...Gallery for sale...

[caption id="attachment_167" align="aligncenter" width="590" caption="gallery"][/caption] Last week I shot a gig for Higher Art Gallery in Paddington.  The owners are trying to sell the place which is a house and gallery combined.  It's a pretty great place in an amazing location.  But, there was a slight problem with the real estate images...  Well, they were just that.  Real Estate images.

[caption id="attachment_162" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="original (real estate) shot - not mine..."][/caption]

Now, before I get a stream of hate mail from real estate shooters, hear me out.

Most real estate shooters don't get the time or compensation to create anything really special.  The images of the house are just fine.  Exactly what you'd expect to see.  But the shots of the gallery were not doing the owner any favors...  It just looks like a dark shoebox.  Which is why Emilia brought me in.

The brief was to show the space in a more flattering, creative manner (closer to what you'd expect of an art gallery!) as well as some of what's behind the scenes...  Emilia wanted prospective buyers to see that it is a dynamic space plus the infrastructure is in place to run a gallery.

I spent about 5 hours getting the necessary pieces for 2 shots.  I say pieces because this is all composited together.  The main gallery room is a composite of 23 separately lit images to make everything just right.  The back room is a composite of just 2 separate images.

[caption id="attachment_158" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="main area"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_160" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="secondary area"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_161" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="outside courtyard"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_159" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="each individual item"][/caption]

A big part of the job is client education.  In many cases people see a photo and think, "Well, that's it.  How could you do it better?"  But there is always a unique perspective, hidden in the most ordinary settings.  But Higher Art Gallery is no ordinary place.  Curved walls, multiple spaces...

Given the right skills and sufficient time to create, you get very different results.

[caption id="attachment_166" align="aligncenter" width="354" caption="backstage"][/caption]