I was commissioned to take photographs of two properties for Express Estate Agency and the first one was in Maud. Many years ago, I took photographs for most of the agents in Aberdeen and a lot of the national companies but a lot of them started taking their own photographs and the rates for this type of work dropped drastically. I have photographed several properties for brochures over the last few years (look out for a blog post on property photography) Photographing interiors is probably one of the the things I enjoy most.
The 14-24mm Nikkor is a perfect lens for interiors. Many "experts" think this is one of the sharpest and best lenses on the market (click here for review). It is far better than anything Canon produces, so much so, Canon users go to great lengths to get adapters to use this Nikon lens on their cameras. You have to be careful not too get too much distortion but using the virtual horizon option on the D3s and the spirit level on my "Really Right Stuff BH55" tripod head makes sure this is controlled even at 14mm. The only other thing to do is to balance the flash and available light and use bounce flash (as used here) or the appropriate light modifier.
My client was very happy – see email received
Hi Neil,
Just had a proper look at these photos and we are really impressed. Wish we could commission you to work for us Nationwide. Fantastic work thank you
Regards,
Frances Williams
Listings Manager
Express Estate Agency
A fairly typical job where the requirement was for a group shot and a head shot of everyone. The only difficulty was that there was no where in the office to take the shots so I had to use the entrance but there was a logo of another company on the door and door closers etc. but this is where Photoshop is a godsend and we removed all the distracting elements.
I set up a background in the entrance and used a soft box and the daylight from the door as a fill light and worked with my favourite lens – the 70-200 f2.8 VR11 to get the head and shoulder shots of everyone. We put them all on-line (click here) later the same day so they could choose the best ones for each person. Even although this is not always popular with staff, I got an email the following morning confirming they were happy with the images.
"Morning Neil,
Thanks for your time yesterday; the pictures are really nice…..
Cheers
Ismail"
Taking photographs to "put a face to a name" on a company website is something we do a lot. If someone new joins the company, we make sure we use the same background and match the colour balance to keep everything consistent. We also create management boards for display in reception area. I am amazed how many very amateur versions of this I see, even for very large companies who are normally very conscious of their branding and image. If this sort of thing might be useful for your company, please click here to email me for a quote
Before I go on to speak about the job for Stagecoach yesterday, I must apologise for neglecting my blog recently. I was on holiday from the 30th September until the 6th October in Spain (blog post to follow) and since getting back, I have been exceptionally busy so there is plenty posts to come – weddings, albums, commercial jobs, new Macbook Air, new Apple TV, great portraits by David, and amazing Christmas offers about to be launched. Keep visiting as I will be back to daily blog posts this week or next.
Stagecoach launch new Jet bus
Yesterday morning I was photographing a new bus about to go into service for Stagecoach Bluebird. The client chose Castlegate and we met there yesterday on very bright but cold November morning. The lighting on the Town house was superb but the bus was in the shade. I could have used my Quantum Q flash units as the Nikon SB900 was not powerful enough (even at full power and the head zoomed in). However I used multiple exposures (9 separate exposures) to allow me to get good lighting on the bus and the iconic Aberdeen buildings in the background. Using a polarising filter helped minimise the reflections on the bus and also enhanced the blue sky.Fortunately the client was happy and sent a nice email
Hi Neil,
Received the disc today with the pictures on it.
Looks brilliant and everything that has seen them has liked them.
On that note are you free for a photo shoot out at Westhill on Tuesday potentially?
Regards
Ryan Neave
Marketing and Design Assistant
Stagecoach Bluebird and Stagecoach in The Highlands
Once I finished photographing the bus, I took a few shots of the Town House in the beautiful winter sunlight, which I think is among the best light for buildings.These have not been processed yet but will be added to the library of shots I am gathering and which will eventually be available for sale as prints or files.
Saturday 25th September was the big day for Naomi and Paul. It was cold and windy but at least it stayed dry. As we have worked at The Old Mill Inn for over 15 years (as the photographer included in their package), we know the venue very well. Back in June, David and I spent some time looking at possible spots for photography and found a very nice spot under the bridge in the playing field next to the hotel. However to get there you have to walk along the edge of a stream and it is not very accessible, so we had not used this area.
When Naomi and Paul came to see me for their pre-wedding meeting, they asked if there were any other areas for photography so I suggested going under the bridge which they were happy to do, and Naomi took a change of shoes to make this possible. Hitching her dress up and being willing to walk along the muddy area under the bridge was well worth it as it gave us some great spots for the photography. As Paul is a very keen photographer (click here to see some of his photographs), this was important for Naomi and Paul, and they were a great a couple to work with and were happy to walk under the bridge and spend the time getting these shots.
I am delighted to have these as samples so that other couples getting married at The Old Mill Inn can see what can be taken here and have the option to go there. Click here to see all the formal shots and here for the informal shots taken by David.
The gallery above is a new add in we are going to use for the blog as it is a nice way to feature a selection of shots.
Below is a slideshow of a selection of the images set to music
Nacari and Richard at St. Machars and the Marcliffe
Friday 17th September was the wedding day for Nacari and Richard. Lukas and David (who had photographed Nacarai’s friend, Yimnys, wedding last year) were the photographers. David started with Nacari getting ready at the Marcliffe, while Lukas went to St. Machars Cathedral. They both got some great shots at both St. Machars and the Marcliffe at Pitfodels. Click here to see the posed shots and here for mainly candid shots. See below for a slideshow of selected images.
Robyn and John’s wedding at Fetternear and Pittodrie House
On Friday (17th September), David and I were photographing the wedding of Robyn and John. David started the photography at Robyn’s family home, while I went to Our Lady of the Garioch and St. John the Evangelist Church in Fetternear, (close to Kemnay) to photograph the best man and groom and guests. Unfortunately the weather was not very kind to us and the guests had to be photographed inside the church. After the ceremony we got a few outside but the wind and the rain meant we only got a few before heading back to Pittodrie House. As it was still wet, we took the photographs inside in the drawing room but just before we finished, Robyn and John braved the elements and we took a few in the rain with and without brollies. Click here to the see the formal images and here for the informal. Below there is a slideshow of a small selection of the images.
David was working with me on Friday and Saturday and I was at Pittodrie House Hotel on both days. On Friday it was the wedding of Robyn and John at Our Lady of the Garioch and St. John the Evangelist, Fetternear, and reception at Pittodrie House. On Friday David was taking the informal photographs but also assisting me on a wet and windy day. It is very useful to have someone to hold the dress in place until the last minute and then dive out of the shot. Once it is in place, I will take several photographs in quick succession and pick the best one. My D3s can take at an incredible 11 images per second (yes 11 high resolution photographs in 1 second!). In the shot below (and several others) David has been captured diving out of shot. Click here to see the formal shots and here for the informal.
Watch the Birdie
On Saturday, it was the wedding of Kay and Rick at Chapel of Garioch and then to Pittodrie House again. David was assisting but when the display organised by Kay and Rick, by North East Falconry Centre, took place he could not resist getting out his camera and we both took photographs of the guests getting entertained by the birds. As you will see, one of the Falcons decided David made a good perch!
It is very useful to have an assistant, not just to set the dress but also to act as a model. On Saturday, it was raining and we needed to work as quickly as possible so David and I went and set up where we were going to take the photographs and get the lighting set up so that when Kay and Rick got there, we were ready to shoot. As you will see the shot above has too much flash and I obviously adjusted this before photographing the Bride and Groom. Click here to see Kay and Rick’s wedding photographs from Saturday.
Last week I was photographing some of the new rooms just opened in the second phase of the Bauhaus Hotel. I have been involved with the Bauhaus hotel from the planning stage with Nick Garett (the owner) and the late Bob Fitzgerald (the architect). I supplied a building wrap used on the scaffolding during construction and then produced artwork for canvasses for the rooms, and other artwork for the public areas. Some of this has been featured in previous blog posts – click here for a post about Bob, here for the canvasses supplied, and here for the photography of phase 1.
