I was getting a lot of very direct, very harsh sunlight through the large window in the living room. On top of that, the composition I was pretty foolish. But! I went for it anyway!
Let’s set this up:
It’s been a crazy busy summer. Most days I’m out shooting by 8:00 am and not back in the office until early evening. It’s been great! This summer has seen quite a few other changes to the Malia Campbell Photography HQ including a new office up in the Greenlake/Woodland Park Zoo area. I’ll be writing a little more about that experience as soon as things slow down a little.
In the meantime, here are a few of my favorites from my shoot out in West Seattle (early!) yesterday morning.
Hey! I’m still alive! And I’m still shooting!
I have a renewed commitment to start updating this blog with a little more regularity with projects, ideas, and the general goings on at Malia Campbell Photography HQ. So we’re going to start today with a new style of Hosted Property Video that I’ve been wanting to try. Take a gander and let me know what you think!
Please click image to view video
Had so much fun working on this project for Jason Wojtacha of Noble Ridge Construction. Hope you enjoy!
