Construction Photography

Sometimes even a drab, noisy, maybe even inconvenient construction site can look interesting, even appealing when photographed from a creative eye.

Pictured here is a shot of workers in Downtown St. Paul, MN.  The angle of the photo pictured here was instrumental in producing a picture that scoops up viewers.  Had our photographer shifted away from that painted wall in the background you would have lost a great deal of the color that brightens up this busy photograph.

The composition is also well done.  Most viewers are drawn to the foreground first when viewing a picture.  This image is no different.  Here it is the worker towards in the lower left of the image that draws the first eye.  With a natural left-to-right "read" your eye will follow the road from the foreground to background - right to left.  Eyes then move up and left following the dynamic color image, with a return to the beginning - the foreground.  The flow of a picture that keeps individuals "circling" through the photo several times, is a sign of an effective piece of work.

Construction photography encompasses a pretty wide array of subjects.  Pictured here is what we would call general road construction.  Other areas of construction photography include new real estate construction, community infrastructure, remodeling, site location surveys, even areal imagery.

Getting professional images of construction sites can be a great asset for documenting or marketing a project.  Not only does it help reflect a businesses professionalism, it really can make you and your site look good.

Corporate Event Photography

Corporate Event Photography

St. Patricks Day  - St. Paul, MN 2013

 

©Big Idea

What goes into making a vehicle wrap.

Have you every wondered what goes into making a vehicle wrap?  The slide show here will give you a good idea of the material used and the application process to wrap the KARE 11 Fan Van.  What it does not show is the one hour of surface prep time.  This 2013 Sprinter came to us clean from the car wash, but we still prep every inch of graphics area with a special cleaning solution.

We like to still use is an older version of the 3M comply vinyl with laminate fro the graphics.  It's just plain easier to work with that some of the newer vinyls, and very forgiving under various temperature conditions.  We also try to always install wraps inside, even on those nice 75°f days.  Wind can cause some major problems when installing and should always be avoided.

We hope you enjoy the slideshow.

Music ©Kevin MacLeod

Ranger 621 boat wrap time

 Late winter usually means boat wrapping time, but before you go off and get your boat wrapped there are a few tips than can help ensure you end up with quality results and a happy sponsor.

It seems that some less experience sign companies look at boats as just another vehicle wrap. This is far, far from the truth! Most vehicles are relatively flat on the sides. Boats on the other hand have extreme curves. For this post we will talk tips specifically about the boat style pictured here. This is a Ranger 621 owned by a professional walleye angler.

First and foremost seek out a reputable sign company, preferably someone who has wrapped your style of boat, and don't be afraid to ask to see pictures of prior projects.  It is also a good idea to get references, call them and ask about there experience.  Wraps are an investment usually made by sponsoring partners, having a poorly designed or installed wrap is not a good reflection on you as an angler or your sponsor's business

As you are developing your sponsored boat design it is so important to use original vector art.  we just can't stress that enough.  We know getting good artwork can be a challenge at times, but most business with a reputable brand image will have the needed artwork somewhere.  Seek out .ai (adobe illustrator) or .eps vector files.  Make sure all the images are embedded and any fonts are converted from the font to outlines, this step is easy to do in design programs.  Once you have this type of artwork your designer can make all sorts of magic happen. 

Vector art, as opposed to rastered (.jpg, .gif, psd, etc) allow you to scale images without loosing any quality.  Note in the picture here that the original logo was designed and proofed at 8" wide.  Here it is over 9' long and remains in perfect quality.  Those website logos would never be able to produce these professional looking results.  Don't use them on graphic wraps or signs! Just don't.

When your designer is working on your design ask them if they have a design template for your boat.  This template is different than a simple wireframe outline of the side of a boat.  Reminder, boats have curves, sometimes crazy curves.  If the boat curves, so will the graphics.  If the graphics curve the designer better be aware of this and design accordingly.  This is were it gets really technical.  If proper steps are not taken prior to layout, disaster can happen during your install. Ask questions about the design template. 

Another very important tip is to make sure your installer knows what 3M 94 primer is.  If he/she does not this is a red flag.  Boats take a massive pounding, especially on the waterline, 94 primer is used as an added adhesive in key areas to ensure your wrap stays on.  Don't worry about the day when it is time to remove the graphics.  The vinyl will release with a little extra elbow work, and with adhesive remover, the primer will come right off.

The last tip today is keep your wrap colors in high contrast, uses bold text when you can and semi to gloss overlamnate on your printed graphics.  Doing all of this will help maximize the impact and readability of your boat wrap, keeping you looking good and your sponsor smiling!



The Vision

 

The Vision as seen from the photographer in the Dec. 19 post.

Straight truck graphics

Did you know you can even put new graphics on an older, used truck? You can! But, before you do you need to know a couple things.

If there were prior graphics on the vehicle it is very important to make sure all old vinyl adhesive has been removed from the surface. Have you ever seen those old trucks rolling down the highway with what looks like a dirty ghost image of a logo? What you are looking at was a nice clean transparent adhesive that was left behind upon removing the vinyl graphics. Give that some time in the rain and the dirt in the air and that is what you get, a nasty looking truck, with the old owners nasty looking logo.

Another issue that needs to be addressed is the surface quality. I have yet to see an aluminum sided truck with a paint job as nice as a clear-coat vehicle. The surfaces paint on most of these types of trucks will break down over time leaving the surface oxidized. To see if your truck sides are as such simply run your finger tips down the surface and look if they turn the same color as the paint. With a white sided truck your fingers will look like you just ran them down a chalkboard. This "chalk" must be completely removed prior to any graphics application. Failure to do so is a sure fire way to failure and a lot of wasted money.

Both of the above issues are just part of dealing with older, previously decaled vehicles. How you decide to deal with it is up to you. Know too that experienced sign and graphics companies should tell you about your situation as soon as they spot your vehicle. If they don't, you may be working with the less experienced. Remember, you get , and sometimes don't get, what you pay for.

Graphics everywhere

Another interesting drumhead band logo.

These types of graphics can be a bit tricky as the surface is not rigid and the sides have a radius making traditional vinyl decals a challenge.

As you can see, this graphic is virtually flawless. We use two print methods to achieve this type of quality. One uses a special material designed specifically for non traditional surfaces and irregular shapes or curves. The other methods uses a specific printer that is designed to print directly onto product surfaces. Either option has superb quality and is an ideal option when you need you image displayed in a not so traditional way.

Hoping the joys and blessings of Christmas

fill your halls, homes and hearts this holiday season.

From all at Big Idea,

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

Another Before Shot

Here is another "before shot" photo taken of a Big Idea photographer while on a recent wintery photo shoot. Stay tuned to our blog for a post of the vision he saw.

Simple Sign Face

Here is a store front shot of one of our clients, Great Harvest. The neat sidewalk sign is the focus of this project we completed yesterday. We printed and installed new sidewalk sign faces.

What our client recognized years back is the value in investing in a quality sign frame. This unit is one of the premium models on the market. It allows for easy sign face changing without any tools and the unique base and spring system keeps your sign from ever tipping in bad weather.

The updated sign is already getting new attention and is sure to help capture interested eyes during the client's holiday schedule.

A cool Image

Frosty Morn

©Davin Brandt

Another cool pic we just had to share

As with all our pictures, they are copyrighted and not for public use.  Feel free to share the link to our blog post, just don't take the picture, no pun intended.



The Vision

The Middle of Somewhere

©Davin Brandt

This is the vision our lead photographer, Davin Brandt, saw on a recent photo shoot.  In our previous post you can see him shooting the landscape scene as view from his associate.

The photo shoot is part of a fine art project shot in conjunction with fellow Photographer, Todd Murphy, of MurphShot Photography.  The two have been the foundation of several projects for Big idea.  This particular shoot produced some outstanding images that show us the beauty often overlooked while traveling the Plains of North America.  

  

We enjoy your comments, please feel free to comment on this or any image!

Creative photography

One of our photographers on location Saturday, working on a pretty interesting project.

Stay tuned for a view of what his vision was.

Are your business hours on your window?

Updating business hours is a snap when using custom cut vinyl lettering.  Did you know that we can provide lettering with the adhesive on the front or back of the lettering?  This is a big deal when you live in cold weather areas such as our great state of Minnesota. 

When the outside temps get below 40°f pressure sensitive vinyls can be tricky to apply, not to mention most manufacture quit standing behind their products under the sub 40°f mark at installation.  The problem is that the adhesive just does not get a good bond.

This effects window lettering a great deal in the winter time. To remedy this issue, we recommend installing lettering on the inside of windows, with a front adhesive, as oposed to installing on the outside of your glass door or window.  Most of the times this will work.  Where we run into issues is with strong window tinting.  If that is the case then we need to look at a few other tricks up our sleeves that can remedy the situation.

All-in-all store hours are are a simply solution to inform your customers 24/7/365 when you will be open, or not, for business.  Updating for seasonal hours is super simple too!