Springgate
Architectural
Photography
Why We Are Different
How We Are Different
and why it's worth it
"I might get shot for saying this, but here goes: No digital photographs (and very few shot on film) come out of the camera ready to publish. Nearly everything needs color adjustments through postproduction in Photoshop!" Rob Haggart, Photo Editor, Outside Magazine
The Magic of Photoshop
Fifteen years ago, if a magic genie appeared and gave a photographer his greatest "out of the box" wish, that photographer would have asked for a few of the components of what is today's Photoshop!
But in his wildest dreams he would never have gotten anything like this!!
If the photographer is skilled enough in Photoshop, he can now do almost anything with a photographic image!
He can take a picture that once was "worth a thousand words" and transform it into one worth ten thousand words!
Before Photoshop:
Consider the image above taken straight from the camera. A nice sunset exists but is blown out by the high contrast between the sky and the building. There is a truck in the background and big signs here and there, A fireplace in the drive-through needs a fire to complete the mood. The building itself is dark and lacks detail in the shadowed areas
After Photoshop:
Shadows opened up to show the architectural details, truck and signs gone, fire inserted into fireplace, existing sunset in overexposed sky is darkened to balance the rest of the image.The beautiful light of the early evening can now be seen to establish some terrific mood.
Shadows opened up to show the architectural details, truck and signs gone, fire inserted into fireplace, existing sunset in overexposed sky is darkened to balance the rest of the image.The beautiful light of the early evening can now be seen to establish some terrific mood.
So which image is the ten thousand word one?
This is not a trick question
Creating mood
There are many ways to create mood in Photoshop, some of which you will see further down the page, but probably one of the simplest and most effective ways of all is to just photoshop a fire into every fireplace. A "black hole" fireplace without a fire just seems cold somehow. Add a fire and the room immediately becomes warm and cheery; don't have a fire and it stays cold and unwelcoming. Gas fires always look "fake". We photoshop "real" fires into every fireplace in our images.
Before: Windows blown out, no fire, just not very warm and cozy looking Result: very little mood
After: Crackling fire; color adjustments made; windows darkened for view, warm and inviting
With the advent of digital photography, Adobe Photoshop and other
graphic computer programs, the world of photography has drastically
changed.We can now do unbelievable things with a photograph which,
before Photoshop, could only be dreamed of.
Color Adjustments
Probably the greatest initial impact on photographic images with the arrival of Photoshop was the new capability to adjust almost any element of an image independently of any other element.
In the days of film, typically "what you saw was what you got".
With
a color enlarger in a professional darkroom, one could change the overall color of an image, but it was a
"global" change, meaning that if the entire image was too yellow and you wanted to balance it up by adding blue, you could do it, and the entire image would
become bluer and would look much better. But if the darkroom technician wanted to make even minor changes in a small part of an image, say in just the red flowers of a garden, changing them from red to yellow without affecting the other colors in the image, was an impossible dream!
But with Photoshop's arrival it became possible to capture an image and then change the hue (color), saturation, contrast and brightness of any specific color without changing any of the other colors!
Photoshop changed all of that and it was a true revolutionary leap in photography that would affect all of us forever more! And it was just the beginning of what was to come.
Before: Image as shot
The color and details are actually in the image. They just need to be adjusted independently of each other to show its true dramatic splendor.
After Photoshop
The color, brightness, contrast, saturation and shadow and highlight details are adjusted independently to show what is actually buried in the image.
We can now make drab images sparkle, turn day into night, change the views outside of windows, add sunsets to overcast skies, and a moon to a dark night.
Panoramas
Producing
a panoramic image today is pretty simple, even for inexpensive compact
cameras which can stitch the images together "in camera" before you even
see the results on the LED screen. They work well, as
long as the subject is a considerable distance away, say the entire length of the Grand
Tetons at sunset.
But if you are shooting a very wide panorama from only a few feet away, it's a whole different story. The separate images needed to form, say a 200 degree image, become very difficult to stitch together and are seldom successful without extensive work in Photoshop.
But if you are shooting a very wide panorama from only a few feet away, it's a whole different story. The separate images needed to form, say a 200 degree image, become very difficult to stitch together and are seldom successful without extensive work in Photoshop.
The closest part of this nearly 200 foot wide home is less than thirty feet away and it took twelve vertical overlapping images with a wide angle lens to cover its great width, a 220 degree image. Even the widest angle lens, short of a Fisheye, couldn't have produced this image. And Fisheyes are almost never used in architectural photography due to the huge, unrealistic distortions. This image would have been impossible without Photoshop!
It took nine overlapping vertical images to produce this very close interior panorama. The stitch required extensive corrections to produce a successful undistorted image.
Finishing incomplete buildings
Homes or buildings that are not completed can be finished digitally. Scaffolding can be removed, stone walls completed. Heavy construction equipment can be removed as well as Sanikans, dumpsters, telephone poles and lines, junker cars or trucks, dead grass and shrubs, cracks in the pavement, signs on a building and even the unwanted house next door.
Homes or buildings that are not completed can be finished digitally. Scaffolding can be removed, stone walls completed. Heavy construction equipment can be removed as well as Sanikans, dumpsters, telephone poles and lines, junker cars or trucks, dead grass and shrubs, cracks in the pavement, signs on a building and even the unwanted house next door.
Before PhotoshopUnder a time constraint this home was photographed on a hazy day. Also, it was still a month away from completion. Scaffolding was still up, the stone-laying on the deck was incomplete, tape was on the windows, chimneys were incomplete and a dirt construction road was in the foreground.
After Photoshop
Colors were adjusted, sky was darkened, scaffolding removed, stonework completed, chimneys finished, windows cleaned up, construction road removed and filled in with foliage.
Balancing interior and exterior lighting in daytime shots
One of the
most difficult problems in architectural photography is maintaining the mood in a
daylight interior while still being able to see out the windows. Traditionally there were several
techniques used to do this but all of them ended up overlighting the
interior and losing the mood by blowing out the existing lighting and
fires. Even in Photoshop it is not
easy to balance the light between the interiors and exteriors. But only through the use of Photoshop is it possible to view
properly balanced daylight exteriors while also seeing lit candles,
existing ambient lighting and realistic fires, all of which are so important in
establishing mood.
This image is typical of many interior/exterior images photographed today. Either the interior is properly exposed and the exterior is white or the exterior is properly exposed and the interior is black.
After Photoshop:
The exteriors and interiors are properly balanced, the colors are adjusted and a fire has been added.
The exteriors and interiors are properly balanced, the colors are adjusted and a fire has been added.
Special needs
Dirt roads can be changed to paved, immature landscaping made more lush. In interiors we can remove wall plates, wall switches, sprinkler heads, alarm and security systems, thermostats, lamp cords, stains on a carpet, add fires to fireplaces, wine bottles to an incomplete wine cellar, artwork to walls and create any mood or ambiance desired; the list goes on and on.
Before Photoshop:
This condo/hotel room was unfurnished in a building under construction. The designer furnished it in one day, but there was no artwork and the exterior construction showed through the windows.
Also, the client wanted the room to look like it was on the second floor. The set was torn down immediately after the shoot was completed.
Also, the client wanted the room to look like it was on the second floor. The set was torn down immediately after the shoot was completed.
After Photoshop
The exterior windows were replaced with an image previously taken from a "cherry picker" at the second story level of the ski area on the other side of the construction.
Colors were adjusted, sprinkler heads removed, a fire added, candles lit, perspective corrected, artwork and a custom frame were digitally produced and installed on the wall, the image on the TV was inserted and the mood was adjusted. All within Photoshop.
Colors were adjusted, sprinkler heads removed, a fire added, candles lit, perspective corrected, artwork and a custom frame were digitally produced and installed on the wall, the image on the TV was inserted and the mood was adjusted. All within Photoshop.
Perspective control
Traditionally, one of the things that distinguished architectural photography from most other types of photography was the ability to control perspective problems.
In days gone by, this was accomplished with large format "view cameras". The "movements" of the camera allowed the photographer to keep vertical walls actually looking vertical instead of leaning or slanted.
In days gone by, this was accomplished with large format "view cameras". The "movements" of the camera allowed the photographer to keep vertical walls actually looking vertical instead of leaning or slanted.
The view camera essentially
became a dinosaur with the advent of high end, high resolution, digital
35mm cameras.
The problem for architectural photographers who switched to digital 35mm, however, was that they lost the ability to control perspective. If the photographer pointed the camera upward to show more ceiling the vertical lines converged at the top like a pyramid; if pointed down the opposite convergence was true.
A few very expensive "shift lenses" could do the job but they were extremely limited to only a couple of "not so wide angle" lenses. Since extreme wide angle lenses are the meat and potatoes of architectural photography the lesser angle lenses were only moderately useful.
With Photoshop the perspective control problem is now solvable and the very wide lenses can now be used on a 35mm digital camera. Without Photoshop it's back to the old view camera.
The problem for architectural photographers who switched to digital 35mm, however, was that they lost the ability to control perspective. If the photographer pointed the camera upward to show more ceiling the vertical lines converged at the top like a pyramid; if pointed down the opposite convergence was true.
A few very expensive "shift lenses" could do the job but they were extremely limited to only a couple of "not so wide angle" lenses. Since extreme wide angle lenses are the meat and potatoes of architectural photography the lesser angle lenses were only moderately useful.
With Photoshop the perspective control problem is now solvable and the very wide lenses can now be used on a 35mm digital camera. Without Photoshop it's back to the old view camera.
Before Photoshop:
Shot from a balcony, the camera had to be pointed downward to take in the entire wide angle view. The result was the image had a very pronounced perspective problem - extremely slanted vertical lines making the home look like it was in the middle of an earthquake.
Shot from a balcony, the camera had to be pointed downward to take in the entire wide angle view. The result was the image had a very pronounced perspective problem - extremely slanted vertical lines making the home look like it was in the middle of an earthquake.
After Photoshop
The extreme perspective distortions have been corrected.
"Detail" images: two or more for the price of one
Many of the images photographed with our high resolution cameras can be cropped from small areas of the original image to show details that would otherwise have required an additional shot. We do this upfront on almost all images as a "no charge" service for our clients.
"Detail" images from the overall image
Styling
We have a stylist on every shot who can, literally, turn nice rooms into very special ones. Styling and staging a shot is much more than adding a pot of flowers and a plate of crackers to a coffee table. It involves moving or placing furniture, plants, flowers and accessories in just the perfect spot, preparing food, setting tables, hiding cords, raking footsteps from carpets; the list goes on and on. Every setup is studied inch by inch to make sure it all works for the camera.
Here, for example. Take away the flowers and wooden box and turn off the water. What's left is a nice photograph that shows a beautiful sink, but where's the love?
Our stylist added the plant and box, hung an etching on the wall and, as the "coup de grace", turned on the faucet. Voila! A nice shot becomes a super one!
This was a nice, but rather plain, living room before the styling.
But set up the BBQ, add flowers to the coffee table, set up some appetizers and drinks, move a chair into the foreground, add a throw to the sofa, dim the lights, and as a final touch, light the candles inside and out.
Who could resist this warm and lovely place?
Who could resist this warm and lovely place?
Sometimes a few simple changes make a big difference. Pull the lounge chairs from the middle ground to the foreground. Move a table in between. Add drinks and a colorful fruit plate to the table.
A large pot of colorful flowers on the right balances the colors of the drinks on the table. We did this by changing the color of the flowers in Photoshop to match the drinks.
Add a towel and another cocktail at the hot tub. Set the two tables in the background, add food cooking on the BBQ, and, as a final touch, turn on every light in the place for sparkle.
A large pot of colorful flowers on the right balances the colors of the drinks on the table. We did this by changing the color of the flowers in Photoshop to match the drinks.
Add a towel and another cocktail at the hot tub. Set the two tables in the background, add food cooking on the BBQ, and, as a final touch, turn on every light in the place for sparkle.
The focus of this shot is the dramatic architecture of the home, but without the styling this home is just a house.
As one can see by the many examples above, Photoshop is an immensely versatile and valuable tool in today's world of photography. So why is it that so few architectural photographers use it for little more than a few basic color, contrast and saturation changes ?
It's because any photographer desiring to benefit from Photoshop must first learn to skillfully use an enormous software program with a very high learning curve and a language that one viewing decries, "this cannot possibly be English!". That seems obvious, but it is a very, very big step! To use Photoshop effectively requires developing highly refined skills. It is not an easy program to learn at a professional level and to do so involves demanding study and an infinite, seemingly unending, amount of practice to attain professional skill levels.
The bottom line is that the photographer who has the eye to produce beautiful images AND the skills needed to show them at their very best through the magic of Photoshop, has an absolutely giant advantage over the photographer who does not! That is the reality of today's photographic world!
"Thank you, magical genii!
The bottom line is that the photographer who has the eye to produce beautiful images AND the skills needed to show them at their very best through the magic of Photoshop, has an absolutely giant advantage over the photographer who does not! That is the reality of today's photographic world!
"Thank you, magical genii!
So, bottom line, how are we different?
- Every single image goes through the Photoshop post-production process. This typically takes about two hours for every image captured. All normal Photoshop work is included in the cost of the photography. Additional, more "complicated", Photoshop work is available at a reasonable rate
- All images are captured at a very high resolution enabling the printing of murals, billboards and banners
- Because of our high image resolution we can make crops of small areas of an image to create "detail" shots of each image, thus saving you the cost of buying additional shots.
- There are no extra fees for making upfront "detail" crops of images
- Panorama images, which usually take more than double the work, are available at less than double the cost
- Our stylist is included on every project and styles every image captured––at no extra cost
- All our digital files are duplicated and stored at a professional photo lab in Salt Lake City. If you need prints or other lab services you can easily order them online and have them done and sent to you at any time––even if we are out of town
- We do not do "shotgun" images, that is, take numerous images to get one good one. Every image has been carefully selected and composed to capture the best lighting and most dramatic angle. We are meticulous in our compositions and are especially sensitive to capturing nature's most dramatic light. If you assign us ten shots you will receive ten beautiful images ready for press or the web
Since 1970, we at Springgate Photography have been recreating our photography and perfecting new skills as equipment and techniques have evolved. In 2002, about the time the quality of digital photography surpassed the quality of film, we switched to digital imaging and concurrently began our foray into the exciting and creative world of Photoshop. We have spent an immense amount of time and effort to learn the techniques needed to become highly skilled in that incredible program. That learning continues to this day as we are constantly discovering new ways to make our images look better and better. The effort pays off in gorgeous images that make our client's work and talent look as stunning and dramatic as it truly is.
