Commercial architectural photography is a disciplined form of storytelling. On one level, it's an accurate representation of the elements and design of the building and on the other hand, the photos are trying to invite the viewer to want to experience the space.

More often than not, the main motivation to have the photography commissioned is to document the design, lighting and materials, so first and foremost the designer's vision needs to be conveyed. It sounds pretty dry but I find it interesting and technically challenging. The photographs should be beautiful and interesting so it’s not a purely technical process like copying 2D art. It's not about showcasing the photographer's style or this week's trend. Hero images will have more scope to stray from the brief as they can be more mood-focused but the bulk of the shoot should try to accurately describe the colours, textures, materials and lighting used.

Initially, it’s about finding the chief vantage points in the room that feel like the most descriptive viewpoints. This is subjective so every photographer will have a strong opinion about composition. If the designer or architect is on sight I will always defer to them and then shoot a quick example of what I’m drawn to to see if they want me to put time into those ideas. They are paying me to translate their design into photographs that they feel tell the story of the building.

My wide-angle lens will stay on my camera for much of an interior shoot. Wide-angle lenses have an inherent distortion but that is a necessary evil when trying to visually represent a space from within the space. The camera height and orientation make a significant difference in how intense the distortion appears and some of the distortion is corrected in post-production. A wide-angle lens captures a scene differently to our eyes so a space will always appear somewhat different in a photograph than in reality.

For shooting details, I’ll use a longer lens as it's possible to get further back within a space and fit in the areas that you want to shoot. The vertical lines stay straight with longer lenses as they tend to compress an image rather than impart distortion.

In small spaces, choices are heavily limited. Bathrooms are notoriously difficult to shoot as they are almost always small with a door that opens into the space that reduces access and visibility and they have large mirrors in them. Toilets are not particularly beautiful objects but they are part of the overall story of the design so will often be included in bathroom photographs.

Lighting is a huge part of what makes a successful interior. The way natural light interacts with a space and then the mood changes that are possible with lighting will heavily influence how we feel when using a space. Different types of lights have different colour casts which vary with dimming. Lighting is designed to be variable within a room so multiple lighting states are possible depending on which lights are on and their intensity. A tungsten light can appear as orange as candlelight when dimmed down. All of these add mood options and add to the complexity of decision-making when photographing interiors.

Mixed lighting is one of the main complications when trying to accurately represent the colour palette chosen by the designers. The other day I was photographing the meet and greet area in an office that had fluro lights, tungsten lights, natural light and natural light filtered through shaded green glass. I was shooting a wide angle of a large space which meant lighting the space wasn’t really viable and each light source has its own colour cast. A blue wall will bounce blue light so the colour within the space will affect the space too.

Joining shots are images that can be mainly about one space but show recognisable features of a neighbouring space that appear in other photographs from the set. The shoot needs to represent each area but there should be images that elude to the relationship or orientation of each of the separate spaces.

Post-production plays a huge role in architectural photography. Colour correction is one aspect but there is also balancing the intensity of interior and exterior light, making sure that there is good detail in the highlight areas and shadow areas and balancing overall contrast. Perspective correction is required for most wide-angle photographs. This is trueing up of the vertical elements that appear bent by lens distortion.