Commercial Architectural Photography of Property & Business Premises
Who is an Architectural Photographer?
Architectural photographers take photographs of buildings and other built structures in a professional capacity. Their photographs are often intended for commercial purposes, for the developer to publish online or in brochures, or for the portfolios of the project team. As potential buyers and clients are often drawn to properties by an image, it is very important that attractive photographs are made available, and the right photographs can be very valuable to those who commission them. Architectural photographers may be trained photographers who have specialised in architecture through their career, or they may be have a background training as an architect or related profession.Our service
We provide professional services in architectural photography, whether you would like the exterior of your project to be photographed in broad daylight or during the golden hours of morning and evening. Daylight photography is always carried out when the sun is out. Careful attention is paid to the timing when the sun is in the right position to represent the three dimensionality of the building. For any projects in UK, daylight photography is best achieved from April 15th until October 30th as the sun is higher in the sky and shadows from adjacent buildings are not cast on the subject i.e. the building being photographed. Dusk or Dawn photography can be done all year round and is best for showcasing lighting design. Traditionally, architectural photography required no people, cars etc. in the frame, but we use these elements strategically to show people interacting with the space or to show scale. We show how the building relates to the surrounding environment, how different spaces connect and flow, the play of textures and materials, details and quality of construction and how light interacts with the forms of the building. To create unique imagery, we employ various shooting techniques including seamlessly stitching together multiple photographs and realistic HDR to overcome the dynamic range limitations.
We use special tilt shift manual lenses on professional digital cameras (usually 36-45 Megapixel DSLRs and sometimes Digital Medium Formats) to correct the verticals and accurately represent what the eye percieves in terms of geometric form and light. Sometimes we use wide angle tilt shift lenses to exaggerate certain elements of the structure solely for dramatic results. All post production is carried out on colour calibrated professional monitors by Eizo.
We have been providing our professional services to architects, developers, self builders etc. since 2004 and we cater to anyone in the buiding and construction industry. If you have a project that needs photographing for your marketing then we would be happy to chat about your requirements. Besides architectural photography we can also produce professional still images of business interiors and bespoke interactive 360° virtual tours which can be used for marketing and promotion of your business. Please visit our 360° Virtual tours & Interior Photography sections for more information.
We are always upgrading our kit to keep inline with the latest technologies and offer you the best. Some of our professional equipment we use:
Provide your brief
The final usage of the resulting imagery is crucial to the success of the shoot, whether it is for an editorial magazine, or for commercial or marketing purposes (i.e. to use on website, social media, printed brochures etc). Discuss requirements with your website/ graphics designer or put us in touch with them. Provide us with the location, date when your project will be ready (ie. no scaffolding, debris, bin collection etc), details on what to focus on, details that are not crucial or important to show. We usually bring our own style as seen in our portfolio, but we can try to adapt to other styles using your previous images as reference. Based on your brief, we will provide you with the estimate (cost and time scales) of the shoot.
Before the shoot
Provide liaison contact within your establishment and at location to provide access. If neighbouring building access can be acquired, this will provide a unique viewpoint. Floorplans with areas of interest marked will be needed. Any 3D views already created to give an idea of the design will also help. Location residents should be notified about the intent of photography and permissions sought where necessary. We will study the location using your floorplans and 3D views, maps, satellite imagery and sun position software and roughly chalk out the shoot plan. Then we wait for a sunny day!
During the shoot
As much as possible, we try to minimize disruption to regular activities of the location during the shoot. We try to use the daily activities to showcase how the environment functions around your project. We will direct the shoot as necessary.
After the shoot
Digital contact sheet of unedited imagery can be provided. We then process the selection into hi-res imagery and send you a link to download. All imagery is backed up to remote and local servers and available to you in the future. We will issue an invoice after the project is delivered.
We are based centrally near Oxford and undertake work mainly in the United Kingdom of Great Britain, but have also done work in other countries.