{"id":707,"date":"2022-12-06T05:36:05","date_gmt":"2022-12-06T05:36:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pacificvista.net\/tech_photovideo\/?p=707"},"modified":"2022-12-06T10:26:17","modified_gmt":"2022-12-06T10:26:17","slug":"what-is-a-technical-photographer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pacificvista.net\/tech_photovideo\/2022\/12\/06\/what-is-a-technical-photographer\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a “Technical Photographer”?","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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A Technical Photographer is a photographer who combines photography with a keen understanding of light characteristics, the subject matter being photographed, and associated measurement data. The technical photographer can work outside the visible range of the light spectrum, although typically within 360 – 1000 nm. If he is dealing with Lidar for 3D photography, he may be concerned with the spectrum up to 1550nm, as rain and water will, unfortunately, absorb waves at this frequency, which can affect photography.   There may also be implications regarding understanding associated legal and regulatory issues.<\/p>\n

One shouldn’t assume that technical photography is not artistic.  As a form of communication, it is imperative that it be attractive to be communicated successfully.  Most people will not easily digest dull, unattractive, and redundant photographs.<\/p>\n

There are different kinds of technical photography, for example:<\/p>\n

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  1.  Forensic Photography<\/li>\n
  2.  Orthophotography (Aerial photography for creating maps with accurate GIS latitude\/longitude coordinates).<\/li>\n
  3.  Forgery Detection Photography (Infrared and other wavelength inspections of art to detect forgeries).<\/li>\n
  4.  Medical Photography<\/li>\n
  5.  Aerial Photography (with embedded GIS information via an RTK module)<\/li>\n
  6.  Cinematic Photography. <\/li>\n
  7. …<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    To the above list, we can add  Technical Real Estate Photography<\/b><\/span> – which takes in orthophotography (site maps),  inspection, ANSI\/BOMA Z65+ Standard measurements, CAD floorplans, <\/span>and <\/i><\/span>2D\/3D virtual tours that <\/span>integrate <\/b><\/span>photography and floorplans through linkages.  <\/span><\/div>\n

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    Note:  Technical Real Estate Photography <\/u><\/i>is geared towards construction, appraisal, and engineering, which often have legal requirements concerning providing misleading information or inaccurate representation of defects.  In contrast, “Real Estate Photographers” are concerned with providing photos for MLS (multiple listing service) sales websites for real estate agents. MLS Real Estate Photographers are not legally required to show an accurate representation of a property and will often avoid showing the less appealing aspects of a property.   “Architectural  Photographers” are Real Estate Photographers who have to meet the higher quality standards of Architects – compared to those of Real Estate Agents.  A good photographer may be able to handle more than one role.<\/p>\n

    In addition <\/b><\/i>to the vas<\/u>t array of items every professional photographer should understand – which is almost endless in itself, the technical photographer should: <\/span><\/p>\n

    1.  Be able to describe the spectral ch<\/u>aracteristics of white light, the transmissive and reflective chromatic systems, how light mixes, the characteristics of color temperature, and how it is measured.   This means understanding the nature of color casts and how to remove them through flash lighting (aka flambient lighting), as well as understanding the true color of a surface. <\/span><\/p>\n

    [ NOTE: Below is the relative spectral distribution of a 5000K and 6500K LCD screen. Both will appear white to the eye, although the D50 will appear warmer as it has more of the red spectrum.  Thus the color of a red-tinted surface will be enhanced by the D50 light, i.e., it will appear redder than it is.  It is more or less agreed that D65 is the white that best represents natural sunlight and should be used to judge whether a surface is pure white or, indeed,  the true color of any surface.  So, artists and photographers tend to work with D65 lighting to judge colors accurately.<\/span><\/p>\n

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    However, indoor artificial lighting for homes is often warm, perhaps with a color temperature as low as 2100K.  In fact, it may be just about any color temperature with now commonly available variable temperature light bulbs that can be set to any color temperature between 2100K and 6500K with an iPhone or individually change their colors at certain times during the day according to some arbitrary schedule also set on the iPhone.  <\/span><\/p>\n

    Outside light can come in through possibly tinted windows at color temperatures that vary from dawn to dusk and weather conditions.  The real estate photographer is usually tasked to photograph the true color of surfaces, with lights on and ambient light shining through the windows.  Then there are the color casts created by surfaces that absorb certain wavelengths and reflect only the rest.  Between flambient lighting techniques, gray cards, and associated editing with software, it is usually possible for a good photographer to come close to performing that task, although most likely not perfectly.  Absent this, wear, tear, and defective mold on ceilings can go unnoticed.  Far more frequently, the problem is that pictures of a subject property taken by an appraiser cannot be accurately compared and ranked against superior MLS photos taken by real estate photographers in terms of quality and condition for valuation. ]  <\/span><\/p>\n

    2. Know how to use color temperature and spectral meters.   <\/span><\/p>\n

    3.  Know how to use gray cards and other techniques to ensure accurate color reproduction.<\/span><\/p>\n

    4. Be competent at using at least the industry standard photography and video editing software such as Adobe Lightroom Classic, Photoshop, and Premiere.  <\/span><\/p>\n

    5.  Be competent at working with the prevalent color spaces RGB, CYMK, and Adobe RGB, with an understanding of YUV, YIQ, YCbCr, and HSV.  <\/span><\/p>\n

    6. Understand what image compression is, approximately how it works, and the various popular compression formats; so the best format for a given set of requirements can be chosen.<\/span><\/p>\n

    7.  Understand the technical and legal requirements of the job concerning the subject matter being photographed.<\/p>\n