Corporate Portraits - WeWork, 333 George Street Sydney

Recently I had the pleasure to photograph Barry Meskin Patent and Trademark Attorney at Baxter IP Patent & Trademark Attorneys.

Barry understood the need the to update his Personal Branding Images. You need to stay fresh and looking up to date when building your business profile. You can't keep using the same image for all your social media, people will get stale of seeing the same image. You will create a better memorable impact with a series of professional portraits. The portraits are ideal for LinkedIn, Company Website, Blogging, PR Announcements and Print Marketing material.

Our Personal Branding Photography Shoots are designed around you and your business. We collaborate together and create the look and feel of your photography shoot. We can guide you with styling assistance, photography location and hair and makeup. The location of this shoot was WeWork at 333 George Street Sydney. Actually, the building was designed by a client of mine Grimshaw Architects. WeWork offers a range different cool locations and looks within the same location. Excellent for photography purposes. including an amazing outdoor terrace with stunning Sydney City views. 

If you feel you would like have a chat about how Mackintosh Photography can help you with your personal branding portraits, please give us a call. 

Educational Architecture Photography - St Benedict’s Catholic College

Mackintosh Photography has been photographing St Benedict’s Catholic College in Oran Park in Sydney's South West for numerous years during the development of the various stages designed by Fulton Trotter Architects in Bondi Sydney. The College is a new secondary school developed on a greenfield site in Sydney’s South-West. The architects developed a master plan for the site in 2011 to be completed across a number of stages. Previous stages have included a covered outdoor learning center, the School’s administration building, the science building including 6 teaching labs and associated prep areas, food and technology block, art's building and the latest stage 4 is the new school library building. 

Colour is an important feature in the design of the library with bold colours throughout all the school, which brings learning spaces to fruition. It was used to create focal points, break up the learning space and to accentuate important elements found within the interior.

I enjoy shooting this school and seeing it grow and develop. Almost like the school pupils themselves. The many architectural design features of the newly growing school features, bold colours with dynamic soaring roof lines and strong graphic signage all work to give the desired sense of presence to the school.

Futon Trotter Architects will be entering this project into this year's Architectural Industry Awards. We regularly photograph architects completed projects and sometimes during construction. Architects commission photography of their projects for several reasons such as industry awards like The National Architecture Awards, to raise the practice's profile through marketing on their website and social media like Instagram. And of course to help win new business through showcasing the practices latest designs in their portfolio.

St Benedict’s Catholic College

The Library. 

The Library

Side view looking up at the dynamic roof line.

The Shakespeare Steps

This is one fun design element. 

Reading Nooks

The design encourages readers. 

Morning student arrivals

Open spacers work with the studnet seating areas. 

Learning centres

Modern furnture help create a sence of fun. 

Library Ceiling

The ceiling features interesting design details and elements.

Arial view

This composition shows how the curves of the furniture with the bold patterns on the floor.

Sky Lights

Symmetrical elements feature strongly in the design and in the image.  

Reading time

Flexable furiture options

School Furniture

Students enjoying the space together. 

The library Entrance

Looking down the staircase with the interconnecting walkway.

Brick and Steel

Outside view of the reading Nooks. 

Soaring Roof lines

Where the library meets the outdoor learing centre. 

Arial view of the library

Bold colours and design. 

Interconnecting paths

These trees are young, one day they will provide valable shade. 

The People and the Architecture of Kuala Lumpur and Siem Reap

Photographers love to travel. I love it because it keeps me fresh and energised. Been a professional architectural and portrait photographer in Sydney can get pretty busy and it's great to photograph new projects without the normal constraints of my everyday photography commissions. I enjoy our regular corporate photography and shooting for our architect practices in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne too of course. People and Buildings is what I capture well. However it's interesting even when travelling with my camera in foreign countries, the experience I've gain over the years shooting the studios everyday assignments can still be applied to my personal photography. 

In February this year we went to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and Siem Reap in Cambodia. In fact, it was so good I wanted to go back again. So I did in September and it was well worth it.

Kuala Lumpur is a developing city with a great mix of traditional buildings, super skyscrapers and giant luxurious shopping centres. I've been there a number of times before and I'm always looking to discover something new or go back to a previous location and see how I can photograph it differently, which is a fun photography challenge. This time especially wanted to go to the tradition village of Kampung Baru. It's a Malay enclave in central Kuala Lumpur. One of the most valuable tracts of land in the capital, it has been estimated to be worth up to US$1.4 billion. Kampung Baru's elders have turned developers away, saying they want to preserve their ethnic Malay lifestyle. Hopefully my photographs have captured the spirit and culture of the local village. You must go there for wonderful traditional Malay food and to meet the wonderful friendly locals. It would be great shame to see this been wiped out by greedy developers. 

After Kuala Lumpur we went to Siem Reap in Cambodia, it was the wet season so it was very green and with a fewer people around too. The complete opposite from our previous trip in February which was the dry season and masses of tourists. It was great to be able to concentrate more on photographing the stunning architecture of the Khmer temples built in the 12th century. The energetic town of Siem Reap is the gateway to the many Khmer temples in the region. Including Angkor Wat, which is the largest religious monument in the world, with the site measuring 162.6 hectares. Siem Reap is a vibrant busy town. They even have a street called Pub Street, naturally it's full of tourists all hours of the day and night. Almost anything is for sale here. I especially enjoyed the local markets, a photographers dream to shoot. 

Architect Corporate Portraits - Ultimo Sydney

A couple of weeks ago the studio was commissioned by Conrad Gargett Architects to capture professional portraits of their additional architects and support staff. The reason for the photoshoot was because the firm had recently merged with two other Award Winning Firms. So naturally a location shoot to their office was required to photograph 25 people.  It often surprises me after I have photographed someone, that they say how fun it was and not at all intimidating. How do I manage that? Well that's my secrete weapon.  Nah not really, it's simple just be engaging and interested in them. Luckily I have the natural ability to get along well with all type of people. To put it simply, I'm a people person.

Conrad Gargett is at the forefront of architecture in Australia. A progressive firm with a vibrant legacy of prominent and enduring designs.

Since 1890, Conrad Gargett has continuously evolved. Bringing together three national award winning firms: Conrad Gargett Architecture, Riddel Architecture and Ancher Mortlock Woolley, Conrad Gargett is a robust team with a broad range of expertise and complementary experience.

Operating from Brisbane, Sydney and Townsville, Conrad Gargett delivers projects internationally, across a diverse range of sectors including:.

• Aviation
• Civic
• Commercial
• Conservation and Adaptive Reuse
• Defence
• Education and Research
• Health
• Heritage
• Hospitality and Retail
• Infrastructure
• Landscape and Urban Design
• Residential
• Sport and Leisure
• Workplace and Interiors

Architectural Interior Photography - Dee Why RSL Sydney

The photography studio has been working with Altis Architecture for a couple of years now. Each architectural project is different with its own style and challenges to capture the essence of the architectural design. Dee Why RSL has been greatly updated throughout its 5 stage Master Plan. It is now a progressive, diverse and contemporary RSL Club that can hold its own amongst the local beachside cafes and restaurant competition. This is supported by the edgy architectural designs and the quality of the service provided at the club. This interior photography commission was designed to showcase the Uber lighting design throughout the two areas of the club. Altis Architecture collaborated with Malaya Blonde, extraordinary lighting designers to achieve these stunning images shown here. 

The studIo would love to discuss your next architectural project. Our images of the your designs will showcase your architecture practice in the possible way for your marketing material, new business tenders, website gallery, social media like Instagram and the Australian Institute of Architects Awards.   

Altis Architecture is a progressive and dynamic practice with a strong commitment to achieving design excellence and financially successful projects. The practice has experience in Hospitality, Retail, Residential, Aged Care, Hotels, Health and Fitness, Medical and Aquatic Centre projects with a significant portfolio of completed projects in these areas. They are an integrated architectural and interior design practice allowing them to explore with confidence the opportunities both nationally and internationally. They're committed to innovation and increasing our understanding of customer objectives, design solutions and construction considerations. They're practice philosophy is best defined by their company name, Altis, a historical term meaning "sanctuary enclosure". In search of that spirit, Altis architecture seeks to raise building forms and spaces "above the conventional to a higher level", and to create within the space a welcoming character.

Architectural Interior Photography

I recently had the pleasure of shooting three interesting projects for Altis architecture who are based at Jones Bay Wharf Pyrmont. Altis Architecture is a progressive and dynamic practice with a strong commitment to achieving design excellence and financially successful projects. The practice has experience in Hospitality, Retail, Residential, Aged Care, Hotels, Health and Fitness, and Aquatic Centre projects with a portfolio of many significant completed projects in these areas. 

The photography assignment was based in and around Newcastle in NSW. The venues were three Wests Leagues Clubs. Altis Architecture were very specific when assigning the photography shoot to Mackintosh Photography. They knew exactly what images they required and supplied detailed floor plans of each site. I love getting detailed briefs and drawings as it ensures that the work that I'm creating is matching the client's expectations and requirements for the photography shoot. Off course i still had creative freedom in interpreting their brief. Sometimes the architect will come on site with me while I'm shooting or for part of the day. In this particular case I just had the architectural drawings and the brief to accompany myself during the shoot. The photography shoot was a mixture of interiors in each of the three Wests Leagues Clubs. Including several bars, a beautiful new craft beer bar, mexican and chinese restaurants, a gym, specialty lighting details and interior finishes.  Also a hero shot featuring the exterior of one of the clubs at dusk. So the trick when planning a photographic assignment like this is timing the weather correctly. Easier said than done sometimes. 

If you have a building project nearing completion or some existing projects that require photographing. Please feel free to get in touch to have chat about your particular projects. 

Architectural Heritage Photography - Sydney

There’s a beautiful heritage building on the corner King and Kent Streets in Sydney’s CBD.  I love brick buildings they have a certain charm and character about them. The building was constructed the early 1900’s and as the years went by the building got taller as well. However like us all, time takes its toll on our exteriors. And a building is just same. It was time the modernise and restore this grand old building,

St Hilliers, a well-known construction company commissioned Mackintosh Photography to photograph the beautifully renovated building. I learnt that been a heritage building is not an easy restoration and with only one lift operating for part of the time the fire stairs was the only way the ferry materials up and down by hand. The workers got fit. Speaking of the stairs, to bring the building up to current health and safely standards an extra continuous handrail had to be installed and built on site, quite a challenging task. I needed to take many details photographs of the building showing how the restoration blended in with the existing finishes.  Like matching the type and colour of the brickwork for the restored entrance, the window fittings and fixtures were also fully restored and also lead capping on the roof. Each level features beautiful original floorboards that will be a stunning addition to the new business when they move in.

The top floor has a beautiful contemporary office fit out, suitable for any Sydney executive. It features amazing leather furniture, funky lighting, a large boardroom, private meeting room, workstations and a slick office kitchen. However best of all, there is a large outdoor timber deck with some interesting views of the Sydney city.