Random stranger's mall photo tip changed my whole approach

Last year at the old Franklin Mall near Nashville, some guy watched me climb onto a planter for a shot of that empty carousel and yelled over that I should get the ceiling lights in frame too, since they're part of the story. Now I always look up first when I walk into a dead mall, those flickering fluorescent tubes and broken skylights add so much mood. Anybody else got a random tip from a fellow explorer that totally shifted how you document these places?

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derek_burns13d ago

That ceiling light tip reminds me of walking through the old Hickory Hollow back in 2019, some security guard told me to stop shooting the empty storefronts and get the cracked tile floor in the shot because it showed thousands of footsteps that would never happen again. Made me feel kind of sad but in a good way, you know? It's crazy how one random comment from a stranger can stick with you like that.