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Santa Clara-based photographer Jeff Peters recently wrapped up a project for Niles Bolton Associates, a multidisciplinary design firm specializing in architecture, interior design, planning, and landscape architecture. The client needed promotional stills and drone photography of their new student housing property, IDENTITY, just outside the UC Berkeley campus. Jeff’s images were used across the firm’s marketing platforms, including their website and social media.
Niles Bolton is a new client, and they found me through an San Francisco Bay Area web search. They were looking for an architectural photographer who could shoot both ground and drone images. I’ve been flying drones since 2016 and hold an FAA Part 107 license. For me, the drone is just another tool in my photography kit. There are a lot of drone photographers who use the drone to document rather than to photograph a property. I have a lot of experience working on multi-family and affordable housing projects, and this shoot was for student housing at UC Berkeley.
Before the photoshoot, Jeff communicated with the Niles Bolton team to better understand their needs and vision for the project.
We had a conference call to discuss their needs and go over the renderings and construction images they had. This allowed me to hear their design perspective, particularly in terms of the building’s proximity to the school, transportation options, and the incredible view of the San Francisco Bay.
The shoot took place in downtown Berkeley, just a short walk from the UC Berkeley campus.
I scheduled 1.5 days for the shoot, giving me two opportunities to capture both twilight ground and drone images.
My assistant and I were on-site, and the marketing director allowed me to self-direct the shoot. We didn’t hire any talent for this project, but I incorporated people from the street into the shots to add some life to the images.
Jeff shared that time of day, weather conditions, and location/launch site all take extra consideration when working with a drone.
Twilight drone photography can be challenging due to the long exposures and shooting into the sunset. Fortunately, the calm winds helped us capture some great shots. Since we had good lead time, we could plan around the weather, which was important because the area is known for its frequent fog.
Drone photography is both fun and exciting, but safety is key, especially when launching from places like a rooftop balcony or directly from the street.
See more of Jeff’s work on his website.
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