Advantages to Scouting an Architecture Shoot
Ever have a project that feels unplanned or under-organized only to have things go a bit haywire. Like if local utilities and contractors are out of sync on where to place a drain so that lovely inset accent on a driveway that matches the front of the house can’t be installed anymore? Or use up the materials that were ordered and have to fill gaps in a wall with something entirely different and try to make it look good? It hurts to know that something didn’t quite reach its intended potential for something so insignificant as a miscommunication or limited resources. The good news is, there’s a way to avoid much of this disappointment when it comes to photographing your architectural and design projects. We'll get into why scouting a project can save time, what it looks like, and when you should plan for a scouting session.
Time is of the Essence
The primary resource in quality photography, other than light, is time. The time it takes to understand a location, frame a shot, and stage the furniture and any decorative props can be significant, and if you’re not the photographer or the assistant, it can feel slow if you have other project deadlines coming up that will need some of your attention on the day of the shoot. If your time is going to be limited during a shoot day, or you have multiple projects to photograph and can’t spend a day on location for each one, then scouting your project(s) with the photographer ahead of time might be a good solution.
Scouting Sessions
The main advantage of scouting a project is that it will take significantly less time than a full shoot. What we’re looking for in a scouting session are the quality angles that need to be captured on the day of the shoot, but we don’t need to wait for staging or the right lighting to come around to get the photography done. Instead of spending 20 minutes staging each scene and another 10 waiting for the right shadow or sunbeam, we can set the camera, take the shot, and move on to the next image and leave the time consuming work to the shoot day.
The second advantage is we can create more varied compositions and take some time to decide which is better. For example, if you have a particular angle for a shot in mind and your photographer thinks they see a better one, we can just make both photographs on a scouting day without burning daylight in the back and forth, and give you ample time to decide between them ahead of the shoot. Rather than just 10-15 images in a full day, we can get 25-35 in a couple of hours, write up some notes for staging each one, and then you can decide which 10-15 to focus on for the full quality images, bringing us to the third advantage.
The biggest advantage is that you and the photographer will know exactly what is going to be photographed, and you’ll have the rough draft! This means you’ll be able to trust that the photographer knows exactly what you need and want, and they can focus on using natural light to capture each image at the best time without rushing to find, frame, and stage the next shot on the day. And you can always send a coworker or associate along and they’ll know exactly what to expect even if they were less involved in the project.
Weather is No Longer an Enemy
Another benefit outside of those listed above is that we can scout even when the weather is less than perfect. Not unlike weddings, Architectural shoots tend to happen Spring through Fall, leaving some downtime in the winter months when the skies usually turn gray and the air gets frosty. Even then, storms and clouds can push shoot days further off the schedule than planned, leaving everyone to scramble for another gap in their schedules to converge for a shoot day. By taking some time during bad weather to scout a location, your photographer can still create the exact shots that you need when the weather clears even if you can’t be there.
When Scouting is Helpful
Scouting certainly isn’t a requirement on all projects, but if you need some flexibility in scheduling, or you want to be sure to get exactly the shots that you want and more easily collaborate with your photographer without the pressures of light and time, it’s worth the investment. This is especially true if there are multiple parties interested in using the images in a group deal, as everyone might need a slightly different focus (more on multi-party projects in another article). Contractors might want to focus on finish details, while landscapers need foliage and garden beds, while the Architect needs the overall vision. Each client can scout with the photographer separately, make sure they’ll get what they need, and trust that they’ll have a better version when the shoot day finally arrives, all without negotiating on the spot and using precious sunlight.
