St. Petersburg commercial photographer

Disston Heights New Homeowner Portrait Real Estate Photography St. Petersburg Florida

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A new St. Petersburg home owner and her daughter - commercial Florida photography - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/125th - Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/1 power in 43" brolly to frame left & SB-600 @ 1/1 power in 43" shoot through umbrella to frame rightThis was my second time (see first shoot) making a promotional photograph of a new homeowner for Crown Group Realty.  I really like these kinds of shoots going out on location and only needing to produce one or two images.  Rhonda and her baby daughter were great and the shooting part took less time than it did for me to setup my speedlights!

Mom & daughter in front of their new home - commercial Florida photography - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/125th - Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/1 power in 43" brolly to frame left & SB-600 @ 1/1 power in 43" shoot through umbrella to frame rightI intended to make the above shot only, but after seeing how active her daughter wanted to be I took some shots like the first one with her walking on her own.  I ended up delivering both to the client as a bonus.  I hope they enjoy their new home!

Courtyard Marriott St. Petersburg Bistro Renovation Commercial Photography Florida

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The newly renovated bistro & cafe area of Courtyard Marriott in downtown St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 5-exposure HDRLast week I went back to the Courtyard Marriott in downtown St. Petersburg Florida to finish making commercial photographs of the newly updated interior of the hotel.  In 2011 I photographed both the exterior and interior of the hotel, followed later by a wedding model shoot.  Courtyard have been very good clients and I am always glad to return their and work with Ryan and Kathy.

A quiet spot in the new Courtyard Marriott bistro St. Petersburg commercial photography - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 1.3 secThe newly updated bistro/cafe area looks great and photographed well.  I used a combination of HDR and single exposure images.  For the photo above with only a single major light source coming from behind camera, I felt HDR was not needed and achieved the results I wanted with a single long exposure.

Dining spaces with TVs at newly renovated Courtyard Marriott St. Petersburg Florida commercial photography - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 5-exposure HDRTo pull detail out in the corners of these eating areas that had an open window in each, I did use 5-exposures to make the HDR image image above.  Overall I made less HDR images than I did when I first photographed the hotel two years ago as I am always trying to improve my shooting techniques and choose the best style for each particular shot.  

Guitarist Playing into the Sunset St. Petersburg Commercial Photography

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Guitarist commercial promotional photography on St. Petersburg Florida beach - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/7.1 ISO 200 1/80th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame leftA shoot on Pass-a-Grille Beach a few years ago of a guitarist for his album cover and promotional materials remains one of my all-time favorites for several reasons.  I edited quite a few shots from the shoot at the time, but thought now that over two years have passed, might I be able to find another shot I could add to my edited archives? (and also send the client a nice unexpected bonus shot)  Going through the remaining photos I liked how the sun was just at the tip of the guitar and I thought by cropping a good amount off the top and bottom the focus can be put on that particular point in the image.  

I did not do much editing to the shot, mostly actually just darkening the subject to make him standout against the bright sunset sky background more.  Go back to one of your favorite shoots and see if you cannot mine another gem or two out of it.

Courtyard Marriott St. Petersburg Suite Commercial Photography

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A suite in Courtyard Marriott St. Petersburg Florida - commercial photography - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 7-exposure HDRMy former neighbor Ryan of the Courtyard Marriott (he is the sales manager) contacted me this week about making some more commercial photographs of the hotel as it is just about finished with its renovations.  To start with, they wanted to send out a new advertisement and needed just a couple photos of a suite room.  So after we discussed the future photography to be done of the hotel, I went up to the 7th floor with my Nikon and tripod.  As I have mentioned before, photographing a room is rather challenging and not at all as simple as one might think.

Office space in a sweet at Courtyard Marriott St. Petersburg Florida - commercial photography - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 7-exposure HDRThe real goal of this small shoot was for the image below, a small panorama of the room showing all its features wall to wall from the flatscreen TV to the bed.  It is not made up of the two shots below of course, but from the same point just shooting one frame to the left and then panning about two thirds of a frame to the right.  I then used the Photomerge automation in Photoshop to stitch the two photos together.

Suite hotel room at Courtyard Marriott in St. Petersburg Florida - 2 HDR images stitched together in Photoshop using PhotomergeI look forward to photographing the renovated historic lobby and other areas of the hotel in September.

Commercial Business Headshot Optometrist St. Petersburg Florida VIP Eyecare with Dr. Henri

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Commercial business headshot for Dr. Henri of VIP Eyecare St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/10 ISO 200 1/60th - Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/2 power in 43" brolly to frame front right & SB-600 @ 1/2 power in 43" shoot through umbrella to frame rear rightThis morning I continued my business relationship with VIP Eyecare in St. Petersburg Florida making a headshot for Dr. Henri.  In the past I have photographed several events there as well as making commercial interior photos of their new location for print marketing materials and their website.  For the headshot itself, they wanted to make sure the VIP logo was visible on Dr. Henri's jacket, along with her name, and then have the background show some of the product they carry, i.e. glasses.  Since Dr. Henri was wearing glasses herself, I had to be careful that none of my speedlights were showing up as glare in her lenses by placing both lights high above her.  For the perspective, I shot from one step up on a folding ladder.  

Dr. Henri was a great model being able to recreate her smile as I adjusted the two speedlights I was using in the tight space between eyeglass shelves and getting the best composition possible to achieve all the details they wanted in the headshot.  It is always fun to visit VIP Eyecare and say hello to everyone there and I very much appreciate them continuing to be my most loyal commercial photography client.

St. Petersburg Florida panorama photograph featured in USFSP Conference banner

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My panorama image was used in the banner above. Thank you to attendee Tom Edmonds for the photo of it.Thank you to Tom Edmonds and St. Petersburg in The World for licensing one of my panorama images of downtown St. Petersburg Florida to feature in a banner a tthe Conference on International Affairs in March 2013.  As a photographer selling prints is still one of the most satisfying things, even in this digitla age.  

I have a large catalogue of unique images of St. Petersburg, Florida and the surrounding area available for commercial license and fine art print that when used show local support for area far beyond what a stock image can represent.  

TownePlace Suites Marriott St. Petersburg Clearwater commercial pool shoot

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Photographing the same subject matter in different seasons or just a significant amount of time later is a very good personal photography project to do.  It is rare to have that kind of opportunity with a commercial photography shoot, but that is just what happened when former clients TownePlace Suites Marriott Clearwater called and asked me to come make a new photograph of their outdoor swimming pool.  They had updated the furniture and needed a new photograph to highlight the changes to the pool area.  

For me it is interesting to see the differences in angles I chose in 2011 and 2012.  The tighter shot of the pool in 2012 was no doubt influenced by the client wanting to see the new furniture in the shot better.

Here is an insider photo tip for shooting pools:  do not get the entire pool in the shot, thereby leaving the exact size of the pool unknown to the viewer.