The Forge is part of the technology company, Pillar, based out of Columbus, Ohio. Pillar has grown exponentially since its startup, and has opened several new locations over the last few years. The Forge is their fourth location, but first one in Des Moines, Iowa.

The Forge - Architectural Photography - Des Moines, IA

The design firm, WSA Studio (also based out of Columbus), contacted me to photograph the new location. After several weeks of planning, my assistant and I made the short trip to Des Moines. After arriving, I quickly realized this project would require strategy. Every project comes with its own set of problems to be solved and The Forge proved no different. Luckily, the problem set before us had more to do with opportunity than inconvenience: with only one day to photograph the space, we were finding way too many angles that needed to be photographed. Through the process of elimination, we selected seven shots that would best capture the story of The Forge, and set to work.

Featured above is a behind-the-scenes view of one of my favorite shots of the set. Finding places to conceal supplemental lighting is one of the most challenging aspects of lighting a wide shot in a space. If you look closely, you should see one of the additional lights tucked between a glass wall and pillar.

Here is the final image.

Lastly, I want to take time to give an official shoutout to my assistant, Payton. Payton and I have been working together for over a year now, and his work is invaluable to me. Thanks to his assistance, we ended up finishing the shoot earlier than planned, so we decided to create one more image with a twist: we switched roles. I became Payton’s assistant and he took the lead. He composed the image seen below while we collaborated on lighting. The image turned out great and quickly became one of my favorites of the entire set. Well done, buddy, and thanks for not making me get you coffee.