My journey to become an architectural photographer - a personal insight
First steps in photography
At a time when smartphones didn’t exist yet and photography was predominantly analog, people were truly passionate about photography. My parents were also enthusiastic about it; they gave me a viewfinder camera for children when I was very young. I believe that moment set the foundation for my later career choice.
In my youth, as I began to understand what a career and work means, I developed my first real career aspiration. However, I quickly came to the sobering realization that the photography profession in our village was largely limited to passport photo studios and family portraits. This reality caused me to distance myself from that career path once again.
As I came close to graduating from high school and was looking into various colleges for career guidance, I became aware of Communications Design at today's Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences. The program description sounded incredibly exciting: practice-oriented courses, workshops, creative subjects, as well as a large photography studio that would allow me to focus on photography.
A Study Program Between Design and Photography
After successfully completing the qualifying exam, I was able to start my dream studies at the Department of Design, the Peter Behrens School of Art, in Düsseldorf. The communication design program offered many opportunities to explore a wide range of creative disciplines, from typography to book design, video, and, of course, photography.
I particularly enjoyed the hands-on modules, which were often closely linked to the Department of Architecture. But I also spent a lot of time exploring video production and book design, which served as an exciting complement to photography. In a joint Photoshop course with the architecture students, I worked on the “Wehrhahn Line,” a subway line that opened in 2016, which left me with a lasting enthusiasm for architecture.
Reflection and Specialization in the Master’s Program
Toward the end of my bachelor’s degree, I found myself in a photographic crisis. I became increasingly preoccupied with the question of the future of photography in the digital age. What even is “real photography”? My bachelor’s thesis is the result of an intense examination of the medium of photography and the question of what creative influence a photographer can have on the creation of abstract photographs. In a study of abstract photograms exposed analogically onto stainless steel, I examined these influences and classified them within the framework of art theory.
After successfully completing my degree, I had overcome this crisis, but I felt that my photographic education still needed more depth. As one of the leading universities for photography, particularly with regard to commercial photography, Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts was the next stop on my journey. In the master’s program in Photographic Studies, I was able to focus entirely on photography and discover my specialization: architectural photography. During my studies, I developed a photo book on Düsseldorf’s Werhahn Line, among other projects, and completed my degree with an extensive architectural photography documentation of Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main.
What makes architectural photography so exciting to me
When I first felt the desire to work as a photographer in my youth, I didn't even know about the specific field of architectural photography. My studies and various encounters with architecture ultimately led me here. For me, the appeal of architectural photography lies in the interplay between aesthetics and concept. I really enjoy engaging with the concept and design of a project and coming to understand it. The unique and demanding task is then to translate this concept into a photographic visual language in order to convey the architects’ and planners’ ideas through images. In my view, this challenge and the opportunity to learn new things are the fundamental aspects that make architectural photography such a wonderful profession for me, one that I enjoy with great passion.
