Giovanni Battista Piranesi Architectural photography can trace its roots as far back as the renaissance to artists like Hans Vrederman de Vries who were among the first to draw in perspective. The development of the camera obscura in the latter half of the 16th century was a popular drawing aid enabling accurate perspective in drawing and painting. By the time we reached the 18th century the well known engravings of artist / architect Piranesi of a dilapidated Rome could be considered a master class in architectural composition. Fast forward to today’s technology and images are now produced w ..read more

As a professional architectural photographer, it is my job to render 3D reality into a 2 dimensional medium. The 2 factors impacting the image are composition and lighting. Once the composition is established, the lighting is what makes or breaks an image. Knowing how to light, and what and where to light is the job! Anybody can take a picture. What separates a would-be photographer from a skilled professional is knowing how to render the subject in the most aesthetically pleasing manner possible. To illustrate the point, below are 2 photographs of a simple classroom interior. The first is a w ..read more

Upon receiving an assignment to photograph a building one of the first things I do is check the weather forecast and will continue to do so right up until the shoot date. All architectural photographers are at the mercy of the weather and this one critical factor alone has a huge impact on whether the shoot is successful or not. If you want low angle morning sunlight on the east elevation but it’s cloudy and overcast, well there is little you can do except try to return on another day. Schedules and deadlines being what they are, this may not be possible and the photographer is left doing dama ..read more

I love getting great drone shots. The aerial perspectives available with a drone has opened new worlds to photographers previously only accessible by renting expensive helicopters and lifts. It’s a fantastic tool to have as an architectural photographer. While having a flying camera is thrilling, the rules of photography still apply here and knowledge of composition, lighting, and what can be done in post production are key factors. To me the photography of architecture is like doing an enormous product shot and because of the scale involved, is the most challenging of subjects. What follows a ..read more

Over the last 20+ years I have had the pleasure of photographing some great home technology projects. Telling the story of these spaces visually is challenging, as much of the installed tech is mostly hidden from view. What follows is an overview of what I have learned with the obvious goal of working on more of these projects, perhaps yours. A high level overview of this article: • Photograph your projects from the perspective of the Architect, Interior Designer, and Builder. • It’s “Architectural Photography”, not simple real estate photography. • Multiple images can showcase the technology ..read more

Over the last 20+ years I have had the pleasure of photographing some great home technology projects. Telling the story of these spaces visually is challenging, as much of the installed tech is mostly hidden from view. What follows is an overview of what I have learned with the obvious goal of working on more of these projects, perhaps yours. A high level overview of this article: • Photograph your projects from the perspective of the Architect, Interior Designer, and Builder. • It’s “Architectural Photography”, not simple real estate photography. • Multiple images can showcase the technology ..read more

Winning awards will impact your business five ways Public Relations More Sales Sales at higher prices More employees Employee pride I will expand on these further on in this article. First, I want to explore the effort required to win. The challenge is how to increase your odds of winning awards. A well run competition will ensure anonymity, meaning that the judges have no idea who is submitting the application. Most competitions require you to tell the story with a limited number of pictures and answer specific questions with a limited number of words. A Picture is Worth a Thousan ..read more

This is the award winning AES Alamitos Battery Energy Storage System facility. The energy is stored in large battery banks inside and the cases surrounding the building house the inverters. It is able to provide power at peak demand times on a par with natural gas systems. Upon scouting the facility I knew the hero shot was going to be a dusk exterior however that was easier said than done. This building was devoid of any kind of architectural lighting and worse, there were l.e.d. safety floodlights installed near our camera position that were going to spray everywhere contaminating the scene ..read more

When I think of Apple products, the words ornate, baroque, and exuberant are not what springs to mind. Yet the new Apple store in downtown LA is in a freshly renovated Broadway theater built in the Baroque revival style. Designed by the renowned theater architect S. Charles Lee, the Tower theater opened in 1927. The Tower theater is located at 8th and Broadway and operated until 1988 when it closed down and has remained vacant until now. Apple has done a thorough and proper restoration job utilizing the talents of restoration specialists, artisans, and engineers. The contrast of Apple’s sleek ..read more

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