(This is Part 2 of my first photo shoot of a commercial space. Part 1 can be seen here.) The second gorgeous space I had the opportunity to photograph was Bask - a cool, contemporary restaurant and lounge located at the NC Music Factory in uptown Charlotte, NC. The space is finished with distressed wood floors, eye-catching metal accents, smooth wood panels, and funky brick walls. Just like Pinkberry (part 1), this space had its own set of challenges.
The restaurant was open for business and, in fact, had a couple people dining while these images were shot. Because of this, I could only use my small flashes - my Nikon SB-80s - triggered by a radio transmitter. Usually I use my more powerful Alien Bees studio flashes for such large spaces, with my small Speedlights only serving as accent lighting. Unlike Pinkberry, natural light wasn't an option due to the harsh glare coming in from the windows above the booths. So small flashes it was!
To be honest, Speedlights are not my forte but I had to made it work.
They say it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert. I guess I have a lot of time to keep practicing...and practice makes perfect.
Because of the timeframe we had for shooting and the fact that Pinkberry was open for business (believe it of not, there were quite a few customers in the store for some of these pics), most of these shots were executed with natural light with maybe one hand-held flash for some fill. Not ideal but I think we pulled it off...
One of the difficulties I had on this shoot was dealing with the acrylic walls. They reflected every spec of light - especially from the two walls of windows. The only solution for this problem, I suppose, is to shoot first thing in the morning or late at night when the light isn't flooding in. Unfortunately, that wasn't an option for our interior shots. Any suggestions fellow photogs?
Gotta love the colors of Pinkberry...
