Book Love

In continuing the "Residential Revit" series here on the blog, I wanted to make a post that addresses two common topics brought up in emails I receive from readers of the blog: design options and smaller residential projects.   Before starting the residential Revit series I tended to use larger commercial projects as examples in tutorials.  Well, considering additions and renovations are such a huge market for architects I thought it would be cool to use a much smaller scale example:  a master suite renovation. Additionally, managing multiple design schemes in a a single model is always a topic of discussion when I chat with residential architects.   Therefore, I put together a little tutorial that walks through how I manages multiple design schemes in one Revit model on a real-world master-suite renovation and how I also managed those design schemed in a single Lumion scene.... Continue reading to learn more about the project and view the tutorial... Click here to keep rea...

Hope Kahn is a Maryland-based journalist who is doing all of the sorts of things I was doing at her age: honing her writing and reporting skills, putting out a student newspaper, and always scrambling to find a good local story. But that's where the similarities stop. Over the last couple of years she's been punching way above her weight class, having been published in national outlets such as Ms. and The New York Times . Suffice to say those are not exactly things I had accomplished before graduating high school. More important, she writes about subjects that are touchstones for her generation. Her work with #SinceParkland is a great example of someone from Generation Lockdown working to effect change for her peers. Recently we did some head shots. The idea was to help her with visually branding herself as the serious, thoughtful journalist she is fast becoming. The setup we used was classic Lighting 101 head-shot-in-a-corner fare, with an L102 and L103 twist. Read more »

Having a 7 month old child has made it difficult to travel this year.  In fact, I told myself I would only attend one conference this year and I am sticking to it.  It's been no secret over the years that my favorite conference by far is BILT NA (formally Revit Technology Conference). If you have only been following me recently here is a list of posts from previous RTC event...  If you have been following me for a while it should be no surprise that I chose to attend BILT NA in Seattle... Will you be attending as well?  If so, be sure to say hello! I am also honored to have been chosen to speak again at the conference.  So, if you are having trouble choosing your sessions I'll help you choose at least one slot.  I will be talking about Assemble System's (a program I haven't gotten into too much detail about on the blog, but a program you should all be aware of because it will change the way you "do BIM"). Here is some info on the session.... Click here to keep...

Just a quick heads-up for anyone based in Europe that I'll be teaching several classes at the Porto Photo Fest on October 12-13 this fall. This is the only time I'll be teaching in a public event this year. The folks at PFF gave us a lot of control in structuring the classes (which they may live to regret!) But we think we have come up with some really cool stuff. PLEASE NOTE: There is currently early bird pricing in effect. So if you might be interested, it's worth acting in a timely manner. Co-Teaching with Sara Lando I'm stoked to once be again collaborating with Sara Lando, one of the most creative people (and brilliant photographers) that I know. We will be co-teaching a class, something we last did together in Ireland in 2017. This Sunday, October 13 class will be on photographing people. It will be taught from two different perspectives. Sara and I will essentially be representing the right and left sides of your brain respectively. We'll be flipping back and...

This week, Ben, my youngest, graduates from high school. Which for any photographer dad also means senior photos. We obliged mom with a standard version, shot in the back yard with a soft box and underexposed foliage as a backdrop. But we also wanted to do something a little cooler, of the real Ben: at his desk, late at night, appropriately doing some kind of science/engineering. So this is what we came up with. Lit simply, the fill light was an on-camera flash. The key light was... a pencil. Read more »

The Godox AD200 has been much written about (and fawned over) for good reason: it's a legit 200ws flash in a near-speedlight form factor that has a lot going for it. At $299, as packaged, it's a near-miss. But at $366 (including two specific accessories) it's a home run. Read more »

In our last "Residential Revit" series post we talked about finding custom materials for your residential renderings and images.  This week, I want to show you how to make a "bump map" from those images you find using the resources in our last post. A "bump map" is essential when rendering with Revit.  The bump map is a high contrast, black and white version of the rendered texture.  When paired with your rendered material in Revit the bump map will tell Revit how to slightly displace the texture to add realism.  Click here to keep reading! »