The Challenges of Architectural Photography

At first blush architectural photography seems pretty straight forward - point the camera at a building and press the button.  In fact there's a lot of thought and preparation that goes into an event that lasts 1/30 of a second.

Consider the state of the building; is it in fact photo ready?  Has the contractor cleared away all the bins and extra material left over from construction?  Is he planning on erecting a scaffold required to clean up deficiencies on the same day that I plan on coming out?  Is the landscaping done?  What if I show up and there's a delivery van parked at the front door?  Or if the landscaper chose that day for the delivery of a load of black dirt that has been placed in the worst possible location?  What if the owner has placed a huge 'now open' sign on the front of the building?  What time of day is optimal for photography?  What if the weather is dismal?  If the building is a long drive from home base all of these things can have huge implications.

This is a continuing care centre in western Alberta; all of these things had to be taken into account for this photo shoot.  Thankfully everything went off without a hitch.