Justin Szeremeta | Architectural Photography Almanac

What Makes A Great Client?

by Justin Szeremeta

If you’ve been in this photography game for any amount of time, you most likely have some clients that you love, and perhaps a few who you’d be happy to never meet again. Having high-quality clients is the bedrock of a fruitful career. Without clients, photography is just your hobby.

Shelter: The Streaming Platform Every Architecture Nerd Needs

by Justin Szeremeta

Launched in the summer of 2020, Shelter is a self-described streaming platform for design nerds. Founded by Australian actor and producer Dustin Clare and his wife, Camille, the couple describes Shelter as being part of the next wave of streaming. Rather than casting a wide net focusing on general entertainment (e.g.,

The Mavic You Can Actually Afford: Introducing the New DJI Mavic 3 Classic

by Justin Szeremeta

DJI released the Mavic 3 back in November of 2021. This next iteration of their flagship drone brought with it a ton of upgrades users had been eagerly waiting for since its predecessor, the Mavic 2 had been released three years prior. We wrote a series of articles about this much-anticipated release, including two fantastic deep dives by my fellow APA writer György Palkó that you can find here and here.

Architectural Filmmaking – Part 2 – Creating a Strong Foundation and Not Biting Off More Than You Can Chew

by Justin Szeremeta

IntroductionIn my previous article on beginning your journey into architectural filmmaking, we weighed the pros and cons of delving into offering video services to your clients. If you’ve decided that pursuing motion work is indeed the direction that you want to follow, let’s now identify and explore the initial steps you need to take in order to execute your first architectural video.What

Architectural Filmmaking – Why You Should (Or Perhaps Shouldn’t) Start the Journey

by Justin Szeremeta

Last year my fellow writer, Veeral, put together a fantastic article entitled, ‘Getting Started in Architectural Filmmaking’ which focused on the new opportunities the medium provides and showcases some beautiful examples of videos that take a more sophisticated and minimalist approach to capturing architectural space.

Iconic Architecture Meets High Fashion: Louis Kahn’s Salk Institute Hosts Louis Vuitton Fashion Show

by Justin Szeremeta

Last month Louis Vuitton’s creative director, Nicolas Ghesquière, unveiled his 2023 Cruise Collection at one of America’s most iconic architectural locations, the Salk Institute designed by the legendary architect, Louis Kahn. The first event of its kind to be hosted at the Salk Institute, the building’s travertine courtyard was converted into a temporary runway for the event.

Story of an Image – Woods Bagot’s Changsha Xiangjiang Fortune Finance Center

by Justin Szeremeta

This edition of Story of an Image takes us to central China to photograph a large-scale mixed-use development designed by global architects, Woods Bagot. We ended up staying on site for four and a half days to capture this skyline-defining project.

Runzi Zhu Offers Up A Glimpse Inside A Deserted Shanghai During its Ongoing COVID Lockdown

by Justin Szeremeta

While much of the world is learning to live with the virus, China is continuing to pursue its zero-COVID policy which has seen varying levels of lockdowns across the vast country. None more severe than the one taking place in Shanghai right now, where nearly all of its 26 million residents remain stuck at home in a lockdown that has made headlines across the globe.

How to Turn Your Imposter Syndrome Into A Motivating Force for Good

by Justin Szeremeta

As I sit here about to enter the fourth week of mandatory stay-at-home lockdown in Shanghai, I have had a lot of time to think about where I am in my career as a photographer and inevitably, scroll through social media to compare where my perceived competitors are as well.

A Design Icon: The Cesca Chair

by Justin Szeremeta

Dubbed one of the most important chairs of the 20th century, the Cesca chair quickly became a design icon, showcased in museum collections and movie sets across the globe. Born out of the German art school, the Bauhaus, Marcel Breuer conceived of the chair (then called the B-32) in the late 1920s.

10 Things I Miss About Being an Architect

by Justin Szeremeta

Last year I wrote an article entitled, Architecture Versus Photography as a Profession: 5 Takeaways a Year After the Transition that summarized some of my initial observations between working as an architect and then a photographer. Since then, several of my architect friends and former colleagues have told me that they felt the article leaned a bit towards photography as my preferred profession.

Story of an Image – Tian An 1000 Trees by Heatherwick Studio

by Justin Szeremeta

This edition of Story of an Image keeps us here in Shanghai and takes a look at a building that people seem to either love or hate: Tian An 1000 Trees designed by London-based Heatherwick Studio. This is the story of an image that was actually taken while on assignment to film the project.

An Overview of Architectural Photography Awards Contests – Everything You Need to Know to Get Your Work Recognized

by Justin Szeremeta

As architectural photographers, we are not wanting for options to get our work recognized. Awards for architectural photography are abundant, with new contests seemingly popping up each year.Last year was the first year that I decided to submit some of my work to these competitions.

A Behind-The-Scenes Glimpse Into How Design Within Reach Creates Images for Its Products

by Justin Szeremeta

Behind-the-scenes content is some of the most enjoyable and informative to consume in my opinion. I love seeing how other photographers go about their business and find this is a great way to quickly pick up new ways of working that I may be able to incorporate into my own work.Along

Check Out This NFT Primer – Courtesy of Architectural Photographer Peter Molick

by Justin Szeremeta

One of my goals for the new year is to endeavor to figure out what the heck an NFT is, and how, if at all, it could affect or benefit my work as a photographer. As luck may have it, a serendipitous scroll through my Instagram feed led me to a recent article on the subject by one of our favorite photographers here at APAlmanac, our good friend Peter Molick.

Back Up! One of the Simplest Techniques for Improving Your Work

by Justin Szeremeta

Like all of you, I am constantly trying to push myself to improve as a photographer. Honing our craft is paramount to our continued success and part of the fun of our profession. With that in mind, this year I am looking forward to sharing ideas and techniques that have aided me in my ongoing pursuit of perfection.

DJI Mavic 3 – Are The Upgrades Worth The Hefty Price?

by Justin Szeremeta

After a longer than expected wait, DJI has unveiled the newest iteration in its flagship drone series – the Mavic 3, a release that pushes their Mavic line into the professional realm. I wasn’t able to get my hands on one before writing this article, but I will be renting one later this month and plan to report back with my own personal experience on how I think this drone stacks up to the Mavic 2 Pro and the Air 2s.

How To Register Your Copyright in the United States

by Justin Szeremeta

Coming off the heels of our recent article sharing Andrew Keithly’s excel macro to help speed up the process of filling out your copyright registration form, I thought it would be prudent to share another video with a more comprehensive breakdown detailing the process of copyright registration (in the US) – a start-to-finish explanation beginning with image prep all the way through the registration process.

Building Australia’s Tallest Skyscraper – Melbourne’s Southbank by Beulah

by Justin Szeremeta

Melbourne’s Southbank by Beulah Tower is poised to become the tallest building in the southern hemisphere once completed. The two-tower megadevelopment will eventually rise to 366 meters (1,200 feet) and transform Australia’s ‘garden city.’

‘The Sound of Ink’ – Creative Directors, Beauty and the Bit, Share Their Cinematic Approach to 3D Animation

by Justin Szeremeta

Visualizers and renderers get such bad rap within our industry. Whether that stems from a concern of photographers becoming obsolete or simply ignorance on how much talent and skill some of these creatives possess – I really don’t know. For me personally, I continue to be inspired by how the best visualizers in the game keep pushing the envelope, exploring new ways to showcase their clients’ yet-to-be-built projects.