Walk up to the front door of The Victory on Savannah Highway and look down. The name set into the floor isn't The Victory. It says Rodenberg's, the grocery store this building was built for around 1950.
Today most people in West Ashley know it by its pink tower, which stands over Savannah Highway with the name in script across the front. That makes it a great building to photograph and a tricky one too, because a landmark like that can swallow the rest of the frame.
Twin Rivers Capital asked us to update the exterior photos for The Victory, their retail and office building at 835 Savannah Highway. We had photographed the same building for an earlier listing in February 2024, so the brief was simple: match that style, shoot on a clear sunny day, and wait until the new tenant signage was up. Here's how we did it, plus four tips if you own or lease out a commercial building and need new photos.
A grocery store first
According to West Of's West Ashley Flashback, Rodenberg's Grocery was built by Liberty Construction, the company John William Swistak Sr. ran, which also built the Ashley Theater nearby (now Mellow Mushroom). The News and Courier announced the theater's opening and Rodenberg's upcoming opening on February 26, 1950. After the grocery closed, the building spent many years as a thrift shop before it became The Victory, with food, fitness and shops behind the pink tower.
That history is part of what makes the building worth a good set of photos. The Rodenberg's floor at the entry made the final set, because details like that are what people remember about a place.
Wait for the signs
On a retail building, the signage is part of the product. Leasing photos are how prospective tenants size up a center, and a blank fascia or an old tenant's name tells them the photos are out of date before they read a word.
Caroline at Twin Rivers knew that, so she held the shoot until a new tenant's sign went up. It added a few weeks to the timeline, and it was the right call. The photos now show the building the way a new tenant or a passing driver sees it today, and they'll stay accurate for longer.
If your building has a tenant change coming, book the shoot for after the install. If you can't wait, shoot the angles that don't show that storefront first and come back for the rest.
Shoot the landmark, then the whole building
The pink tower is the hero, and it got its own frames: straight on from across the street, at an angle with the script sign, and from the parking lot with the palms in front. Those are the photos that make someone stop scrolling.
But a tenant leasing a suite needs more than the landmark. They want to see the full length of the storefronts, the glass, the parking, the patio seating and the entrances. So the set also includes wide frames down the sidewalk, a straight on elevation of the whole retail front, the main entry and the outdoor seating areas with their bright railings. Together they answer the questions a tenant has before they call.
Pick the day, not just the date
Exterior commercial photos live and die by the weather. The brief asked for a clear, sunny day, and for a building with a pink tower and a long run of glass that matters even more than usual. Blue sky makes the color read true, and good light keeps the storefront glass from going flat and gray.
Savannah Highway is also one of the busiest roads in West Ashley, so timing matters on the ground too. Traffic and parked cars are part of shooting a working retail center. We work the angles and the timing to keep the building as clear as we can.
Exteriors only can still be a full set
This shoot was exteriors only with no drone, and that's common for retail and office updates when the interiors belong to tenants. A good exterior set still covers every side people approach from: the street front, the corner, the parking side, the entrances and any outdoor space. It also includes a few detail frames that show the character of the place, like the script sign and the patio rails here.
If you want aerials later, they're easy to add. A few drone frames show parking counts, access from the road and what's around the site, which is useful for leasing packages and investor decks.
Commercial costs the same
We don't charge more for commercial properties. A retail building, an office, a restaurant or a mixed use center is priced like a residential shoot, with the same fast turnaround and the same editing. We photograph commercial property across the Charleston area, plus Greenville and the Upstate and Brevard.
Updating photos for a building you own or lease?
Tell us when the signs are up and what you need the photos for, and we'll plan the shoot around it. See our commercial photography, Lowcountry pricing and everything we offer, or book your shoot online anytime.