in order to make our clients' life easier, we keep our process as transparent as possible. on occasion we have educate the people we work with, so they understand the physical limitations we are dealing with. this is to ensure that, at the end of the day, our clients fully understand what it takes to deliver outstanding images.
some of these constraints are beyond our control. seasons fall into that category. in climes like toronto, our shooting season is about 6 months long, roughly from early may until the end of october, however, this varies depending on the year and the weather.
for 95% of our projects, especially those including exterior shots with lots of greenery, we have no choice but to shoot these projects during the most favorable months of shooting season, from june to september. shooting outside of this timeframe is possible but made more complicated by uncertain weather and less-than-ideal environmental conditions.
that said, some projects are very suitable to be shot in the fall, winter or early spring, however, these are exceptions to the rule and generally discussed during the pre-production consultation with our clients. this is our discovery process, where we ask all the right questions to ensure we uncover all aspects of our clients' requirements, including those they did not know they have.
when a shoot during the regular shooting season is a necessity, our window to shoot all the projects we have been hired to photograph is rather limited, making it a necessity to book early. currently, for example, we are at about +/- 8 weeks from the end of the shooting season, and although it may seem there is quite a bit of time left to get a photography project to completion, there really isn't a lot of time left.
example of exterior shot photographed during ideal weather conditions. private residence by altius inc, toronto.
consider the following example:
upon being engaged to do a photoshoot, we have to schedule a pre-production consultation and a scouting shoot, share the scouting photos with the client and discuss the specifics of the shoot and the shot selection upon their review of the scouting images. this can take upwards of two weeks, sometimes more.
upon completion of the pre-production process (formal engagement, client consultation, scouting shoot and final view selection), we have to coordinate the final photoshoot. we have to get everyone on the team, typically our clients, the building owner/operator and all sub-trades such as models, stylists, assistants etc. to agree to a shoot date + rain date, in case the weather on shoot day is unforgiving and we must reschedule at the last minute. this represents a lot of coordination and back and forth. it typically takes about a week on average.
in the meantime, we diligently prepare for the shoot and put together a shot list, based on priority and site / weather conditions to ensure we get the most out of our time on site and ensure we can deliver our best work, each time, every time. that includes contacting all the stakeholders and ensure they understand what we expect in order to make the shoot as smooth as possible (ironically it never quite is) and get all necessary permissions and permits as needed. it can be expected that the larger the project, the more complicated this process. on really large projects it may further lengthen pre-production.
the final shoot happens and we all go home happy knowing we did an outstanding job. this is not the end of our production process, but the parts that are important in relation to the shooting season end there, as once we have the images taken and backed-up multiple times, the rest of the process, post-production is not subject to weather and seasons.
in summary, it can easily take upwards to 4-6 weeks in the best of cases to produce a photoshoot and make it happen, especially on larger, non-residential projects. keeping in mind that the 2016 shooting season is coming to an end in about 8 weeks, this means that if you have a project you're thinking about photographing, now is the time to take action in order to ensure its timely completion! missing this short window could mean that you have to wait until may 2017, 9 months from now, to be able to capture your project!
furthermore, a majority of our clients count on awards season (roughly late fall to spring) to submit their projects for awards and get the recognition they deserve. missing that window means no awards this year, let alone the mere ability to showcase your best projects and get new clients for close to a year! as they say, time is money, and it's never been truer than we it comes to architectural photography.
although it may not be the case for everyone, it is important to ask the following question: how many missed opportunities would there be between now and new spring if you choose to delay a photoshoot and risk missing the short shooting window for 2016?
we feel it is our responsibility to be as transparent and let you know about the aforementioned calendar constraints.
We strongly encourage you to contact us TODAY, to get your next project started.
we will talk to you soon to talk about your #doperthandope project!