A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Park Assist’s Innovative System through images”
I was hired by a client of mine, which specializes in advanced parking guidance and management systems, we were focusing on highlighting their cutting-edge technology, ease of use, and the improved parking experience they offer and showing how the system is installed from beginning to end.
We did still photography as well as a collaboration with video production where we were to create a library of imagery to showcase the installation process and the benefits of Park Assist’s system as a valuable marketing tool for potential clients and to create a manual for the entire installation process.
The premise of the company and what they do.
Navigation through a bustling college campus, a casino or even a big shopping mall parking garage can be quite the challenge, finding that illusive parking spot can be a daily struggle. Driving around and around looking and looking. But what if I told you there is a solution that make this so much easier for people trying to find that spot in a large parking garage.
Park Assist, a company revolutionizing parking management with their cutting-edge technology.
In this blog, I will take you behind the scenes of a recent photoshoot showcasing how Park Assist’s innovative parking system has transformed parking at large parking garages across the country.
For students and staff at a local college, finding a convenient parking spot used to be a daily ordeal. The limited number of parking spaces often led to frustration, wasted time, and even missed classes. Recognizing the need for a solution, the college decided to partner with Park Assist to implement a state-of-the-art parking system.
While working closely with Park Assist’s marketing team to understand the specific aspects of the system they want to highlight in the photoshoot. Numerous meetings were held prior to the shoot to discuss the overall concept of what we needed to photograph and create some storyboards for the video part of the shoot as well. We chose a suitable location for the photoshoot, a newly constructed parking garage named the Willard-DiLoreto Garage, at Central Connecticut University in New Britain CT.
The morning of the first shoot day we mapped out our schedule and where to start in the garage. Since the parking garage had all 5 floors, we had to find the best place for lighting and contrast to the building. Once we found our starting point, we began the process.
The whole shoot took 2 days with the team. We had people who were installers, tech people, product development as well as the marketing team.
There were numerous images to show how the entire system was built from the ground up. Each step was photographed with the detailed items that were used in the installation process. The tracks being attached to the cement, using certain bolts, attaching the rails to each other for the length of the garage area, as well as putting on the actual sensors and how the adjustment process goes with them to get them up and running correctly. Then came the wiring systems and testing the circuits to make sure everything was hooked up efficiently. We showed images of the massive utility box where all the wiring is done, and the system gets turned on.
We then concentrated on how to photograph the system in action, showcasing its ability to guide vehicles to available parking spaces and improve overall parking efficiency.
The idea was to blur some of the images while the vehicles were moving showing the action of pulling into the parking spots and how the system interacts and how the colors change from green to let you know a spot is available to red when the spot is filled. There were some technical issues that had to be understood for that to happen and the images being exposed properly.
We walked around the garage to find the right location to shoot this next series and by the time we were ready the area chosen was brightly lit from the sunlight of the day.
The difficulty of shooting at such a slow shutter speed in a brightly lit area was something I have done in the past with my landscape photos to create a certain effect.
I ended up using what is called a big stopper and little stopper made by Lee Filter Systems. These are both neutral density filters that help you lower the shutter speed in bright light. They are extremely dark filters that go over the lens to help cut down the amount of light that is coming into the camera. This cut the amount of light coming into the sensor by at least 10 stops of light. The shutter speeds on the camera came down to a slow speed of ½ of a second to create that unique image of the car pulling into the parking spot, blurring the tail lights. We had numerous different vehicles’ being used to mix up the colors of the cars and show a variety so the images could be used at different times and not look so redundant. We got some great images in this series, and they really helped showcase how the system works!!
Another aspect of the system that helps guide people throughout the garage is the electronic signage that is all over the area. These signs can tell you if there are special events going on, how many spots are available and on what floor, where the handicap parking is, and if there are area’s closed or open as well as general welcome information and important messages. We ran through a series of different signs all being programed by one of the tech guys who was with us that day.
The use of these images and for the video was for presentations, brochures, on the company website, and in marketing materials to showcase the installation process and the benefits of the clients system to their potential customers.
The goal is to create a visually compelling library that not only demonstrates the technical aspects of Park Assist’s system but also conveys the practical benefits it offers to clients in terms of convenience, efficiency, and improved parking experiences.
Park Assist’s innovative parking system has proved to be a game-changer for our local college. With its cutting-edge technology, user-friendly mobile app, and safety features, it has turned what used to be a daily headache into a smooth and efficient process. As we witnessed during our photoshoot, this innovation has the potential to revolutionize campus parking for colleges and universities nationwide. Goodbye parking frustrations, hello stress-free campus life!
