Residential Photography – Exterior Lighting Installation
This winter I used my architectural photo skillset to help a client of mine Kelly Francis Illumination market his product The Firefly.
The Firefly is a brass hanging tube light, which Kelly has had much success installing sets of for both residential and commercial customers.
The Fireflies, or any outdoor lighting installation for that matter pose a few challenges to photograph; the main issue being timing. In order to capture an outdoor light in all its brilliance, one must not photograph too early or too late.
“So just snap away at the right time” you might say. If only it were that simple!
For twilight photos, one needs to arrive early and scope the different angles out, because only by timing the best angles for that short 15-minute window of twilight will guarantee the best results.
There’s no use snapping away during twilight if you’re not getting the best shots within the time frame. Below is a test image, showing pre-twilight light.
A nice view, but a little early for twilight.
The timing of these photos was planned strategically, down to the position of the trees and house, as well as position of the sun. Because the front of the house was more illuminated than the back (houses and fences blocked light in the rear) I started out in the back, facing away from the fence and moved my way towards the front as I captured the best predetermined angles.
Now we’re seeing the prime time for these guys to shine!
A prime 50mm lens was used to get a closer view (above and below). The image below was photographed from across the pool.
The final image was quite unconventional, but I wanted to push myself to try a different vantage point.
I used my zoom lens and got a view through the trees, framing the lights with their surroundings. This was actually taken just past twilight, but the lighting still worked out in my favor.
Thank you for your interest in this post. If you’d like to see similar work, here are a couple of samples:
Residential Shoot – Kelly Francis Illumination
Exterior Lighting Shoot – Domain Austin
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