One of the great things about being a commercial photographer is the uniqueness of each job. Unlike weddings or portraits which follow a pretty consistent formula, each commercial photography assignment presents unique challenges. Even if the basic subject is similar from one job to another, the vision of the client and the goal they are trying to accomplish will be different. As a commercial photographer I’ve created ad campaign images for a birdseed manufacturer. Photographed models posing as college students using a dorm installed washer and dryer for the company that made them. I’ve even photographed a concrete house for a magazine. So when I was contacted by a company in Indiana about photographing a spiral staircase installed in a downtown Birmingham office I was not at all surprised.
Now, you might think that shooting a staircase would be pretty boring. For some photographers I’m sure it is. For me though, it was a unique challenge. I needed to choose the right angles, depth of field, and lighting to best show the product as it was in the working environment. The office space itself was beautiful but poorly lit. Using only natural light would have made it look like it was in a cave. Clearly that would do the client no good. So I experimented with different strobes, with different light modifiers, in different positions, and at different powers until I had what I felt would show off the product and it’s environment without looking like it was unnatural.
I feel like the final product was successful in accomplishing that goal!
