How to Become a Professional Architectural Photographer and Find Valuable Markets For Your Work

Architectural Photography is both a creative andincredibly good architectural photographs themselves.
potentially profitable area of professional photography.As a result of this, only busy architects and architects
Surprisingly, when amateurs seek to turn professional,needing a very high or specialist level of quality will use
often they ask the wrong questions about how to gofreelance architectural photographers.
about it. The questions they ask, more often or not, are4. Architectural journals
technical ones to do with the making of the images. InThese are closely allied to the architectural studios and
the old days (before digital) such questions wereact as journals for the profession. For an architect to
frequently about what kinds of films should be used,see their work in one of these publications provides a
whether to use specialised shift lenses and what kindstamp of quality like winning an award. However, these
of lighting techniques should be used in interiors. Today,journals will often want to split costs with the studios,
in the digital era, amateur photographers are more likelyor won't have a huge budget for photographs, so you
to ask questions about how images should bewill need to build up a relationship with a specific journal
processed on the computer.over time so that you become a regular contributor in
The perspective correction tool in Photoshop mayorder to generate a reasonable income.
take care of some of the more straightforward issues5. Consumer magazines
of controlling those often unwanted convergingInterior and women's interest magazines like Elle
verticals, but an obsession with such technicalities canDecoration and many more broad market based
blind the budding professional to the toughest issuespublications are frequent users of freelance interior
facing a professional architectural photographer today,photography. The earnings here can be consistent
namely markets. Determining who your targetbecause the magazines have a continual thirst for
customer base will have a major effect on both themore material. However you really need to know what
kind of photographs you want to take and how muchthe editors like here. Many interiors photographers
you are likely to be able to earn.work as a team with a stylist (usually but not always a
Today the whole architectural scene is very toughwoman) who will have a deep understanding of interior
because of what has happened around the world withfashions and how the articles are constructed.
property markets. While I'm still working with clients6. Construction and engineering consultants.
with whom I have a long term relationship, even I'veMany firms of all shapes and sizes are involved in
found that a lot of the random little commissions thatconstruction. Many of them will want pictures of the
paid for a frivolous bit of camera equipment or aarchitectural projects, often from a specific aspect of
shooting trip have dried up almost completely. For thisthe construction that they were involved in. So often I
reason, both established and new professionals needwill sell my services to an architectural studio, but then
to keep their market focus as a primary area ofsell additional picture usage licenses to the various
concern.contractors on the project. Doing this can sometimes
The markets listed below are just as start point, andadd as much as 100% to the amount I can charge for
as I'll tell you later, you will need to be as creative abouta commission. So the message here is make sure that
how you construct your business model as you areyou don't give a royalty free license to your
about how you make your pictures if you hope tocustomers, or the right to distribute your pictures or
succeed as a professional architectural photographeryou may lose as much as 50% of your income off the
in the tough markets of 2010.bat.
Very often, an amateur begins architectural7. Picture libraries.
photography by focusing on the exteriors of iconicThere are a number of picture libraries such as Arcaid,
public buildings. It can be a little disillusioning to discoverView and Construction Photography which address
that only a few architectural photographers can earn aarchitecture. There are quite a few interiors specific
living taking photographs of this type. In general whilelibraries as well. In general you already need to be
having photographs of these subjects can liven up andworking consistently on commissions to generate
make a new portfolio look great these images areenough images to make submitting to these stock
hard to take professionally because there is so muchlibraries worthwhile. However if you do have the
competition to make images of that kind.material this can provide a useful additional income
The reality of a successful business in architecturalstream, but don't expect to retire on it.
photography is to know who your customers are and8. 3D visualisation companies
to provide what they want. There are manyThese companies work often for property developers
sub-markets which have radically different needs, hereand will sometimes use freelance photographers to
are a few of the main ones.shoot background shots for laying on a 3D model
1. The art marketrendering of a finished property. The needs vary
If you really can't stop taking those pictures of iconicwidely here and I've even been commissioned to shoot
buildings (who can!) then one place you may find atime-lapse movies of London which were then used in
market for them is in art galleries or via art consultants.a rendered 3D video of the great new skyscraper
This is probably your best bet if you want to produce'The Shard' designed by Renzo Piano which is
images that are not performing an explicit commercialcurrently under construction.
function.9. Roll your own.
2. Property developers and real estate agents.Over the past few years I've got to know a large
I've put these two together but they encompass anumber of successful professional photographers in a
wide variety of possible customers and uses. Yournumber of different fields. The one thing that stands
average local real estate agent will use a lot ofout about these successful people is that they have
architectural and interiors photography but in generalcarved a business niche and a market as distinct as
they will shoot it very cheaply and its far from easy totheir own photographic style. This makes it very hard
make a living today shooting work of this kind. At thefor others to compete with them. In today's tough and
other end of the scale a developer of a $20 millioncompetitive world of professional photography try to
dollar building will want great final photos of thefind your own distinctive type of customer and
construction. Surprisingly even these customers mayphotograph... and be prepared to reinvent yourself
pay quite poorly and be price sensitive on occasion,every few years. If you find yourself blindly attacking
but find the right way to sell to them and there is theone or more of the markets I've mentioned here, you
possibility of earning a good income from this work.are probably not being distinctive enough. You need to
3. Architect's Studiosbe perceived as either a specialist in a particular area
I've put this third only to make the point that todayof architectural photography, or have a skill in a rare
working directly for architects is only one of the waystechnique, or take pictures in a way that is hard to
to make income from architectural photography. This iscopy without the person copying looking like a
what I thought it was all about when I started. Today,plagiarist. It's a tough goal to aim for but a rewarding
its harder to get this work, simply from the point ofone. Remember, if it wasn't so hard to make a living,
view that architects are themselves visually literatearchitectural photography would be a much less
and highly skilled designers. The advent of easy to userewarding career than it is.
digital cameras means that many of them can take