Social Networking - Revisited

Almost three months ago, I discussed some aspects of social networking that I plan to incorporate into my website. How have I done so far?

1) Facebook: I have a diverse community of fans of different ages and cultures. I attribute that to my content - I have traveled to interesting places, and have posted pictures from those areas. Area where I could improve - encouraging dialog. However, I think that will take some time.

2) Blog traffic: Lately, I've noticed that my LinkedIn efforts are leading to increased blog traffic. However, I could post more often, and in more areas. Frankly, the reason I haven't is my new job. It's really taking more of my time than I'd expected. Between that and my newly disciplined workout routine, it's been a struggle. However, there's a direct correlation between my blog posts and my web traffic. It's a tough balance to achieve, I admit.

3) Flickr page views - they've definitely been on the upswing. Interestingly enough, this picture has climbed dramatically in the rankings:



And this one has fared well:



This tells me that I may have something "there" where architectural and interior photography is concerned.

Tomorrow - my "current events" - the shutdown and one of my contests. The former affects my weekend plans, the latter an upcoming set of submissions.

Real Estate and Architectural Photography Lessons - "Take away the Fake"

Although I was extremely distracted over the weekend (a brutal crime happened a few blocks from where I live), I learned so much at this class that I had to make this a multi-part series. Today, I'm going to go into my most important lessons - how to make my pictures look "real".

I've had a lot of trouble with this. I'll take a picture of an interior, and it won't quite look the same as I'd expected. An example was during my trip to Vegas. I stayed in a terrific room with an amazing view. Unfortunately, every picture I took of the interior looked fake - it didn't resemble what I saw with my eyes. I therefore had to resort to posting pictures like this, instead:



Mind you, I'm not complaining about this picture, but I felt limited.

I did slightly better with other aspects of the hotel, including the spa, but I never knew why:



I discussed my issues with the instructor, who was very patient. He solved my problem very quickly. Here's why - I shot as wide as possible. Every time I tried to shoot something that wasn't "at scale", it wouldn't work or look good. Anything at a relative distance was fine.

So, with a point-and-shoot, how would that work? Well, my Canon point-and-shoot is especially wide. If you have a camera like it (the SX210 IS), then it's much easier. The key when shooting an interior is not to zoom, if you're looking to take a shot of the room. Obviously, for a close-up or something you'd want to emphasize, that's a different story, like this picture:



Zoomed out, this shot would have been completely different. I wish I'd known all of this while I was in Vegas.

So, did I have any luck with the shoot yesterday, with my newfound skills? I did! Here's an example:



Now ignore the person - this was just a class - and notice how wide the shot is, and how realistic it is. Even the owner liked it. I never thought that a simple piece of advice such as "go wide" would make such a huge difference to me, but it did.

You may be wondering, how did I manage to expose properly for the windows, given that I had such a hard time a few weeks ago at Hillwood? That's another terrific lesson learned, and I'll share that tomorrow. :)

Education

Yesterday, I mentioned the need to consider using a tripod. Here's why:

I've taken some nice interior pictures over the last two months or so:









However, I need help with technique. With the first picture, I need to do a better job of balancing interior and exterior light. I could also use some help with composition. Finally, I haven't taken anything resembling a class in a while, and I could use some added perspective.

I've therefore signed up for a class that focuses on real estate and architectural photography. The class requires a tripod. And that was my thought process. Sometimes learning can be uncomfortable!

On another note, I can't believe it's already March. I've totally dropped the ball. Find out how tomorrow.

Vegas - The Bellagio

I had several goals for this Vegas trip, as you might recall. These were aside from the standard ones of sanity and good health, of course. Unfortunately, I caught a horrible case of the flu and am still recuperating. I'm therefore going to keep this somewhat short.

The Bellagio hotel is really pretty, and not in a bright-lights-in-Vegas kind of why. It's extremely elegant. With my point-and-shoot, I wanted to capture several characteristics of the hotel:

1) Elegance

2) Beauty

3) Serenity (believe it or not)

Here are some pictures that come closest to what I was going for:







I should say, though, that I really struggled in the following areas:

1) The lighting in the hotel was very inconsistent - very bright in some spots, very dark in others. Making these adjustments on my point-and-shoot was not fun. It would have been easier with my DSLR.

2) I missed my DSLR a lot. I would take pictures and then wonder if they were any "less than" because they were taken with a point-and-shoot. I still don't know the answer to that.

3) I still cannot take pictures of room interiors for the life of me. I don't know what it is or why, but they don't remotely resemble my vision.

Some bright spots:

1) I LOVE the first picture.

2) I'm making some progress.

3) I got a great deal done, considering I had very little time to set up and take these pictures. I was in Vegas for work, and had all of one hour or so to take 365 shots. This means I've gotten better at conceiving and executing my shoots. Sure, more time would have been terrific, but this is progress.

It's rare, but I don't have any concrete tips for you. This is because I don't consider myself an expert here yet.

I really want to continue to pursue hotel photography, even though I admit it will take some more work. Now that I work in the city, I can bring my gear in one day after work and practice. I do know that I'll need my DSLR. Till tomorrow!