skala67 Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 This may have been addressed before, but may serve to be very beneficial for all the independent visualizers out there. If a potential client/architect was to ask "what are the benefits of having an architectural image or animation created for a project", what would be peoples responses. Definitely cite specific examples along with generalizations that show the positives of our work. Also list any facts that are out there to back up some of the claims we make? A good comprehensive list would most likely help all of us when speaking with clients. It may also be beneficial for presentations to architects/developers/designers when we are hitting the streets looking for new clients. I will start... 1. Visualizations save time during the design process, because they convey the ideas of the architect to the client and bridge the communication between the two. cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
upshot Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 In many cases it's not 'what' your idea is... it's 'how' you communicate your idea that makes the difference between a success and a failure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Homeless Guy Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 1. Visualizations save time during the design process, because they convey the ideas of the architect to the client and bridge the communication between the two. I don't have much free time to respond right now, but I could argue that visualization also increases time during the design process by conveying the wrong ideas at the wrong time hindering the communication of the design intent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikedeerf Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 Visualizations translate the "jibberish" of 2D plans into a language the average layperson can understand. Typically, the members of the municipal governing body responsible for approving or denying a Zoning Application / Land Development permit are average laypersons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackb602 Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 This may have been addressed before, but may serve to be very beneficial for all the independent visualizers out there. If a potential client/architect was to ask "what are the benefits of having an architectural image or animation created for a project", what would be peoples responses. Definitely cite specific examples along with generalizations that show the positives of our work. Also list any facts that are out there to back up some of the claims we make? A good comprehensive list would most likely help all of us when speaking with clients. It may also be beneficial for presentations to architects/developers/designers when we are hitting the streets looking for new clients. I will start... 1. Visualizations save time during the design process, because they convey the ideas of the architect to the client and bridge the communication between the two. cheers, A couple of quick thoughts. If the client is a developer, he is trying to sell something that doesn't yet exist. Having realistic compelling images of the finished product is very important in getting clients to buy in to a project. At a recent meeting, the developer (who's quite a character) reviewed the renderings and barked, "we need to get these on the web site now!" If the client is an institution or other nonprofit, successful fundraising will be essential to getting their project built. A museum project I worked on was full of "naming" opportunities. If you contribute a certain amount, the auditorium becomes the "John Doe Memorial Auditorium." Again, the donor in this case gets much more excited about the project if he/she can see what they're paying for. These are just a couple of examples. But if these clients and others didn't see any value in visualisation, they wouldn't have paid for it. Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianKitts Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 Personally I would like to think that my knowledge is invaluable although I still require a salary.... As for what is the benefits of my work.... one of the biggest things, is that working hand in hand with designers, my models and renderings cause them to have to think about things that would have otherwise gone unnoticed, or inspire changes that lead to a better end product. These days more and more designers are able to do this on there own as many are mastering BIM platforms or other tools like sketchup....but what I bring to the table is a speed and efficiency in communicating design. Sometime this does mean being the digital pencil to old schoolers..... but sometimes because they think differently it becomes a collaborative learning environment that can benefit for you as well. ....but I could argue that visualization also increases time during the design process by conveying the wrong ideas at the wrong time hindering the communication of the design intent. I completely agree on this one, I'm starting to rack a full set of custom photoshop actions I use to expedite post process of removing any photorealistic appeal to any of my images. In house is fine but, till we make it into DD I'm reluctant on any project to send something to a client that looks real these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IC Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 There will always be a need for blood and organ donors. Well, until the pig modification gets a bit more advanced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blowback Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 Besides the positives and negatives relevant to design previously mentioned I feel that we bring"that thing" to the project. Every project needs some "social lubricant" We provide the lube.... slide past city councl.....get past that pesky neighbor hood committy....help get those check books out easier..... you know the drill;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandmanNinja Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 Besides the positives and negatives relevant to design previously mentioned I feel that we bring"that thing" to the project. Every project needs some "social lubricant" We provide the lube.... slide past city councl.....get past that pesky neighbor hood committy....help get those check books out easier..... you know the drill;) Bribery? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blowback Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 besides the cynicism, You are worth what you say you are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyElNino Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 We are necessary in order to trick local authorities and the general public into thinking that most of this 'architecture' will be beneficial to them and not clutter up their city vistas. What's incredible is that we get to pull the same trick over and over again even though they can see the last terrible block of flats or offices going up right in front of them! We create what the designer would like to have built and the planners would like to see before the accountants get hold of the thing and wring anything of merit out of it through 'value engineering'....! Of course, not everything going up is crap... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandmanNinja Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 If I can suggest another reason for us to be “valuable”: I take photos for a living. I have clients that range from real estate (the majority of my volume of work) to home builders to architects. My clients usually use me for their ‘better’ properties, and they take internal photos on ‘lesser’ properties. They still give me work and they keep me busy, but they do some of the work themselves. On properties that I visit that they’ve already photographed, I compare my photos to theirs. My equipment is better – I have better quality lenses and a wider variety of them, as well as some flash gear (single and master/slave remote flashes – to back-fill the far end of a large room). I’ve also been doing photography longer than them, and have the experience to take a better photo. On a different note (since we're discussing pricing on another topic), I charge different rates for different classes of clients. Real Estate – quick and dirty photos, don’t spend a lot of time in photo shop – has the lowest price. Home Builders get charged twice as much. Why? I spend longer setting up and taking the photos, and more time in photoshop. Why bother? The house isn’t for sale – the plan is. So these photos will have a much longer shelf life than a real estate photo. Architects I charge the most – once again, because of the time investment. I can spend an entire day just doing one house for an architect. Just thought I’d share the above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
womble Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 Interesting post Joel. You mention that you compare your photographs to theres. Do you often notice a drastic difference in quality? Obviously the answer will be yes as you are no doubt a very talented photographer :-) But I am often amazed at the results people get with point and click happy snap camera's that are now on the market, and when I compare them to my own pictures taken with a dSLR (which I have to admit I'm not very competent with and need to practice waaaaay more, plus invest a bit more in a decent lens) I quite often like their image more, as the camera does all the work for them, and often does quite a good job of it. Saying that I doubt even the best estate agent is going to take even a halfway decent shot capable of selling a million dollar property on their 5 megapixel point and click camera ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandmanNinja Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 The pre-programmed exposure settings on the new cameras are pretty good. But there are things it cannot handle, like a strongly back-lit image (I usually use a tripod and take two shots - one for the exposure of the house, and one for the sky). A lot of the differences are in the composition area, too. What makes a good shot? They usually stand in the door frame and snap a photo, catching the corner of the door frame, door, etc. With a wider field-of-view, you can move in past the frame and not get the things that disturb the photo and still capture more of the room. Flipping through a "Kitchen and Bathroom" magazine helps give you an eye for what's right to have in a shot. Flower vases, bowls of fruit, wine glasses half-full with the morning sun catching the glint... Dusk shoots are something I do (in Winter and the sunset times are 530p instead of 930p!), and you can charge more for them as there is only 1 sunset per day. A truly perishable commodity. And that's just parking your camera on a tripod, finding a great primary spot, and taking an exposure bracketing series of photos every 5 minutes. A lot of my competition only gives them "x" amount of shots for "X" amount of $$$. I photoshop "X" amount of shots, and then give them the originals (after I weed them out) and they can pick up any photos they might like that I don't care either good or bad about. They love that. It gives them more value, and they have some input into the process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blowback Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 Flipping through a "Kitchen and Bathroom" magazine helps give you an eye for what's right to have in a shot. Flower vases, bowls of fruit, wine glasses half-full with the morning sun catching the glint... Oh ya...I smell money shots! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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