Nashville-based Architecture Photographer Nick McGinn recently collaborated with first-time client Gensler Chicago on a new project documenting the remodel of Western Kentucky University Commons at Helm Library. Gensler, founded in 1965, is a global architecture, design, and planning firm with fifty-three offices in over one hundred countries across the world.
Gensler Chicago lead the renovation of Western Kentucky University Commons at Helm Library. Formerly, a gymnasium basketball court constructed in 1934, the space was re-purposed as a library in 1964. Gensler Chicago transformed the library into a multi-use space to host a variety of academic and social activities. For their work on the project, they were awarded the prestigious International Interior Design Association Red Award from the association’s Illinois Division. With so much invested into this project, they needed equally high-quality imagery to represent their work to their global clientele.
Nick is a fifth-generation photographer who, from a young age, was steeped in the world of light, architecture, and design. He is a specialist of two-point perspective. This is a linear perspective method utilizing two lines, or “vanishing points,” to draw viewers’ attention to the horizon to create the illusion of space in a two-dimensional space. It is an essential skill for documenting built environments because it creates depth and space in an otherwise flat representation.
Without prior contact between himself and the client, it appears that Nick’s reputation preceded him.
I’m not really sure how they found out about me, but they said, “we’re specifically hiring you for the angles that you see in a space.” We had a great rapport. We hit it off well. I was very excited to get to work with them. They’re kind of a dream client.
In Nick, Gensler Chicago found an easy-going collaborator with an eye for dynamic angles that amplify and narrate architectonic space.
Before the shoot we spent a lot of time with the client zoom. A lot of the collaboration was collecting inspirations, renderings, drawings, and photographs they had of the space, as well as figuring out what they were going to do with the images after the fact. We needed to understand what collateral they needed for their marketing. One of our biggest juggles as an architectural photographer is knowing what the art director, architect, and interior designer want because often they’re all different shots.
With an extensive shot list and so many moving parts to manage over the course of two days, Nick and his assistant, Katja Russell, had their work cut out for them. They had one day for a walkthrough before the day of the shoot to develop their game plan. According to Nick, the key to success when working in an active space is having the flexibility to adapt to the moment.
On a project like this, we typically have a curated syllabus and a timeline before the shoot, but when the space is active, you have to always be open to the fact that you may be 99% complete or 99% ready to take a shot, and all of a sudden there’s a moment to your left that’s perfect, where someone has sat down, there’s great conversation going, the crowds aren’t there, and you have to basically quickly break down, shift over and get that shot.
Being able to improvise is something that I know is really hard for a lot of photographers, and it was one of the reasons why I know that they had selected us. That felt really good.
To that end, Nick also prioritizes collaboration and flexibility within his crew. Nick is not a headstrong leader who runs the show alone. He stresses that everyone on his team has the chance to share their opinions and suggest shots.
I want everyone on the team to be really vocal. If someone sees something, I want them to speak up. I like to promote that everybody has a say and it’s more of a collaboration. If you’re on set, you have a say. That’s how we approach shoots. But within that dynamic we also have to find a balance because you never want too many cooks in the kitchen.
The shoot took place over the course of two-days and, one of those days, stretched from sunrise to sunset. Working on an active bustling campus is full of challenges. Chief among these is light and equipment to shape it the way you want.
When working in an active space you can’t have all your lighting, parabolic umbrellas, soft boxes, because there are just too many hazards and it’s very distracting. At most I can use just a couple of wipes. It’s a real challenge to work with the existing conditions.
These constraints require patience and awareness.
Often it’s a hurry up and wait game. For example, sometimes there’s too much natural light coming in and it was way too harsh, or it could be overcast so we just had to wait for the clouds to pass. Part of capturing this space was utilizing the natural light. We’d set up for a shot and just wait until the right moment in the right lighting, or at times, we sit around and wait for it to pass over.
Working with natural light is part of the art of photography that Nick is more than capable of adjusting to. Managing crowds, no less college students, however, is another unpredictable factor that he and his assistant had to adjust to in the heat of the moment.
Sometimes it was like you’re in a zoo and we’re the main attraction. It was like herding cats. We’re trying to figure out how to build rapport with the students so that they feel comfortable enough to work with us and allow us to kind of pose them, get them in the right position, or clean up the areas around them to make the space the focus of the shot.
The new dining areas, for example, were a main focus of this shoot but presented issues of this nature that Nick and Katja had to adjust to.
We needed to capture the coffee bar when it was open because once it closed down they put down metal doors around the area and you can see the coffee bar throughout the entire space. The challenge was that any time it was open, it was completely crowded and packed. You want to make sure that you’re capturing the space, you’re showing how it’s utilized, but you don’t need a large crowd of people that’s going to clutter the image. We had to create a line of people outside and filter them in without upsetting the barista, without interfering too much with their day.
With a mix of Southern charm and the tireless help from his assistant, Katja, Nick surmounted the challenging circumstances and hit all the shots with trademark quality and style. A project is never complete, however, without humorous moments and memorable experiences. After the shoot, Nick and the crew were surprised to discover that one of their main subjects was a surprise guest.
We were shooting in a public university when a lady came up to us and started talking to us and talking about being in the shots. We just assumed that she was from university, and I guess everyone there, even representatives of the university assumed she was there. We started putting her in some of the shots. It’s not a big deal. At the end of the shoot, somebody asked, “Who was that?” Well, come to find out, no one knew who this person was. She just walked up off the street. She must’ve just been coming through campus, saw us, and decided to hop in this photo shoot.
In the end, there was no harm done. She had her moment of glory while Nick and the crew had a funny story to take with them from the project.
As with all projects, there were also, of course, memorable lessons to be learned and to grow from.
One of the biggest lessons I have from this project is just being open-minded on a shoot. Sometimes when you walk in and you have this idea of this is the shot we’re gonna get, but there are things in the space and uncontrollable factors of the environment that really alter your shot. Always being open-minded and willing to shift what you’re doing is huge for these kinds of projects. It’s so important to understand that there’s a lot out of your control, but if you work with them instead of fighting them, then you can really create some beautiful images.
The images have since been licensed in a cost-sharing agreement that has seen them published in forums beyond the Gensler Chicago website. After two long days of juggling shot lists, college students, and environmental conditions, Nick had indeed created some striking images that demonstrated the quality of his client’s work for their international clientele.
See more of Nick’s work on his website.
Credits
Creative Director & Photo Assistant: Katja Russell
Further Reading
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