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If we were to associate any picture with San Francisco, one of the Golden Gate Bridge would be the first to pop into our minds. The landmark is recognized globally and is just one example of the city’s long history of architectural brilliance. From the wavy contours of Lombard Street to the ubiquitous sight of bay windows, the city compels exemplary feats of construction, both large and small, trivial and significant. This gives architectural photographers in San Francisco much to admire with their cameras for personal and professional assignments, and we’d like to share seven of the best, who are also listed in our photographer directory.
At Wonderful Machine, architecture photography is concerned with the inside or outside of a structure, more so than the furniture or decor in or around it. Therefore, photographers should demonstrate a high degree of technical proficiency, including perspective control and the ability to handle mixed lighting. It’s a lot to juggle within the specialty, but these seven individuals have it down to a science!
After earning degrees in Architecture and Commercial Photography, Anthony Lindsey moved to the Bay Area in the 90s. By 2006, American PHOTO magazine recognized him as one of the Top 10 young photographers in America. Maybe he’s not young anymore, but he’s undoubtedly at the top of his game as an architectural photographer in SF. With decades in the field, his portfolio touches on numerous aspects of the built world, covering residential and commercial spaces, public institutions, and more. His camera observes these structures diligently from the outside and within, appreciating the thought and effort going into the design and construction process. In recent years, he has also added aerial footage via stills and motion to his resume, giving clients an additional option for their content libraries.
Some of Anthony’s clients include Associated Press Images, Barclays Global Investors, Bishop Ranch, Cushman & Wakefield, HGTV, Huntsman Architectural Group, IMI Resort Marketing, Mullen, Noll & Tam Architects, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Salesforce, and UC Berkeley. His photos have also been featured in Architectural Record, ForbesLife, Adweek, and many other publications.
If Jeff Peters entertained the fancies of his inner geek without reserve, he’d have become a nuclear engineer by now. Instead, his creative alter ego took the reins one year into college and rode him to the Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara. After graduation, he settled in San Francisco and launched VantagePoint Photography, with a specialist focus on architecture.
Jeff’s portfolio is comprehensive, to say the least. His camera has observed commercial and residential buildings and hospitality and retail properties, doing so across day and night settings. Jeff also reveals these structures by themselves and with people in the environment, showing us how the architects and designers have facilitated a typical day of use at these locations. Like Anthony Lindsey, Jeff also furnishes aerial and drone footage for clients, creating breathtaking outtakes of man-made landscapes.
Unlike a few of the architectural photographers in San Francisco we’ve mentioned, Barry Schwartz’s background was more closely aligned with design and construction.
I was a contractor once upon a time, working closely with designers of all kinds. My job still requires the same kind of thinking: to produce work where craft and design combine without a seam.
Barry’s portfolio is another showcase of versatility, featuring buildings and structures serving various purposes. His compositions strive for varying forms of balance, situating a structure elegantly in relation to the surrounding, ensuring the natural and manufactured elements co-exist peacefully while occupying the same space.
Barry’s clients include Amgen, Architectural Digest, Architectural Record, Architectural Resources Group, Barton Myers Associates, Hyatt, The New York Times, Cahill Studio, The California Museum, Ehrlich Architects, Land Images Landscape Architecture, National Trust For Historic Preservation, The Design Agency, Zero Ten Design, and Zimmerman + Associates Architects.
As an architectural photographer in SF, James Baigrie takes up the space focused on hospitality properties. He has a sharp eye for capturing the scope and detail of interiors and exteriors, revealing the beauty of these places via a sun-soaked aesthetic. We’re confident that countless tourists finalized their travel plans after seeing his images!
In recent times, James has begun experimenting with video footage for clients, translating his signature style into moving pictures that tell stories.
James’s clients include 1 Hotels, Hyatt, Sundance, Pottery Barn, Grey Poupon, Waldorf Astoria Hotels, Sentral, and Miraval Resorts.
Trinette Reed and Chris Gramly are a photographer duo who, first and foremost, operate as lifestyle photographers. Their architecture photography is an off-shoot of their primary specialty, placing a strong emphasis on luxury living. From hotels and resorts to spas and villas, they paint the most scintillating displays of these properties, creating a strong yearning to pack a bag and head off to them right this instant. While they show great creativity and technical tact when photographing exteriors, their portfolio largely centers on the indoors. While making statements about the items in these spaces, their work highlights the structural designs that enable extravagant lifestyle experiences.
Some of Trinette and Chris’s clients include Auberge Resorts, Calistoga Ranch Resort, Carneros Resort and Spa, Casa Madrona Hotel And Spa, Citibank, Conde Nast Traveler, Fairmont Hotels And Resorts, Harper Collins, Hearst Publications, J. Walter Thompson, Kenwood Inn & Spa, Marie Claire, Microsoft, Ogilvy & Mather, and Young & Rubicam.
Among our architectural photographers in San Francisco, Joe Fletcher does a fantastic job of keeping his photos faithful to the architects’ and designers’ vision. His compositions seamlessly marry the structure to the environment, to the point where they might as well be one and the same. For example, a swimming pool with a wooden deck blends right in with the color and texture of the trees hovering around it. Or a resort nestled between outcrops of sand and rock looks like it, too, was crafted through years of erosion and deposition. Joe’s style of photography pays tremendous respect to the property and location, blending the forces of light and color to attain magnificent results.
His clients include Architectural Digest, Dwell, HÄUSER, Residential Design, Luxe Interiors + Designs, San Francisco Chronicle Magazine, Aman Resorts, and many others.
With offices in San Francisco and Melbourne, Tim Griffith shuttles worldwide for assignments, whether to Asia, Europe, or North America. He’s a renowned architectural photographer in SF, having built a stellar reputation over 35 years. During this time, his images have won him awards and recognition from numerous organizations, including Prix de la Photographie and Graphis. Tim’s images have an innate sense of grandeur, living up to the ambitions of the architects behind the buildings. The compositions accentuate the geometric particulars of each structure, harnessing the requisite combinations of light and color to do so.
Some of his recent work has covered the Shepparton Art Museum in rural Victoria, China Resources Headquarters Tower in Shenzhen, the Australian Embassy in Jakarta, and Olderfleet Building in Melbourne. Basically, Tim’s up for international assignments in a heartbeat.
Your search for an architectural photographer in SF should be much easier now! These seven individuals are some of the best in their discipline, and you’d do well to have any one of them in your corner.
Further Reading
See more architectural photographers in San Francisco on our Find Photographers page.
Learn more about other types of photography on our Specialties page.