In my last post Endless Possibilities, I showed how photography can be used in unique ways to market your message. The images were used to market the buildings and architecture for Aimco Apartment Communities. But how do you tell a story with images?

Stories have at least four parts: a beginning or introduction, the middle or the ‘story’, the climax when it all comes together, and the end, the wrap up. The ending can even be the climax if you want to leave the reader hanging and wanting more. Advertising is like a story without the end; you want to leave your customer to want more. If the story is a good one then the customer will then contact you about the ‘more.’

Another company that I work with is How Properties and they also develop apartment communities. However, rather than build apartment building from the ground up they renovate existing buildings in the Philadelphia area and turn them into beautiful modern apartments that people yearn to live in. These buildings have history and they have had at least one story told in them from beginning to end. How Properties gives them new life and starts a new story.

So How (pun intended) to tell that story? After all this is more a sequel than a new novel. First you have to know the history and you need to convey that to the reader, or in this case the renter. The chances are that a true documentation of the old building isn’t very complete but enough is known to portray the buildings first (or second) life. That is when the new story begins and that is where I come in.

1226 Mt. Vernon – Office

The images here are images of a building in Philadelphia that was once a trolley repair/assembly station. It was then converted into a body shop for cars and trucks. The building’s future is to be rental homes.

1226 Mt. Vernon – “Main Street”

In the center there will be a main “street” or common access space that leads to the multi-level interior apartments. This is planned to be the hub of the building and create a mini community in and of itself.

1226 Mt. Vernon – Exterior

Here we have laid the ground work for our story of this building. What will it look like? This story has just begun; you will have to come back after I photograph the finished project to see what happens. After all, it is a mystery.

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