Clinton Lofts
Seamless integration in the fabric of the neighborhood
Clinton Lofts was designed with intention to fit into the flow of adjacent townhomes in a corner lot that had sat vacant for decades. Subtle variations in the facade give the appearance of a collection of small buildings lining the street, helping the building feel that it belongs. Consistent height and colors help it further blend in and it may one day feel as if it has always been here.
Design by Clarke Caton Hintz
Build by Speedwell Construction
Project Scope
Our objective was to produce 3-4 Exterior images and 7-8 interior shots to show off the various layouts of the apartments. Finishes were chosen to suit the market, so material detail imagery was not a high priority. The units were vacant, so we chose to virtually stage them with furniture and styling touches.
I arrived for sunrise on shoot day and began shooing aerial and ground imagery, with my client showing up slightly after. He promptly began cleaning up clutter on the site, even moving piles of garbage and sweeping the sidewalks - which eventually sparked a flurry of cleaning in the neighborhood as other residences nearby took note and started sweeping up their frontages as well.
We spend the sunrise photographing exteriors, then moved on to the interior images of our main apartments we wanted to cover.
I went back after the shoot and got a more typical Guatamalan platter. The yuca fries were out of this world.
Principal Architect Steven Doyle at Trenton Architecture firm Clarke Caton Hintz approached me about photographing this significant project for downtown Trenton, New Jersey - the first apartment complex to built without subsidies, with the expectation that it could achieve market rate rates on its own. This is a significant sign of financial progress for an inner city neighborhood that had long fallen into disrepair.
He presented me with their current spend on photography for this type of project and asked if I could quote in that ballpark, which I was happy to do. I presented options for a half day and full day, and I was thrilled to see that his team agreed that giving a full day’s attention to it would allow for a variety of developing light conditions.
We broke for lunch and decided to try a local restaurant. This area of Trenton, Chambersburg, has grown a significant Guatemalan population, and just across the street was one of the highest rated restaurants in the neighborhood, Perla De Oriente - which turned out to be delicious. It was counter service only, so we took our Birria tacos (popular, but I imagine not particularly Guatemalan) to nearby Unity Square Park, where we talked about the history of the neighborhood, my clients firm, what he’d like get out of using the images, and his dreams and visions for the future of his firm. We then had a small impromptu architecture crawl has we passed some surprisingly well preserved detailing on rowhomes and Victorian mansions of the area. Some of our gawking and pointing caught the attention of a group of school children who also became enchanted by the architecture.
We spent the rest of the afternoon casually seeking out additional images of the exterior, exploring other units and turning lights on in anticipation of our sunset images. We shot a video of Steven describing the project in detail, as well as a testimonial video where we commented on his experience working with me, which I greatly appreciate.
I’ll add those videos right here as soon as I upload them. Until then you’ll just have to use your imagination.
Virtual Staging
We knew at the outset that these vacant places would need some virtual furnishing to make them shine. I had a new stager I was eager to try out, and I pushed him to the edge of what his software would allow, and then some additional editing on my end to make the furniture blend as seamlessly into the space as possible. He did an excellent job and I’m thrilled with the results.
It may not be the same level as using photogrammetry or environment capture and then architecturally rendering elements into the space, but it certainly does the job quickly and well within project scope and budget.
