Architectural Photography

A large, three-storey red-brick building with arched windows at a street corner during dusk, with light trails from passing vehicles.
Modern wood-clad house with large windows, lit entrance, outdoor planter, and brick and metal railing along the walkway at twilight. Photograph by Dug Wilders.
Modern two-storey house with a mix of dark wood and brick exterior, large windows, and a circular stone planter in a gravel drive. Photograph by Dug Wilders.
Modern house with wood and dark exterior finishes, a hot tub on a stone patio, and scenic countryside views at sunset with a colourful sky. Photograph by Dug Wilders.
A modern black metal building with large windows, outdoor seating, and a gravel path, set amid greenery and trees under a partly cloudy sky. Photograph by Dug Wilders.
A black metal shed with a window stands next to a wooden pergola in a green garden with trees and outdoor furniture.
Modern house, large glass doors, wooden accents, patio, picnic table, stone steps, neatly landscaped garden, trimmed hedges, lawn.
Modern outdoor dining and lounge area with a wooden barn structure, patio furniture, and a swimming pool in the foreground. Photograph by Dug Wilders.

Architectural Photographer UK | Dug Wilders

Architecture has become the core of my work over more than a decade of photographing buildings professionally. I work for architects, developers, contractors, manufacturers and design practices across the UK, from small residential extensions to city-centre towers and enormous industrial developments.

I like understanding a building before I photograph it. What was the architect trying to achieve? Which materials matter? Where does the light come from? Which view explains the project properly rather than simply producing a nice photograph?

That preparation makes a considerable difference on site. I routinely check the orientation of a building and plan around the sun, and on larger commissions I’ll work from early morning through to dusk if that is what the project deserves. Great architectural photography often involves waiting. Five minutes of exceptional light can produce the image everyone ends up using for years.

I use specialist tilt-shift lenses extensively, particularly my 17mm and 24mm Canon lenses. They allow me to control perspective properly rather than pointing a very wide lens upwards and correcting a heavily distorted building afterwards. I want architecture to look exciting, but I also want it to remain believable.

My shoots normally combine the obvious hero views with details, materials, interiors and the less predictable compositions that often become my favourite images. Drone photography can also be incorporated where the surroundings, roofscape or sheer scale of a development need to be understood.

The finished photographs are regularly used for architectural portfolios, planning and award submissions, press coverage, websites, tenders, publications and marketing.

I’m based in Sheffield on the edge of the Peak District and work throughout the UK, as well as taking on international architectural commissions.

If you have spent years getting a building right, it is worth allowing enough time to photograph it properly.