Photography Tips

THE QUALITY OF YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS CAN PLAY A KEY ROLE IN YOUR SELECTION AS AN AWARD WINNER.
Photography by a professional photographer is highly recommended.  When using a professional, he or she should visit the site prior to the day of the shoot to catch any potential problems and assess the best time of day to take pictures.

When taking project pictures consider these points:

• Outdoors – time of day, direction of the sun, shadows
• Indoors – type of lighting (natural light can be best)
• Make sure the site is neat and clean and at its best.  If the area is to be landscaped it’s best to wait to take pictures until this is done.  Plants and flowers can do a lot to enhance a photograph.  If this isn’t possible, you may want to bring in a few potted plants or other accessories for the shoot.
• In most cases wet pavement or puddles of water are not attractive.  Make sure the concrete is dry and free of all debris.
• Consider the project from all angles.  Sometimes a shot of decorative concrete from above (stepladder or higher) can be very striking.
• Consider the composition of each picture.  Pretend each take is a potential magazine cover.
• To save money, try to have the photographer shoot multiple projects on the same day.
• Remember to get the owner’s permission to shoot, and to have him approve the shoot time, if necessary.

Video Tips

Shooting good quality video for an awards submission can go a long way with judges.  Using a professional videographer is always a good idea, but not an option for everyone.  The following tips have proven to be good guidelines to follow if you’re going to shoot the project yourself.

Choice of Camera:

• A professional HD camera will work best.
• A lot of people use the cameras on their phones. As long as the resolution is HD and a minimum of 1080 these will work fine.
• A tablet may also be used as long as the format and resolution match that of the phone or “B roll” camera.
• Drone footage may be used as long as the resolution meets the minimum criteria of any other camera being used.

Formats:

• An HD format 16:9 aspect ratio will look the best. 1080 P resolution or greater.
• Video codec’s should be H-264 or similar compression for final delivery.
• Audio formats can be .wav or .mp3

General Tips:

• Try to use 2 different cameras, one for main footage and one for “B roll” or cutaway footage. Even if you only have one camera you can shoot the same image twice from different angles.
• Frame your shot before filming, avoid zooming during a shot.
• Follow standard guidelines like honoring the line of action. This is an imaginary line for the viewer’s perspective. You can place a camera anywhere on the line (left, right or center) but never cross the line and shoot backwards. This can disorient the viewer.
• Remember to have good lighting for close up shots.  Sunlight is fine if you avoid shadows.  Be sure your camera “white balance” is set to the current lighting.
• Only use a Go-Pro or action camera as “B roll” footage as the image is usually slightly distorted.  Same for drone cameras, they should be cutaway footage and not the main image.
• When utilizing a drone for cutaway footage the elevation should never exceed 20-25 feet, think of it as a crane or ladder shot.  Pans are okay from a drone as long as it is moving slowly and at a constant elevation.
• Clean backdrops for clear images. No jobsite messes. No people without full safety gear if during construction.
• Use lights for interior shots.  Video will requires more lighting than still images.
• Use a good NLE (no linear editing) system for final production.  Premier Pro, Final Cut Pro, or Sony Vegas all are good.
• Make cutaways quickly and of the same image when possible. This will keep the viewer’s attention.  Use a combination of music and narration. Record the narration directly into the editing software when possible.  Read narrations from a script for accuracy.
• Avoid using excessive transitions; keep it simple, cross dissolves or none.