Recent Architectural Photos of Audi Flatirons in Broomfield, Colorado

I am astounded that when I see incredibly cool car dealership photos, often times, they are not that great.   Of course, visit a dealership’s website (like Audi Flatirons) and you’ll see some great photos of the automobiles themselves, but the dealership photos are often pretty drab and unimpressive. 

Don’t believe me? Take a look at most any dealership website and it will likely not impress.   This is really odd to me, since they put so much time, effort and money into making these dealerships so visually stunning. 

This is a photo I took  from a few hundred yards out with a 5omm prime lens.   This is perhaps my favorite lens of all-time.  It’s small so people who don’t know wouldn’t suspect as much, but it is probably the sharpest lens I own. 

Please note that all photos here are “web-friendly resolution.”

Logistical considerations for photographing this dealership

There is an immediate lowered area in front of the dealership with a running path, making it hard to get a straight-on shot from close up.  I did some pre-scouting and was prepared for this.

But, with a 50 megapixel raw-file from a Canon 5dsr, the details are not lost.  I will include a cropped in version below to show how details are retained with that large of a file.

Also, the time of day was important.  I always look at my sun-tracker app to chart where the sun will be on any given day, and at any given time.   Late afternoon was the obvious choice for this one.

Clearly, if I had chosen morning the West-facing main part of the dealership would have been backlit and shady.   Very difficult to photograph.

The same dealership photo from above cropped-in.     You can see that there is no loss of detail. Even the patrons in the dealership are visible and clear.  Not bad for a non-zoom lens.

Why Can’t I use a Drone for the exterior of this dealership?

Yes, a drone photo would have been ideal to get close up and just off the ground.  However, this area is right next to an airport and there is no way to get authorization in this area for drone use.  I am surprised to see on the Audi website that they have a drone photo (that is pretty over-saturated in my opinion).  Seriously, no drones should be in this area at all.

This is a photo on their website.  I would love to know how they got approved for this. 

To be clear, I did not take this photo.

 

The proximity to the airport means it should be off-limits to drones – all drones. 

I am getting a bit technical here, but the above map shows where the dealership is located on an FAA flight approval app that I have (yes, I am FAA Certified).   The Zero on the map in the boundary means that NOBODY can fly there commercially with a drone.  Approvals will not be granted (I have tried) if there is a zero there.  The zero means “feet off the ground” basically that you are allowed to submit approval for.  If it is a zero, you just simply can’t fly there – which is why I am surprised that the Audi dealership has a drone photo on their site. 

Getting back to the photos

Going into the lowered area in front of the dealership also offered some interesting angle-opportunities.   This one again with a 50mm prime lens (which is so very sharp).    

The trees are not lush, or pretty in the winter, but that can sometimes be a good thing as trees can sometimes obscure the subject that is needing to be captured.

 

 

Luxury car dealerships often offer a great architectural opportunity for photography, however, as mentioned above, I am surprised that so many dealerships do not leverage their beautiful buildings more in their website media or even on their social pages. 

Take a look at the Audi Flatirons instagram page.    Almost nothing showcasing this beautiful building.  

One might ask why that is important?    People like to know what they are “in for” when they visit anywhere.    Are they going to be comfortable?  Will the facility be clean?    Will it be something that has a ‘wow’ factor?     

After all, if the facility is comfortable, and visually appealing, potential customers are likely to hang out more, and perhaps, leave with something brand-new and shiny!

Please visit my Boulder and Denver Architectural Photography page.