Olivier Dassance Photographs Art et Floritude’s Lighting Design in a New Office Building

One beautiful thing I have always loved about architectural and interiors photography is the wide scope of clients and projects that fall under its umbrella. Last week on POTW, we looked at a project made for a one-of-a-kind rug shop. This week, we’ll look at a project made for a lighting design manufacturer.

Olivier Dassance is an architectural and interiors photographer who splits his time between London and Bayonne. He has made this lovely set of images for lighting designer Art et Floritude and graciously told us a bit about his processes. Let’s jump on in!

Olivier got his start as a graphic designer/photographer working in the South West of France. After moving to London in 2012, he niched down and focused solely on architectural photography. His photographs have a graphic nature to them. There are bold shapes and heavy contrast. The colors play off of one another. His training and background make themselves evident in the flavor of his work.

Oliver has photographed projects by Art et Floritude in private houses, commercial spaces, and for their design fair showroom. I was curious to know how Oliver felt shooting a project like this differs from other architecture and design clients. He graciously shared “On this project, I had to rethink my approach to composition and framing to best showcase the design elements & details of the lights but also show how they blend with the rest of the space. For example, on my regular interior photoshoots, I always try to use only natural light, avoid showing too much ceiling, or reduce the tungsten colour cast of lightings; Here, I had to do the complete opposite basically.”

He continues, “My advice for someone new to these types of jobs would be to focus on being creative with an artistic mind rather than being a perfectionist about all the technical side. Also what helped me was to discuss with the designer to understand a bit more about the conception of their lighting and what makes their products unique.”

Olivier shares his favorite image, telling “This photograph shows one of the masterpiece lightings of the project. I really like the symmetrical aspect of it, with both the top and bottom parts of the image having a round shape with a warm/orange hue.

I knew this image could only work if all the furniture elements were perfectly aligned with the ceiling, so the first job was to rearrange the chairs, table, etc. Then I set a warm white balance, bracketed my usual 5 exposures, and finished with a few extra shots using flash like in the 2 alcoves at the back.”

I appreciate how Olivier included these next two detail shots. We get a better understanding of the shapes and layers in the fixtures themselves. He showcases the craftsmanship and elaborate design.

In this image, we see the grand scale of this lighting feature, and how it mirrors the curvature of the staircase. I really enjoy the way that Olivier blended in the light from the fixtures with the natural daylight. It feels true to life, but is still tamed and controlled. There isn’t an overpowering orange cast. Things feel natural and pleasant here.

Olivier recounts the challenges and serendipitous moments of this shoot. He says “As with almost any project, things didn’t go as planned. First, the office was still in the last phase of construction so I had to work around builders and materials (lots of cloning/retouching). Another issue was the access between the different floors & areas. Being a high-security building, I ended up blocked behind access control doors, or in the staircase (with no phone signal to make things worse…).

On a good note, after I was done, I managed to get access to the rooftop terrace in order to get some shots of the amazing London skyline.”

A giant thanks to Olivier Dassance fro submitting this project and his experience in to us!

See more of Oliver’s work at olivierdassance.com and on Instagram @olivierdassancephotography.

If you have a project you’d like to be considered for Project of the Week, you can submit it here.