Contributing essential visual marketing materials for a brand, commercial architectural photography highlights a business’s office, facility, or structure. It can also be used to exemplify a firm or contractor’s previous work.
Businesses benefit from high-quality images of its facilities. From pictures for a professional website to visuals for recruitment marketing, commercial building photography is a worthwhile investment for brands of all sizes and industries.
In this post, I’ll provide a comprehensive overview of commercial architectural photography. Continue reading to learn:
- What commercial architectural photography is
- What makes it effective
- What types of brands benefit from it
- What commercial building photos are used for
- Why you should hire a professional photographer
- What to expect from a commercial architectural shoot
What Is Commercial Architectural Photography
Architectural photography is a niche specialization of commercial photography that captures images of buildings and architectural structures for various use cases. Highlighting both the aesthetic and functionality of a commercial building, professional-grade architectural photography is accomplished through framing, composition, lighting, color selection, and creative angles.
Working with an architectural photographer enables you to portray your brand through images of your office space or architectural work. If you select an experienced, professional photographer, you’ll gain a diverse image library of interior, exterior, and aerial images from your engagement.
If you’re looking to create a new image library or update and organize your existing library, architectural photography can be one component of a larger commercial lifestyle or corporate photography session.
Types of Commercial Architectural Photography
Commercial architectural photography is comprised of two main types:
- Exterior Building Photography
- Interior Architecture Photography
Exterior Building Photography
The first type of commercial architectural photography, exterior building photography is straightforward. It’s capturing photos of the exterior of a building or architectural structure. Exterior building photography can range from wide landscapes to detail-specific shots of a certain section of the exterior.
Aerial exterior photography involves using a drone to capture ultra-wide landscapes of a building or structure as it exists in its natural surroundings. While aerial photography can be a standalone service offering, it often falls into exterior building photography in any commercial photoshoot.
Interior Architecture Photography
Interior architecture photography is the other main type of commercial architectural photography. It captures specific areas inside of a building and places emphasis on interior design aesthetics.
When it comes to business branding photography, interior architecture photography highlights office space. Not only are aesthetics important, but interior architecture photography can be used to highlight the functionality of various spaces within your commercial building. For example, it can highlight the effectiveness of a conference room used for meetings and collaboration.
What Makes Architectural Photography Effective?
It takes a professional eye and technical expertise to capture effective architectural images. A professional commercial architectural photographer has a strong understanding of perspective, framing, and lighting techniques both inside and outside.
Detail often separates a professional from an amateur. An eye for detail ensures that every last piece of the structure is captured in its best form.
A great architectural photo places viewers at the building or space they’re looking at. Whether it is exterior or interior, the viewer should feel like they’re experiencing what it’s like to be on location through a photograph. That ability to share your commercial space without physically being there is key to attracting both clients and prospective employees.
Along with a trained photographer, proper equipment and focus lead to the most effective architectural images. Photographers need the right lighting equipment, proper lenses, and the correct camera body. Professional photographers take the time to do things right and consider how to capture a brand through architectural images.
What Types Of Brands Benefit From Commercial Architecture Photography?
A variety of businesses and brands in a wide range of industries can benefit from commercial architecture photography.
Some industries or businesses include:
- Architectural Firms
- Developers
- Product and material manufacturers
- General contractors
- Interior designers
- Construction companies
- Large corporations
- Senior living communities
- Small business owners
- Recruiters
What Is Commercial Building Photography Used For?
Commercial building photography has many use cases within each of the numerous industries mentioned above. Some uses are industry-specific while others are applicable to any business or brand.
Common uses include:
- Architectural portfolios
- Corporate image development
- Corporate image libraries
- Annual reports
- Online marketing content
- Print advertisements
- Social media posts
- Website imagery
- Brand imagery
Why Hire A Professional Commercial Photographer For Building And Architecture Imagery?
Business owners may view architectural photography as an additional expense when they should consider it a worthwhile investment. The key to a successful investment is hiring a professional.
You could try and capture images of your building with an iPhone camera, but the final product won’t equate to a professional photoshoot. Even with some tips and tricks to maximize your phone camera, you don’t have the technical experience and knowledge to capture a brand through visuals.
Don’t just hire any photographer. Take the time to research and find the right professional photographer to build your brand and complete a successful project. Their portfolio should match your brand identity and their rate should fall within your budget.
What To Expect From A Commercial Architecture Photoshoot?
A commercial architecture photoshoot operates similarly to any engagement. Each shoot is unique and tailored to the specific client’s needs.
In general, the steps in working with a professional commercial architectural photographer include:
- Initial contact and consultation
- Settle on terms for engagement and sign contract
- Compile a detailed shot list
- Prepare the space for the shoot
- Acquire any staging or props
- Complete the photoshoot
- Receive final library with same-day image delivery
Work With Casey Templeton For Professional Commercial Architecture Photography
Whether you’re an architectural firm, a construction company, a major corporation, or a single-location small business, I hope you understand what architectural photography is and how you can benefit from it.
Casey Templeton Photography is a professional corporate and commercial lifestyle photographer servicing the Nashville, TN area and beyond. Casey has years of technical practice and branding experience across businesses of all sizes and industries, including a robust portfolio of exterior and interior architectural photography. To learn more about commercial building photography or to get started on a project, fill out our contact form.