Documenting and interpreting contemporary architecture for design firms.
Hudsons Tower - SHoP Architects - Detroit MI
Ferguson International Center - Thomas Phifer & Partners - Bloomington IN
Documenting the Built Environment
A single architectural project will be viewed by more people through images than in person. When firms commission photography, they are investing in the primary materials used to market their services, secure industry publications, and illustrate award submissions. The aim is to generate a lasting, accurate record that functions across modern media, providing everything from social content to the hero shot for the next RFP.
Based out of St. Louis, I work with design firms to deliver these results. A successful project depends on getting in front of the logistics so time on site is spent creating images, not solving basic readiness issues. It means operating professionally on active job sites, planning carefully around ambient lighting, and structuring licensing agreements that let project partners share costs.
My concentration is modern and contemporary architecture. This includes next-gen educational facilities, clean workspaces, civic structures, and adaptive reuse projects. My process involves studying the documentation, understanding how the building works, and translating the specific design intent, the "why." The technical realities of this process, the logistics of the discipline, and reflections on the business side of architectural photography are detailed further in my writing section.
Enterprise Bank & Trust - JEMA - Clayton MO
Renelle on the River - bKL Architects - Chicago IL
4220 Duncan - HOK - St. Louis MO
FAQ
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I start with a virtual meeting to understand your goals and review your renderings and existing imagery. I then schedule a site visit to build the shot list and create a schedule. The site visit and the shot list are the two planning steps that matter most, and they inform each other. On shoot day I work the plan systematically while staying responsive to what the building offers.
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Fees depend on four things: the scope of the project, how many final images you need, how you intend to use them, and location. A single hero interior is a different assignment than a multi-building campus, and images licensed for advertising have different terms than website-only use. Send your project details and I will put together an estimate.
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Proof images within one to two weeks of the shoot. You review, make selections, and send notes. Standard post-production is included, with one round of review. Final high-resolution JPGs are delivered for print, web, and social.
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A non-transferable license for your firm's own marketing, publicity, awards submissions, and design-related social media, in North America, with no expiration. A credit line, © Serhii Chrucky/Esto, is required wherever the images appear. The license covers your practice, not third parties.
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Preliminary images within one to two weeks of the shoot. After you make selections, finals follow within about three weeks, roughly a week for every ten images. If you're against a hard deadline, tell me up front and I'll work out an expedited schedule.
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I am based in St. Louis and work nationally, with home markets in St. Louis and Chicago. I bill for all vehicular mileage, but do not charge any additional fee for travel days. I bill airfare and lodging at cost on projects outside those markets.
Jack C. Taylor Visitors Center - Ayers Saint Gross - St. Louis MO
