Architectural Photography Almanac
A resource for working professional photographers and design industry professionals featuring news, commentary, equipment resources, and original articles
Darren Bradley: TED talker, Dwell cover boy, global traveller and book author. Not bad for an architectural photographer! I met Darren a few years ago at an AIA award ceremony and instantly found him fascinating; so I couldn’t be happier to make this interview happen. Darren has dodged alligators, run from security guards, and slept in Florida’s sketchiest hotels in his quest to be one of the world’s preeminent Mid Century Modern specialists.
A notorious sticking point for any photographer, the rush turnaround can be a great tool in your bag or it can turn into a living nightmare that threatens to create a rift between you and your client. Over the years I’ve been able to transition from the rush turnaround being a dreaded ‘ugh’ moment into something that is relatively effortless.
For some reason photographers are obsessed with being published, I am a photographer, ergo, am obsessed with being published. It feels good, it looks pretty, and it makes your photographs real, as in a tangible thing that other people hold and look at and say “wow” like Owen Wilson. Wowwww.
I saw this project by Singapore-based photographer Owen Raggett and immediately raised an eyebrow and mouthed “holy shi—“. It’s kind of mind-blowing from both an architecture and photography standpoint, and I couldn’t resist sharing Owen’s exemplary photographs of the project.
Brooke Holm has carved out a successful career for herself shooting exactly what she wants, where she wants, and the results are beautiful. She effortlessly blends personal fine art projects with interior and architectural commissioned works in a sublime and delicate style, becoming a highly sought-after photographer in markets around the world.
It’s a question I find myself explaining over and over again to aspiring photographers and it’s quite simply one of the most powerful tools available for improving the compositions and quality of your photography. It’s not even limited to architectural photography either, in fact artists and photographers alike benefit from taking advantage of the one point perspective.
Project of the Week for February 23rd comes to us out of Northern California. Named Granite Bay and set in a rolling California landscape, the project makes use of the site’s topography to soften its contemporary hard-edged appearance and reveal its size gracefully. Kat Alves, a photographer based in Nevada City, CA, captured it beautifully and we’ll break down where the photos succeed.
We’ve all been there and to deny it is just an outright lie. Whether it’s “can you just photoshop that” or “I promise the contractors will be gone by the time the shoot happens,” you’ve got to roll with the punches and over my career I’ve turned to humor to do so, otherwise someone would be scraping me off the floor of another five-over-one apartment somewhere.
There are really only two tripod heads to consider if you want to use the best of the best: the Arca Swiss D4 and the Arca Swiss C1 Cube. The worst thing about them is you’re spending over a thousand dollars on something that doesn’t actually make you a better photographer, but the best thing about them is that they make it so much easier to take pictures I don’t even know how I’d begin to go back to the cheaper options.
I’d love to pretend that this goes without saying, but it’s incredibly important to actually understand what our clients do in order to deliver the best possible images to them. There is so much more goes into interior design than just making a space “pretty,” especially when you are considering commercial, civic, and other large-scale projects.
This Project of The Week brings us to Cape Town, South Africa, where we find a project shot by Adam Letch. Adam is a photographer specializing in architecture and interiors who’s primary markets are Africa and Europe.
The residence, called “Beyond,” and designed by renowned South African firm SAOTA, is set on a difficult site overlooking Lion’s Head, a well-known landmark in Cape Town.
I already know that this is going to be a controversial article, but it’s something I have to get off my chest because I look back and almost feel guilty about how much money I have spent on these things. The photography industry is full of products that you may or may not need and separating the wheat from the chaff is going to be important when you’re watching where your money goes.
This article is essentially impossible to write, but it’s the single question I am asked more than any other. In fact, I apologize to anyone who has emailed me or asked me this question in person because I simply do not answer. That’s because there is no easy way to answer; it’s the equivalent of walking up to someone and asking them “how long is a piece of string?” Here I will attempt to walk you through coming up with sustainable price to charge for your architectural photography.
Mike Kelley