I recently completed a commercial fit out photography assignment at Lexmark’s offices in Sydney, following a refurbishment and new fit out.
The shoot was commissioned by two of the companies behind the refurbishment, fit out company Intact Projects and designers PTID Environments, who wanted to showcase their work for their own portfolios.
The images were to be used online in social media and websites, to be sent to publications such as industry journals and websites, to be used in marketing collateral, and to be used as examples for future clients with similar briefs.
At the centre of the office was a staff refreshment area with tea and coffee facilities, microwaves, fridges, etc. It is also used as an informal meeting space, and somewhere staff can catch up with the newspapers or see the latest news on TV.
We often see photographs of empty offices, but this loses the human factor. So I asked some of the staff to be the models for the shoot. They were delighted to help out for a few minutes, and some even used it as an opportunity to take a few minutes away from their desks and catch up on the office gossip!
Although the subject of the photographs is the office design and fit out, by putting people into the photographs I brought the images to life and make it much easier for viewers to imagine a working office. After all the office is a workplace, not just for show!
As well as these open areas I also photographed several of the meeting rooms, which varied in size, and also the main desk areas where the majority of staff were working.