How To Become an Architectural Photographer

Having a passion for photography seems like a given when wanting to become an architectural photographer, but how do you actually make it happen? There probably isn’t one straight path for everyone (I started as a photographer in the Navy), but here are some tips to help you along the way.

Hone Your Skills

Using digital photography is an asset because you can basically practice for free with no worries about buying and developing film. So, practice a lot. You need to understand how digital photography renders shadows and highlights, and how light falls on a subject. Architectural photography generally focuses on the big picture, but you also need to exploit the details and often find a way to put the two extremes together in the same image. And while portrait photography easily creates a mood with the expression on a person’s face, in architectural photography you need to create a mood or feeling using light or special angles. You might exploit the sunlight from the window casting shadows over the scene or create the lighting yourself, so practice noticing and highlighting what can create mood in your images. Finally, post-production is very important and you will need some Photoshop skills. Whether it’s just creating balance in a building by “turning off” or “turning on” a light that you couldn’t control during the shoot or correcting colors from a mixed lighting scene, you must have the skills to remove any blemishes from the original image.

In this shot, I couldn’t get the angle I wanted without the streetlight, but I was able to remove it later.

Here I wanted to highlight the ambiance of the fireplace, but there was no fire during the shoot, so I was able to add it later.

Just Get Started and Build Your Portfolio

Although your dream may be to shoot for the top architectural firm in your area, you probably need to be more realistic as you get started. To build your portfolio and gain experience, be open to almost any opportunity. You may be able to start with newer real estate agents, contractors or even building materials suppliers. Contractors need before and after shots and these can be great experience and often provide a good range of structures. Some of my most interesting shoots have been for a building materials supplier. With them, I have shot hotels around the world.

Develop Your Own Style

As mentioned above, architectural photography is not just about the structure. It’s about the details, angles, how the light plays a role in a space. Anyone can take a picture; you need to figure out how to tell a story. One of my signature techniques it to use lower angles to try to help the viewer imagine being in the space. I’m also always open to finding something interesting in a shot. In architectural photography, you may be faced with seemingly boring subjects such as worksites or very plain buildings. It might be focusing on details, unusual angles or unique shadows to make an image more compelling. This is a basic greenhouse, but I combined the artificial light inside with the sunset outside and used an off-center angle at a lower level to draw the viewer into the image, thus making even something relatively uninteresting visually compelling.

This is a greenhouse in the middle of a field. I spent time looking at this subject throughout the day and finally saw this opportunity to balance the sunset with the artificial interior lights and the straight lines of the structure against the softer landscape and found a captivating image.

By manipulating the angle of the shot I was able to put the viewer right into the interior of this greenhouse. I also used line convergence and dwindling size perspective to bring interest to an otherwise uninteresting space.

Network, Join Professional Organizations and Be Proactive

In almost every career, you need to get out there and meet people and this is no exception. Join organizations where you can meet other business people, even local chambers of commerce, and establish your own page on websites that promote photographers. Contact the marketing managers of the types of structures you want to shoot. This might be architectural firms, hotels, the top real estate agency; whatever it might be, and offer your services. Social media and websites are important, but face-to-face meetings can make a strong impression. If you do get in front of one of your dream project managers, you may need to initially offer your services at no cost or satisfaction guaranteed, as I did with some of my early projects. Taking this chance made all the difference for me.

Always Be Professional

All the connections, networking and client building means nothing if you aren’t professional and a pleasure to work with. Ultimately, many if not most of your jobs will come from personal referrals (even within the same company). So always be great to work with. Keep promises, make deadlines, be gracious. You’ll be top of the list for recommendations and testimonials.

The most important advice may be: don’t give up. You may not have all of the equipment you need or the very best camera, but use what you have, be creative and resourceful to compensate with what may be missing and continue to gain experience. Building a career takes time, so be patient and open to a variety of opportunities. You may just develop some of your signature techniques or find a niche because of unexpected projects or even a job you don’t think you wanted. And with perseverance, soon you will be landing the jobs you do want. This shot is from one of my favorite architectural photo shoots at the SAC Federal Credit Union Headquarters, designed by architects LEO A DALY.

Featured Image by Pierre Châtel-Innocenti on Unsplash.