In real estate photography, catching the views is essential to a solid photo. When the weather is clear for a shoot like this, it’s truly kismet. The weather in New York changes so frequently that, except in parts of the summer, you never know what you’re going to get. There are ways to retouch a photo to make it appear as if it were sunny but it’s always better to take photos of the real thing.
Light is a photographer’s tool, and once can never have too much of it. Typically, the higher up you climb a building in NYC the more light you have, and when you pair that with impeccable design its easy to take a great photo.
New York is full of pre-war buildings that just look boring and bland on the outside, but inside they can be a treasure trove of wonderful design and artistry. Take this 3-bedroom unit in the Bronx, just shy of the Manhattan border.
It’s interesting how the architect/interior design hat can be shared by many professionals, the two roles are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Take this apartment, for instance, which was a gut renovation by an architect who also designed the home, quite beautifully. The kitchen was opened up, and the kids room was divided to allow for privacy between the two children.
The area around Columbus Circle is continuously getting built up and this address is one of the newer properties in the neighborhood. With high ceilings and plenty of natural light, the lobby to this building is a warm welcome to visitors.
Given that offices have a different place in our lives now, it’s still wonderful to see an office space that isn’t so staid and bathed in fluorescent light. These offices, in Union Square, are flushed with color and really stand out. I tend to shoot with Canon cameras which are known for really picking up the saturation in colors and it’s often redeeming to photograph a space like this that is just wrought with color.
Showrooms are interesting, aren’t they? They’re like dioramas that you can buy or, eventually, live in. I’ve probably written about this before but retail is so much fun to shoot because it’s a bit of a post-mortem collaboration, in the sense that someone has lit the space so beautifully for you without you even knowing you’d be coming!
Designers will often ask for a photographer of themselves in a space to represent their business. Though my experience in photography stems in interiors, I’ve often had to get resourceful and figure out how to shoot subjects associated with spaces: food/beverage, products, and people. This designer created a wonderfully serene atmosphere with the furnishings selected for the space, and her outfit, luckily, accompanied it quite well.
Flipping brownstones in Bed-Stuy seems to be a hot game right now, and why wouldn’t it be? Flipping homes can be highly lucrative and the neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant is primed to be the next Bushwick (if it wasn’t already - and if it weren’t for the pandemic). Shooting this space was tricky as the owner wanted us to capture the garden at dusk, which, when you see it, makes sense, but we were losing light shooting the rest of the space as night grew closer. Luckily we shot the basement last, which didn’t have much available light, and we got the perfect garden shot as the sun disappeared.
Shakuff is a lighting company that designs floor lamps, to pendant lights, to chandeliers - to any other kind of light fixture you can imagine and this property was the house of Shakuff - owned by the eponymous company head, and filled with more light fixtures than you could dream of.
This salon in Bushwick, just off the Morgan L train stop is a bastion of light and space, probably the two most desirable qualities of NYC real estate. Having shot many salons before this, it was interesting to find a space where the chairs were, instead of put in a row, meet in the middle to form an interesting array and allow for more space around the chairs.
I was only recently made aware of the Shaker Houses and their wonderfully hygge-like design. This walk-up building featured a small handful of units that had beautiful cabin-esque touches that made you feel like you had stepped out of the city and into the Catskills.
You might be familiar with La Duree, the French-born macaron pastry store that has locations in the Upper East Side and Soho but you probably weren’t aware the Soho location has a ‘secret garden’ that has since been taken over by the Bagatelle restaurant group. Although you can order the La Duree pastries for your meal (not to mention macarons), the menu is comprised of haute cuisine French fare in an enchanting outdoor environment.
When life gives you lemons ,make lemonade, and when Barney’s closes - open your own restaurant. That’s what Mark Strausman of Mark’s Off Madison did when he opened his new ode to New York food. The restaurant features an in-house bakery which crafts bagels, pretzels and loaves every day, in addition to the full kitchen serving up Italian specialties and a bevy of other delights. In shooting the space, it was important we capture how the bakery (and the baked goods) are front-and-center in the space.
It’s a new year - time to move onwards and upwards. Speaking of upwards, Peak is situated on the 101st floor of the Hudson Yards complex. It features stunning views from above other landmark skyscrapers from the East Village to the Hudson. These photos were taken days before Peak opened and moments before the coronavirus crept in, shutting down the restaurant for months, but it has since opened up and had been solid strong through the holidays.
Park Ave has such a loaded connotation. It would be interesting to live in a basement studio unit with a bathtub in the middle of room and happen to have your address be Park Avenue. “I have to wash my hair within feet of where I chop my vegetables but at least I live on Park Avenue!” Such was not the case for this apartment that a gorgeous kitchen, and many other gorgeous spaces with plenty of light and beautiful design pieces. And it happens to be on Park Avenue.
I grew up going to a lot of malls but there aren’t many in NYC. However, the Atlantic Terminal/Atlantic Center Mall seems to be an inalienable fixture in Brooklyn with big box stores, flanked by an Apple Store, Whole Foods, and the Barclay’s center. Perhaps it’s the gentrification of an area, or the modernizing of an already kinetic junction in the borough. Either way, I was tasked to shoot the space that I’ve frequented so much in the past by its management company.
Prospect Lefferts Garden is growing, and 123 PLG is the beacon of change it seems. The massive complex towers the area and has a slew of amenities from rooftop pools, to basketball courts. I used the drone for this one and was able to capture both the rooftop pool with a lovely view of the Manhattan skyline.
As people move to working from home, buildings need to provide enough reasons to keep people wanting to stay home and pay for it. This particular property boasted an enormous lounge, countless outdoor spaces, an arcade and even a bowling alley.
When I walked into this shoot, I didn’t realize that I would be doing a two-fer. In the past, I have had interior designers I work with partner up with realtors to help shoot an apartment they designed, that would also be leased or sold. This shoot was a bit of the opposite, where I walked in thinking I would be shooting for a FSBO (for sale by owner) situation, but lo and behold there was an interior designer running around prepping each room for me before I entered. I can enjoy shooting real estate but I far prefer to shoot interior design and it’s a lovely surprise when the two meet.
