A piano is a remarkable instrument, and I decided to take an opportunity to photograph a beauty as a personal project during this slower period of business. In addition to being an architectural photographer, I am also a musician, so this was a fun little project for me.
Side partial elevation of piano
This piano is a wonderful 6’7” Bosendorfer grand about 15 years old. It plays superbly and looks fantastic. I approached photographing it generally the way I would photograph a large piece of furniture--from an architectural perspective. But I also took a very artistic approach to the photography. I was not working in a large enough space to photograph the entire instrument at once, so I focused on some more artistic and detailed images. In any case, I felt the subject itself demanded a more artistic approach.
The piano lid
The piano soundboard
Some of these photographs are elevational, and that makes them more architectural, but I think that also lends those images a more artistic look, especially because they are also more detail-type images that focus in on one aspect of the design or the form of the piano, and they show the piano in an unusual way. I also used a number of less-conventional--from an architectural photography standpoint--perspectives, which allowed me to express some of the details of the instrument more artistically.
The hardest part of photographing the piano was dealing with its high-gloss surface. I wanted to show the glossy finish but without a lot of distracting reflections. I used a plain white background to take control of the reflections, but I also had to be careful to handle the lighting properly to avoid the surface taking on more of a matte finish rather than the glossy finish it has in reality. So that was a little tricky, but with some lighting work and a little bit of post-production where needed, I was able to achieve my desired result.
The dampers resting on the strings
The tuning pins
I have photographed furniture for designers on several occasions, but photographing a very large instrument like a piano is not something I’ve done before. The best way to do it would be to photograph it the same way you would photograph a car, which is also something I’ve never done before. That’s a whole separate specialization in photography, and like architectural photography it is very difficult to do at the highest level without a lot of experience and practice. I also do not have the lighting equipment that car photographers use. But my goal here was just to capture some of the beauty of this instrument and also highlight some of the inner workings of the piano action.
The pedals
A piano leg
Each piano has its own personality. It has a special sound to it, and it engages with the player in a unique way. I play differently depending on the instrument I’m playing. It’s very difficult to describe, but each piano speaks to the player in a different way, and that causes the player to respond to each instrument differently. Although you can’t hear the instrument, I hope these photographs help you appreciate this piano’s beauty.
The strings terminate at the tuning pins