The Architectural Photography 101: Best Practices & Tutorial virtual education event sought to provide attendees with a basic understanding of architectural photography that can be applied to photos they’re taking for marketing and overall firm purposes. As Marketers in A/E/C, we are often asked to take construction or even final project photos for award submissions, proposals, social media, and more. The Education Committee recognized this as being a topic of value for members in their daily roles, and maybe even an opportunity to inject some creativity into a task they’re already performing.

About the Event

Architectural Photography 101 was led by Architectural Photography Instructor and retired Architect Rick Hulbert. Rick has the unique experience of being able to relate to the work that goes on in front of and behind the camera lens, and that knowledge was evident throughout. He used images, easy-to-understand diagrams, and relatable anecdotes to illustrate the basic principles Marketers need to capture stronger architectural photos. Rick also managed to weave in an admirable amount of bird photos and humor, much to the delight of attendees, who from what we could tell were chuckling all the way through. As a teaching device, certainly a good way to help the material stick!

Key Lessons

Attendees left with a better understanding of camera settings and set-up (even if that camera is a smartphone), photo composition, techniques for both exterior and interior photography, and post-production tips. Rick explored how the study of human perception and understanding the order in which humans perceive different elements can help tell a space’s story; being aware of contrasting light, clarity of edges, volumetric space, and degrees of depth is all key in architectural photography. He also imparted to attendees the importance of vertical edges being shown as vertical, horizontal edges being shown as horizontal, and ensuring that all edges can breathe.

The hour-and-a-half program was packed with great content to help attendees photograph their firm’s projects and to be able to edit them with architecture and human perspective in mind. The Education Committee hopes attendees will apply this newfound knowledge to the photos they take for digital media, proposals, pitches to publications, and so much more.

Thank you to Rick for sharing your expertise with us and leading this education event.

About Rick Hulbert

Rick Hulbert’s photography is informed by his background as a Professional Architect and Urban Designer leading a six-office global practice with assignments in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. He is a "Life Member" of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, and a “Fellow" of The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. Rick is currently a teacher of photography at Simon Fraser University and Langara College in Vancouver, Canada, and in more normal times leads multi-day photo workshops throughout Europe and North America. His teachings reflect his knowledge of the History of the 2- Dimensional Arts of Drawing and Painting along with the Sciences of Human Vision. He was one of only 2 photographers invited to attend and display his Fine Art images at the World Art Games held in Bratislava, Slovakia.