Transforming a cluttered industrial space into a showcase for modern modular design? That was my latest challenge as a Dublin-based architectural photographer. My recent project for McAvoy, a leader in modular construction, perfectly embodied this challenge. They had designed and installed a QSpace unit for Kylemore Cars, a forward-thinking car dealership located at the M50 Business Park in Dublin 12.
This QSpace, a rapidly deployable, prefabricated office space, needed to be showcased in a way that highlighted its modern, modular design with its bold red and white colour blocking, large windows, and integrated ramp. The design of the Qspace subtly blends with the dealership's aesthetic. However, the location presented a unique set of obstacles, being a bustling commercial environment, brimming with industrial elements and the constant hum of activity. My goal was to overcome these challenges and capture the QSpace's features, transforming the space into a visually compelling subject, highlighting its sleek design and modern aesthetic.
As you can see from the above image, I had very little space to work with. The office is not far offset from the main building and there were many cars around with little to no room to move them. There was also some construction barrier tape and muck and other distractions behind the fence. And some big high voltage power lines in the background. Below is one of 3 images shot of the exterior after post-production retouching removed those distracting elements and enhance its visual appeal.
Moving on to the interior, there was a bit of clutter I had to work around. The staff were very helpful and were even willing to do some modelling work.
I loved the bright colors in the offices at both ends. They also had the expansive glass walls that made the QSpace feel much larger than I expected.
The client didn't have the budget to clean up all of the wires and distractions in post-production like I've done in the above image. Look in the gallery and you can see the same room with the clutter left in. It's worth spending extra time to take an image to its next level. But to save on your budget, we give clients the opportunity to select which ones they would be more likely to use prominently and focus our time on those.
A couple of other notes about my methods. This series used only natural light since it was well lit. In post-production, the modern "digital darkroom" of Photoshop, I corrected colour casts, blended images that used a polariser to remove reflections, and took the best pose of any people in the image. I shot over 300 images to produce those you will see below in the gallery. I'm a little obsessed with getting the best images possible :)
And finally, a few notes for the photo geeks :) This was all shot on a Sony Alpha 1, using 3 lenses (Sony 24mm G master, Sigma 50 f1.4 ART, and Canon 17mm TS-E). Images were composited and blended in Photoshop. A polarizer was used to enhance colours and reduce reflections.
