Hi everybody. Welcome to Episode 33 of the photography explained podcast. In this episode, what is architectural photography?
I’m your host Rick and each week I will try to explain one photographic thing to you in plain English in less than 10 minutes without irrelevant details. My aim is to explain things in just enough detail to help you and I without photography are no more.
I’m a professionally qualified photographer based in England with a lifetime of photographic experience which I share with you in my podcast.
What is Architectural Photography?
Architectural photography is the specialism of photographing buildings and structures. The building or structure is the main subject of the photo. The photographs are used to show the subject in an aesthetically pleasing and technically correct way.
Okay, that’s the scripted bit out of the way. And now it’s on to the ad-libs.
You can listen to the episode here
Or keep on reading. Or do both. Entirely up to you!
So ironic really, this is take 4 of the recording of this podcast episode.
- Take 1 was spoiled by a message that came in.
- Take 2 was a failure just because I was rubbish.
- Take 3 – I was about five minutes into it, and one of the neighbours started beating the living daylights out of something in their garden which was nice.
It’s ironic, really, because architectural photography is my thing. This is what I do. And this is the one thing I was really excited to talk about.
But events look like they’re trying to stop me. Anyway, let’s get on to it.
I’ve got a list of bullet points here, which are my own little prompts. Apart from that this is all straight off the top of my head.
1 What is architectural photography used for?
Architectural photography is used to record completed buildings or to re-record previously built buildings and structures.
Buildings are a major thing – there’s a lot of work that goes into creating a building. So it’s important that they’re recorded accurately and at the right time.
There are many different uses of the photos. I’ll get onto those in the next points.
2 Why do I love architectural photography?
I love photographing buildings. I love photographing the interiors of buildings. When we go on holiday, I photograph buildings, churches, and anything else. I love photographing buildings. I have worked in construction for a lot of years to be fair, so I guess it’s ingrained in me now.
My first job in construction was when I was about 15 (of which I made a particularly poor job), and I still love architectural photography, I still love photographing buildings.
3 Who do I take photos for?
In the last episode, I touched on product photography. I have done construction product photography. Now the problem is getting the volume of work to make a living is difficult. Construction product photography is quite a niche.
But that’s one group of people I’ve taken photos for – construction product manufacturers.
My other main clients are architects and other designers of buildings.
Why do I like working for architects?
Because architects care very much about their architecture and want it recorded in the best way possible, both aesthetically and technically. I love working for architects – they share their passion for their work.
4 Can you make a living from architectural photography?
Yes, you can.
Now, if you think about this, logically, there are always going to be buildings, and there’s always going to be a need for photographs of buildings. In theory, there will always be a need for architectural photography.
So yes, you can make a living.
And it’s a very, very good niche to get into. And I’ll tell you why in a minute.
5 Do you need specialist knowledge?
Hmm, not really. But it wouldn’t harm your ability to take photographs if you had a basic understanding of architecture and construction. Obviously, the more you know about something, the more specialist you can be and the more effective you can be.
So you don’t need specialist knowledge but it’d be good if you had it. And also liking buildings would be a good thing. If you like photographing buildings then that’s going to help.
6 Do you need specialist gear?
The unfortunate photographic answer is it depends.
I used a Canon 6D with a Canon 17-40 mm lens. I use that combination for probably 90% of my photos and 95% of my architectural photos.
Is that specialist gear?
Well, it cost a couple of grand, so yes, it is, but it’s not specialist specialist, it’s just gear.
I have, however, done an architectural shoot using an Olympus EM1 (micro four-thirds camera). Again, not cheap. But in photography terms, not specialist gear at all. Just the right gear for the job.
7 – How do you process architectural photos?
This is just a list of 10 things I wanted to just get over in the short time that I have in each episode. How do I process architectural photos?
The answer is realistically and technically correct.
You must have verticals vertical, horizontals horizontal, and colours correct. These are vitally important things.
If an architect wants you to do something funky with a photo, that’s absolutely fine, but you have to get the correct image first, the most important thing.
I’ll give you a quick tip here. When you straighten your verticals, it looks a little bit too vertical. So you make it lean back. Just give it a little bit of lean back, maybe 5%. And it looks natural.
8 – How do you start as an architectural photographer?
Start photographing buildings. It is that simple. This is one of the beauties of architectural photography. There are lots of photography genres (that’s a posh word for me, isn’t it?) that you could get into, but you need something to photograph.
If you got into fashion photography, you could photograph all people with clothes, sorry stupid example. But for architectural photography, what do you need to photograph? Buildings. That’s it. It’s that simple. And, as I said on many, many episodes, and also on my blog,
Practice, practice, practice.
It’s a great niche to get into.
And there’s lots of scope to practice and develop your skills.
9 – Do I need to be qualified?
When I say I, I mean you the listener.
No – you don’t have to be qualified. There’s no architectural photography qualification (as far as I know). I mean, I’m a Chartered Builder, a member of the Chartered Institute of Building (MCIOB). I’m also an Associate of the British Institute of Professional Photography (ABIPP).
So I’m qualified in architecture. No, I’m not qualified in architecture – that would make me an architect, wouldn’t it? No, I’m not an architect.
But I am qualified in construction, and photography, which makes me a little bit unique, (other things also might make me a little bit unique, but we won’t talk about them now).
No, you don’t need to be qualified but I would always recommend having a professional qualification in photography.
Now others may disagree with that (but I don’t care as it is my podcast and my opinions). And I have a professional qualification in photography anyway.
10 Check out my website.
Now this podcast isn’t about self-promotion of me and my work and how brilliant I am. But I will make an exception for this episode and the next episode because my website Rick McEvoy Photography is all about me and my architectural and construction photography work.
That’s the main bit of my business website.
Okay, a quick recap.
Architectural photography is a specialist area of photography, taking photos of buildings, and their architecture.
What do I want you to do now?
1 Do this one thing
Go out and take some photos of a building or buildings.
2 Let me know how you got on.
Send me a message on Twitter to @rickphoto
3 Subscribe to my podcast
If you enjoyed this episode. This helps me
4 Rate and review my podcast
Again. If you enjoyed this episode, this helps me too.
5 Tell someone you know about my podcast.
This also helps me I know asking for a lot of help here.
Next episode
I’m going to go into the other part of my specialism and talk about construction photography, which is actually quite a different subject.
Okay, now I’m done.
Thanks for listening to my small but perfectly formed podcast. Check out my website, Rick McEvoy Photography where you can find out all about me and my architectural and construction photography work as well as my blog where you can learn lots more about photography.
Photography Explained Podcast website
Also, check out the brand new Photography Explained Podcast website which is the new home for my podcast.
Finally, let me know if there’s a photography thing you want to explain and I will add it to my list, just head over to my Photography Explained Podcast website and click on the podcast episodes tile.
And if I explain your thing, I’ll give you a shout-out on the episode.
I made it!
This episode was brought to you by the power of hope that I can speak without making a mistake one day
I’ve been Rick McEvoy thanks again for listening to me and for giving me 10 minutes of your valuable time. And I will see you in the next episode.
Cheers from me, Rick
OK – that was the podcast episode.
Want to know more?
Head over to the Start page on the Photography Explained Podcast website to find out more.
And here is the list of episodes published to date – you can listen to any episode straight from this page which is nice.
Let me know if there is a photography thing that you want me to explain and I will add it to my list. Just head over to the This is my list of things to explain page of this website to see what is there already.
Let me send you stuff
I send out a weekly email to my subscribers. It is my take on one photography thing, plus what I have been writing and talking about. Just fill in the box and you can get my weekly photographic musings straight to your inbox. Which is nice.
And finally a little bit about me
Finally, yes this paragraph is all about me – check out my Rick McEvoy Photography website to find out more about me and my architectural, construction, real estate and travel photography work. I also write about general photography stuff, all in plain English without the irrelevant detail.
Thank you
Thanks for listening to my podcast (if you did) and reading this blog post (which I assume you have done as you are reading this).
Cheers from me Rick
