What Is Construction Photography?

Hi, everybody. Welcome to Episode 34 of the photography explained podcast. In this episode, what is construction photography?

I'm your host Rick and each week I will try to explain one photographic thing to you in plain English in less than 10 minutes without the irrelevant details. My aim is to explain things in just enough detail to help you and I with our photography and no more.

I'm a professionally qualified photographer based in England with a lifetime of photographic experience, which I share with you on my podcast.

Okay, this is take three cause takes one and two were just complete disasters. It's quite a concern considering that this is my area of specialism.

Let's get on with it.

What is construction photography.
This is my written bit.  All my own words.

Construction photography is a specialist area of photography, where photographs are taken of a construction project. Construction photography can document any or all of the phases of the construction process, including

On my script, it says laughing because I still find it amusing that I'm doing a podcast about construction photography. I can't think that at any point in the past that I expected to be doing this. So it's quite amazing really.

Here I am talking about what I do.

So let's go back to these. And I need to stop saying so at the beginning of sentences.

1 - What is construction photography used for?
Now I'd like to go back to them. The bullet points I said before.

Preconstruction
I have photographed plots of land, basically to allow people to add their very clever 3D visualisations of proposed buildings onto them. I photographed existing buildings that are being extended upwards so that the clever people can show the visual impact of that development.

I have photographed partially built buildings so people can project forward the impact (bit late to be honest with you're not sure why I did that).

Construction phase
Now photographing major construction sites during the construction phase is a just a wonderful thing. The problem is that the demand is getting less and less, it's just that phones are getting so much better now that the photos you can take on a phone are often good enough for a construction company.

Next sentence from the transcript I cannot fathom out “which is was the grind shank is not as good as long as I take a house such as life”.

Practical completion
You have finished a construction project and have a shiny new building being handed over, time to get some photos then. Now this is the same as architectural photography for me. I'm going to make the definition here.

Architectural photography and construction photography
I don't view architectural photography as photographing the construction process. I view it as photographing the architectural side of things. So that's why I call the two differently. Sure, they are one the same photographing at completion – this is construction photography because you are photographing construction, but you're also photographing the architecture.

So it's also architectural. But architectural photography for me isn't photographing live construction sites. There you go. Got that one out of the way.

Post podcast episode note – it does not really matter!

Post construction
I put that in there - any time after a building has been completed, all the way up to a demolition.

Demolition
Demolition is a great thing to photograph. Demolition is just brill.

Renovation and refurbishment
And then the final little note in this section is during renovation of a building. Rent, rentovation, rentavation. What's that? That's not a word isn't. 

And refurbishment works. Okay, before and after photos of refurbs are great as they make a massive impact, especially if you take photos from the same position. And I mean exactly the same position before and after. I don't always get the chance to do that but when I do, I just love it.

1 So moving on one what is construction photography used for?
Four minutes 25 seconds in and I'm on point one that's a worry, isn't it? It's used for marketing and for record purposes and also for tracking the progress on buildings.

2 Why do I love construction photography?
Well, construction sites are great places to work, hard places to work. It's not easy on construction sites. But it's great. It's different. It's interesting. It varies from day to day and going around construction sites taking photographs is massive variety of work.

So I genuinely, genuinely love doing it.

3 Who do I take photos for?
Main contractors, clients, product manufacturers. And I'll say architects even though I cover them in the architectural photography episode, which was the last one. If you haven't heard it, check out Episode 33.

Clients and product manufacturers, I tend to work for, mainly because main contractors are quite commercially cut-throat – well they have to be - it's the nature of the business.

4 Can you make a living from construction photography?
If you've got enough work, you can make a living from anything in theory, but yeah, sure. There is less demand for construction photography now than I have ever known. I've explained some of the reasons before.

If you take architectural photography, and other photographing of the built environment and you put the bits together then yes there is a full time job in there.

5 Do you need specialist knowledge?
Yes. And no. It helps if you have specialist knowledge, if you're informed about what's going on, you know what you're looking at. And it will make your life easier on site.

If you've never been on a construction site before, you might be shocked by just what's going on around you. It takes some getting used to. So experience would be good.

6 Do you need specialist gear?
Yes. This is the one I've made a real mess of last time. So I will get it this time. You need gear that is suitable for the live construction environment, which is - I was gonna say noisy, but that's not really a thing here is it?

It's dusty. It's damp, and it's cold. Things are moving around. It's a harsh environment. So your gear has to be able to stand up to that. I have got some very basic gear, but it's pretty much bomb proof. 

Post podcast note – you need spare gear in case someone breaks and stops working – this applies to any commercial photography work.

7 How do you process construction photos?
Exactly the same as for architectural photography, realistically, technically correct. The one thing I will add here is to make sure there's nobody in the background who's doing something they shouldn't be doing or is missing some item of PPE. Because those photos are no use to anybody. Nobody wants to see them. Don't take them.

So it is better if you have knowledge of construction.

8 How do I start as a construction photographer?
Go out and photograph buildings, phone construction firms and ask if you can photograph their site and you'll give them the photos.

That's the best way of getting into it. It'll build your portfolio and you will begin to get contacts. And it gets you up and running.

And I just realised I missed something.
Going back to specialist gear - before you find these people to photograph their sites you need some PPE. You need proper boots, hard hat, high vis, possibly gloves, possible glasses, probably waterproof clothing.

You need to turn up equipped. Don't just turn up and not have a clue what you need to do. So do a bit of research.

9 Do I need to be qualified
Well I'm a Chartered Builder. I'm also professional a photographer. And I'm also a current CSCC card holder, which in the UK is the Construction Skills Certification Scheme that helps me get on sites more quickly than anybody else because I've got a base qualification which is recognised nationally.

10 Not a shameless plug but it's relevant here
Sorry, I don’t mean for my podcast to be a shameless plug for my website, but this is relevant. Check out my website, Rick McEvoy Photography.

There's lots on there which is helpful for not only photographers but also clients. I've done a lot of work on this, which you'll find on my blog and some specific pages so just head over to my website. It's all obvious to find.

Quick recap running out of time.
Construction photography is a specialist area of photography, taking photos of construction sites, products, construction works and construction people.

What I want you to do now

1 - Do this one thing for me
Go out take some photos of a construction site.

2 Let me know how you got on
On Twitter I am @rickphoto

3 Subscribe to my podcast
If you enjoyed this episode - this helps me.

4 Rate and review my podcast
If you enjoyed this episode - this helps me too.

5 Tell someone you know about my podcast
This also helps.

Next episode, I'm going to continue in my specialisms and talk about industrial photography.

Thank you
Thanks for listening to my small but perfectly formed podcast, check out my website, Rick McEvoy Photography where you can find out all about me and my architectural and construction photography work, as well as my blog where you can learn lots more about photography and construction and architectural photography.

Trust me, there's loads on there
Also check out my brand new Photography Explained Podcast website where you can find out how to ask me a question, find a list of episodes, and also things I'm going to explain in future episodes. That paragraph needs a bit of work, doesn't it?

This episode was brought to you by the power of optimism and the anticipation of talking about what I do.

I’ve been Rick McEvoy. Thanks again for listening to me and for giving me 10 minutes of your valuable time. I'll see you on the next episode. Cheers from me, Rick.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

photography, photographing, construction, architectural photography, photos, buildings, construction sites, work, construction phase, podcast, gear, explained, rick, specialism, episode, photographer, mcevoy, refurbishment, specialist