Kilroy Realty’s 2100 Kettner | Commercial Photographer San Diego
During my time as a commercial photographer, I’ve promised myself to never pick a favorite project. While I try my best to keep this sentiment true, working with Kilroy Realty on their stunning office space made me reconsider remaining impartial.
The playful yet grounding office space finds its home in the heart of Little Italy. The energy from this city is so contagious, it made its way into the office building itself. From the stunning murals to beautiful finishing details, it truly was a pleasure shooting such a unique space.
How I Planned This Commercial Photography Shoot
Kilroy Realty’s main goal for this photoshoot was to showcase their massive mixed-use project and highlight the cool murals that are found all across the building. The building design reflects a symbiotic mix of materials and experiences, bridged together by an inviting open-air staircase and numerous outward-facing balconies.
There are so many unique aspects of the building that I wanted to show, such as the different types of materials used, from wood to brick to steel. While I knew a lot of the planning would occur once the session began, photographing the murals required more forethought.
To truly emphasize the stunning colors in each mural, I wanted to play around with various lighting throughout the day. It’s always a true show of a photographer’s skill to see how lighting affects the final photo, but I love how the end results turned out!
Shooting The Show Stopping Staircase
The centerpiece of this open-concept office space is the stunning metal staircase. The colorful mural perfectly contrasts the neutral materials, making it a dream to shoot.
The fun came in trying to find the perfect angle to emphasize as much of the staircase as possible. While sometimes it’s difficult to capture so much detail within one single photo, I was pleasantly surprised to see the staircase ground all the color in the background.
Embracing The Energy Of The City
The building is located in a busy area so I knew I wanted to get different shots that would capture the liveliness of the area. For the Keep Going shot, I waited and waited for the Amtrak to drive by so I could capture it going past the mural - the energy within the photo is so worth it!
So often commercial photography can feel stagnant or dull, but embracing the city where the office is located produces incredible shots. Before every shoot, I research the surrounding area to gain inspiration that will excite me during a session.
Utilizing Lighting For A Pop Of Color
With such a large building as the focal point for this session, shadow and lighting are the most important aspects to consider during a session. As a commercial photographer, it thrills me whenever I can think outside-of-the-box and all the murals required me to do so.
Their vibrant colors needed the perfect lighting to create the pop I was looking for. After much trial and error, I captured each mural during the time of day where they truly shined the best.
One of my personal favorite shots was at night outside the building. Bringing in the cool lighting along with the hustle and bustle of the intersection created a different vibe I just loved.
Haley’s Pro Tip: Don’t be afraid to embrace different lighting! Although it can feel out of a photographer’s comfort zone to shoot with less light, the effect is truly stunning.
Challenging Myself For A Whole Building Shot
The one challenge I saw when it came to this particular shoot was capturing the building as a whole, which was hard to do because I had to get far enough away to see it all. This is where my expertise, and charm, come in to save the day!
To get the perfect shot we literally asked the apartments across the street if we could shoot from their roof! That perspective captured the building as a whole along with the cool murals on that side- it was the perfect finale photo to wrap up the session.
CONTRIBUTING PARTIES ON THIS PROJECT:
Developer: Kilroy Realty
Architect: Gensler
General Contractor: Swinerton
Engineers: DCI Engineers, Michael Wall Engineering, Kettler Leweck Engineering, MA Engineers
Furniture: Innovative Commercial Environments
Lighting: Birkenstock Lighting Design
Artwork: DPA Fine Art Consulting, Deanna Postil and Associates, Bareket, Paul Wackers, Ben Eine, Bumblebee Loves You
Other Parties: MBrick, Structurlam, Sylvester Roofing Co, Condon-Johnson & Associates, Linespace, General Shale
