Kent Henderson Photography

Spokane Senior Portraits– Phenix

Kent Henderson — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 00:08:41 +0000

My favorite location to shoot senior portraits and engagement sessions is in our beautiful South Hill parks. This photo session with Phenix Pitts from Central Valley was easy enough because Phenix couldn’t stop smiling! It’s nice to work with people who enjoy life.

13126 North Norman Road : Spokane Real Estate Photography

Kent Henderson — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 20:54:26 +0000

I had the pleasure of working with Realtor Gene Smith and homeowner Sharon Sprott last week, shooting the Sprott’s amazing listing north of Greenacres. This home on 10 acres is like a private nature retreat! Miles of trails with views of Mt. Spokane and Newman Lake– this home is for the serious outdoor aficionado.

Spokane Commercial Photography– Real Estate

Kent Henderson — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 15:04:42 +0000

Broken Lance Road in the Quinimose development has a spectacular view of both Saltese Flats (Saltese Uplands Conservation Area) and Mica Peak. I had the chance to shoot a home there for Mary Moulton recently, here are a few of the shots showing the view and the nice interior– (23409 Broken Lance, Liberty Lake, WA)

Real Estate Photography– Spokane Commercial Photography

Kent Henderson — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 17:41:51 +0000

When I’m in the middle of a photo shoot it’s hard to explain how High Dynamic Range photography works. Let’s just use a couple pictures to tell the story. The featured picture above is the final HDR shot. Using software to combine several exposures, we can see certain details that are normally lost in shadow or very bright areas.The picture at the bottom of this post is the “normal” shot taken right from the camera. In the normal shot, the bed is exposed properly but the window is mostly washed out with sunlight while the front of the nightstand, lower edges of the bed and the floor and chair back in the right corner are very dark. High Dynamic Range photography takes well-lit areas from several pictures and combines them. If you have a room or a scene in which you want to show all the details, HDR is a very effective tool.

I will look through my files and find more dramatic examples next week– this is just a quick example for the curious–

Spokane Commercial Photography– Real Estate

Kent Henderson — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 03:01:54 +0000

Recently I had the chance to shoot a home up in Chatteroy with Seth Maefsky. This involved a little hike through some woods for a view shot and a tricky climb back down some loose basalt! Well, I wanted to take the “shortcut”. If you would like to know more about this home call Seth at 509–922-7355 or check out legacygroupspokane.com

LaunchPad INW Member’s Lounge– Spokane Commercial Photography

Kent Henderson — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 20:53:13 +0000

LaunchPad at Main & Stevens, downtown Spokane, has a cool event space hidden in the basement! There are couches & love seats, some bistro-style tables and a couple chairs at the bar. It’s a perfect location for a private birthday party, retirement party or casual get-together. There is a foosball table and ping-pong table for some friendly competition and two restrooms connected to the space. E-mail Bill Kalivas to make reservations or ask questions–
Bill’s e-mail

Images created by Kent Henderson Photography, providing quality Commercial Photography in Spokane, WA.

Ohme Gardens– Spokane Commercial Photography

Kent Henderson — Wed, 30 May 2012 01:01:15 +0000

Teresa (my wife) and I took a nice break visiting Wenatchee over the Memorial Day weekend. Saturday was the main day for sightseeing and the Ohme Gardens was the focal point of the trip. Ohme Gardens is an amazing nine-acre retreat into green ground cover, ferns and trees. The Ohme family built this attraction from scratch over a 40–50 year span. Crisscrossed with hand-laid flagstone paths and dotted with pools and waterfalls, Ohme Gardens is a very relaxing place to spend a few hours hiking around and catching the view of Wenatchee Valley while sitting on stone benches or a soft hillside.

As a commercial photographer I also prepare images for sale as postcards through Auntie’s Bookstore in downtown Spokane. Ohme Gardens is a postcard picture paradise, although this was not a business trip so I’ll have to go back to capture enough for a calendar some day! If you are anywhere near Wenatchee, WA at some point in the future this is a must-see!

Whitestone Winery– Spokane Commercial Photography

Kent Henderson — Fri, 25 May 2012 02:26:59 +0000

One of the difficult aspects of Commercial Photography is the drudgery of “self-assigned” photo shoots. Every now and then a photographer needs some fresh ideas or new challenges. So we think of a place or situation outside of our everyday experience and go there to suffer for out art. A photographic hairshirt, if you will. (Nothing to do with the music group R.E.M., by the way…)

For some reason vineyards and wineries have been a recurring theme for me over the past several years. Row upon row of boring grape vines and dirt, what’s the fun in that?! Nearby tasting rooms with interesting architecture and decor, conversation with the winemaker about his art and passion– please, I’d rather go to the dentist! But suffer I must. Last November (2011) I went out to Whitestone Winery’s vineyard on the Columbia River north of Creston. It was their final day of harvest, a fleeting moment with no recourse for missed chances. There is a hillside west of the fields so I climbed it as sunset closed in and capture a few shots of the last rays of the day. At the time I processed several images from other vantage points but left dozens untouched on the computer, not enough time to review every idea. The featured image above was overlooked until today. (Click on the image for a larger copy.) Using some artistic license in the digital darkroom I came up with this stylized version that you see above. I think it captures the essence of the fading season, the leaves have turned yellow, the last grapes are picked, it’s time to bring the crop in and go home.

For further perspective of the vineyard location see the picture below. This is the panoramic view you see when looking east from the edge of the property. This shot is on display at Whitestone’s new tasting room on Post Street downtown. Here’s the important info, say ‘hi” to Michael Haig the winemaker if he’s in!

8 N. Post Street Suite #8, Spokane, WA 99201
Tuesday — Wednesday
12:00 p.m. to 6:00 pm
Thursday — Friday
12:00 p.m. — 7:00 p.m.
Saturday
12:00 p.m. — 5:00 p.m.
(509) 838‑2427

Interior Details– Spokane Commercial Photography : Real Estate Photography

Kent Henderson — Thu, 24 May 2012 20:52:38 +0000

As the weather gets better, Real Estate Photography projects pick up a bit. Usually there isn’t much time to pause and reflect on the details, these jobs are time and cost sensitive so you have to focus on the big picture– the general feel of the home, the living space and most importantly– the kitchen! During the past week, however, I had the chance to shoot with Doc Williams of Coldwell Banker Tomlinson South at a model home by Copper Basin Construction in the Pillar Rock development. They have a variety of floor plans and upgrades but we focused on many of the standard features in Pillar Rock’s homes that are usually extra cost to the buyer.

Narrowing down to the details allows me to use different methods of editing. Some are represented with a form of High Dynamic Range but many of the features showed better starting with a “normal” exposure, or two, and using Photoshop to edit and blend various pieces together– drawing out the wood grain or texture in a backsplash, whatever method created the best “feel” in the final image. Here are a few detail shots from Pillar Rock and a listing by Pam Fredrick on Barker Road–

Event Photography– Spokane Commercial Photography

Kent Henderson — Wed, 23 May 2012 18:41:17 +0000

Commercial Photography & Social Media–

Just this morning I developed a new elevator speech titled– “Pictures are the Currency of Social Media”. It’s been said before, but the statistics are staggering! Facebook and Pinterest are photo-heavy sites, with Pinterest being based entirely on pictures, of course. Pinterest may soon have a brand value that exceeds Facebook, which just went public for around $1 billion! Facebook users share 200 million photos per day, or 6 billion per month. But one source puts Pinterest photo sharing at 250 million per day.

Brand awareness through Event Photography–

My Facebook Business page (a work in progress!) reaches about 40 — 50 unique users when I make posts of general interest, including a single picture. However, two events and a Senior Portrait session recently caused a huge spike in interest. All three of these photo shoots resulted in an album of pictures that people could browse through. The subject of the photos– a fund raiser, an awards show and a high school senior– had motivated followers, people who wanted to engage and see how the pictures represented something they were interested in. For a week or so I had 500 — 600 Facebook users interacting with photos that were posted in my account, over 10 times the normal reach.

Hire a Professional- consider maximizing an upcoming event for your business, charity or special interest group. Event photography is an affordable way to increase the visibility of your company’s Facebook page. Combined with a conversion strategy, you can increase the number of Likes on your page and/or offer incentives for people to buy your product or service. A picture says a thousand words and it could sell a thousand dollars worth of business!

Here’s the album link for the Spark Awards, the above picture was from this event– MARCOM Spark Awards Step & Repeat

And a general link to albums on my business Facebook page– Photo Albums