It's easy to think of architectural photography merely as the photographing of buildings, but it's more than that. Architectural photography is not only about capturing the design and detailed representation of a building, but also about having the shots be aesthetically pleasing to the viewer's eye. Architectural photographers possess additional skills, from the use of dynamic angles and the formation of a creative composition to extensive research to be aware of the lighting conditions and the details of the building. It's also important to take into account that architectural photography boils down to two different types: exterior and interior.
Berlin is an architecturally volatile city, and for the past several years, architects have found heaven in this city for implementing a great variety of cutting-edge designs. The capital is home to impressive architectural gems, from Brutalist to Bauhaus, and it has led the way in a new era of Postmodern designs.
Discover Berlin's intriguing architecture through our chosen top 10 curated architectural photographers in the city. These incredible creatives each have a unique style and have been making waves in the local scene. We hope you will enjoy their work as much as we do!
1. Marcel Wiest
Marcel Wiest, better known as @marcel_travels, is a 31-year-old urban and architectural photographer from the south of Germany now based in Berlin. In 2017 he quit the military and started a life changing eight-month backpacking journey during which he fell in love with photography. After his trip, he relocated to Berlin and enrolled in a photography & social media school, before working in a professional studio for a year. He currently works as a freelancer and is busy delighting our eyeballs daily with the incredible architecture images he shares.
Some fun facts about myself:
- I have always been travelling a lot, I have visited over 20 countries so far, and I usually don't stay in one place for long. But Berlin is the exception!
- My diet is 90% plant-based, I love healthy food and good coffee.
- My favourite music is LoFi, HipHop and Electronic.
2. Konrad Langer
Konrad Langer, better known as @konaction, is part of the OG's of the Berlin scene and we would be surprised to find any photographer in or around Berlin that has never heard of him. Konrad defines himself as a city explorer which simply happens to work with photography. He captures places with distinctive urban architecture and through his work, you can see his love for bold colours, major structures and clean minimal graphic perspectives. His work often contrasts the rigid architecture by creating interactions with moving models, often working with talented dancers.
I found most of my favourite spots in Berlin simply by roaming the city like crazy. This is especially true for my first two years of shooting, I was out scouting and shooting pretty much every day and checked out all the different areas of the city!
3. Jack Soundararajan
Jack is a 30-year-old photographer and videographer based in Berlin, you might know him better as @susonsjack. From his earliest days, he's always had an eye for art and design, which pushed him to finish his master's in Automobile Engineering and worked as a lead designer on devices used around the world. He found himself working as a graphic designer, where he learnt everything about photo retouching and composite images while developing his photography skills on the side. His hard work and passion paid off in the form of a Canon sponsorship and a vibrant Instagram community around his work.
I used to love exploring new spots in the city and there was a trend to find new spots. This is how it worked- a photographer posted an amazing picture of a spot and gave a hint about the location. Other photographers spent hours or days trying to find the spot and trying to take a picture adding their taste. There was no jealousy nor hard feelings if I failed, as there will be a new challenge soon again.
4. Abdulsalam Ajaj
Abdulsalam Ajaj is a self-taught photographer and retoucher from Damascus, Syria, who is currently based in Berlin. He developed an interest in photography at a young age through "Light painting", which gave him a medium to express his creativity and explore his passion for light and composition. A lot of Abdulsalam's work is very experimental, and he is especially interested in fine art, fashion, architecture & portrait photography. Check out his aesthetically pleasing Instagram profile to learn more about his work!
I like to experiment and I'm not afraid to follow unorthodox methods to achieve new results. For the past three years, my aesthetic has been focused on body positivity and performance art with a mix of architecture.
5. Alexander Rentsch
Alexander Rentsch is a Berlin-based architectural photographer born in 1983. He started developing an interest in photography around 2003, when his focus was on sports-related photography, in particular skateboarding, before starting to explore photography in general. Today his work is focused on architecture and portraiture, which allowed him to acquire new skills and build a digital audience.
Through architecture photography, I learnt to work using clear lines, and wide rooms, varying from very bright to deep and dark, and I have photographed subjects that glow colourfully or ones that create a cold and sterile atmosphere.
6. Taeyoung Oh
Taeyoung Oh, who you might know by his nickname @Oilly, is a Korean photographer currently based in Berlin. His work focuses on the city, he is constantly searching for those easily missable moments in crowded places, what everyone sees but no one looks at. Through his lens, he searches for the beautiful moments which bridge the gap between the cold grey city and the love of the people living in them.
I think of myself as a city traveller. I am still looking forward to the movie-like moments in my daily life.
7. Thai Hoang
Thai Hoang, better known as @loewe7, is a Vietnamese photographer currently based in Berlin. After spending half of his life in Hanoi, Vietnam, he settled down in Berlin as an IT specialist, freelance photographer, visual content creator & social media influencer. He started his Instagram page to capture beautiful moments and meet new people, two things he loves. From that point onwards his passion for photography only grew, to the point where today he thinks of photography as a hobby, a calling, a playground, a community, and eventually a profession. Check Thai Hoang's work here.
We live in an environment made by humans. This "new nature" (neo-nature) is constantly being transformed by our actions. If we allow ourselves to be more inspired by nature in shaping the environment, fascinating results can be achieved.
8. Michael Schulz
Michael Schulz, better known as @berlinstagram, has been on Instagram since the very first launch of the app, which allowed him to become an expert on the social platform and its community. He studied Electronic Business at the University of the Arts Berlin and holds a Master of Arts. Before putting all his focus on Instagram, he worked for many years as a digital creative in online marketing, user experience and information architecture.
Before becoming a full-time photographer, I was working trying to achieve the best experience for users while maintaining the needs of the brand's stakeholders. I like to compare this to what I am doing now - acting as an intermediary between the community and the brands.
9. Joerg Nicht
Joerg Nicht is a Berlin-based photographer which goes by the alias @jn. He focuses on architecture, travel and street photography. Joerg is one of Germany’s best-known and most followed photographers on Instagram. He has a doctorate with a focus on social networks and worked at Free University Berlin as an academic and published author. He has always been interested in both photography and social sciences.
My work reflects my ongoing fascination with the ever-changing interaction between art and social relationships.
10. Yifan Chen
Last but not least, Yifan Chen is a Chinese photographer currently based in Berlin. A lot of his work showcases beautifully contrasting colours on minimal yet filled architectural images.
I capture architecture, minimalism and brutalism shots with my Nikon D3100 without the lens. My focus is on architecture & buildings at the moment.
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As you might already know, Beazy is a global community of creatives making content production easy! With a presence in over 100 cities worldwide, Beazy's creatives aren't just architectural photographers 😉 We can help you find all the photographers, filmmakers, make-up artists, models, actors, stylists & assistants you need and much, much more! Beazy makes the process of finding the perfect talent, equipment or location for your next shoot extremely easy! We have been hosting regular events in the city for close to 3 years now and met some amazing talents who always deserve more spotlight.
