It is a Tough Job, I Know.

An eflyer for a job I shot last year: Rancho del Eliseo-Bonny Doon Real Estate Listing.
I got to spend 4 days shooting in the Santa Cruz Mountains. I hate my work. :-)

Twilight Photo-1321 Harker Avenue, Palo Alto, CA

Here is another in my series of residential twilight photos, a craftsman style house located in the Community Center area of Palo Alto, CA.

This is from a recent listing by one of my real estate clients: Ken DeLeon, DeLeon Realty.

Recent Work-3180 Cowper Street, Palo Alto

Here is a double page ad for a real estate listing in a recent edition of the Palo Alto Weekly, which uses my photos.

 I think this is a good example of how twilight photos can enhance the presentation of a property. Also, since this ad is destined for newspaper usage, which typically has relatively limited reproduction quality, it is useful to have images which will hold up well in that medium. I think twilight photos achieve this, with the right subject. Also, brightly lit interior photos will tend to hold up well with newspaper reproduction, and this is achieved most consistently with supplementary lighting.

By the way, Ken DeLeon was one of the top 3 real estate agents in the country for 2011, in terms of dollar sales volume. Go Ken.

Quincy Jones: Architectural Designs for Eichler Homes

Those who are interested in Eichler Homes and Mid-Century Modern design might be interested in this book: A. Quincy Jones. The architect Quincy Jones did some of the designs for Eichler Homes.

Some Observations on Lighting for Architectural and Interior Photography

A few personal observations related to architectural and interior photography that may provide photographers and those who commission them with some food for thought:

• The camera does not see the way the human eye does. 
• Lots of visual information does not necessarily make for a compelling photo.
• The quality of the ambient lighting in many interiors, especially residential, is often not of very high quality. 
• More than anything, it is the quality of the light that is most important in a photo. 
• An ordinary subject with great lighting will look infinitely better than a great subject with poor lighting. 
• Even interiors that make use of a great deal of ambient daylight and/or have well-designed artificial lighting are often affected by substantial compromises due to cost or functionality considerations, with the result that the ambient lighting could use some kind of help, whether in the form of real or (digitally) manufactured supplementary lighting. 
• While some remedial processing can be done in Photoshop, to compensate for poor ambient lighting, Photoshop is not all powerful. That is, you can't always "just photoshop it" and expect to get high quality results. 
• Tastes, styles, talent, budgets and markets will differ. 
• The ambient lighting for a building will never be at its best for all parts of the building at any one time of day. 
• A great deal of light does not necessarily mean good light.
• A very low light level can sometimes be very attractive.

The above observations are in no particular order of importance.

Recent Work-Residential Twilight Photo

Another in my ongoing series of residential twilight photos.

Photo used to market a real estate listing of a home in Monte Sereno, CA.

Client: Matt Zampella, Zampella and Assoc.