Getting a referral is one of the greatest feelings in business, because it means a client has so much confidence in your abilities that they trust you to take care of other clients. The perfect shots of your beautiful property can drastically affect how customers see your business, and we work hard to show every client in the best light. It was therefore very humbling to be entrusted with a referral from JLL, a world leader in real estate services and one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies for over 12 years.
When the property managers at the Lake Front at Keystone property contacted us with a referral from JLL, we jumped at the opportunity to be of service. In no time, we had scheduled a pre-production meeting and arranged a walk-through of the property. The owners of the property were Strategic Capital Partners (SCP), a company which focuses on acquisitions and development in top-tier submarkets in the lower Midwest, Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. SCP had just invested heavily in updating the grounds through landscaping, painting, and rebranding, and wanted us to take some amazing photos of all their work.
Nearly everything in and on the property had been updated and refreshed, from the signage to the street access. The street access was a particular point of interest, as SCP had completely closed off one of their streets in order to make outdoor amenities space for walking, exercise, and biking, complete with bikes available for tenants. An area to the north was converted into what appeared to be a private park which included picnic tables, regular round tables, cornhole sets, and bocci ball spaces. The outdoor transformation also included a party barge, which boasted impressive outdoor collaboration space, lounge areas, and a snack bar in the summer.
The exterior wasn’t the only part that changed; SCP had renovated the interior as well. This impressive endeavor included updating several lobby spaces in existing buildings and constructing a new amenities facility. That facility included a cafe, training room, conference room, gym, game room, and several collaboration spaces. We took our time getting just the right shots of all these beautiful renovations, because even best designs can look even better when they’re perfectly framed.
Our part of this project began in September and ran all the way until January. As with any outdoor project, the weather was our biggest challenge. Too much wind or rain can interfere with the camera equipment as well as the shot, and we didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks. We also didn’t want snow in any of our images, so patience was a major factor. In addition, we had to work around the plans of the construction crews, which are sometimes difficult to predict. After all, the party barge and amenities center could only be photographed once they were complete, and the construction equipment didn’t do much to enhance the pictures!
Our responsibility was to coordinate our shooting times with the property managers, facility coordinators, and security. We had to do all photography after hours and on the weekends, and due to the length of the project we ended up doing interior photography in addition to the exterior of the entire property. It was a massive project with a beautiful facility. We look forward to Spring arriving in full force, when we can return to the property and update our exterior shots when the landscaping is in full bloom!
