Lara Swimmer

How did you get started photographing architecture? 

I came to architecture photography by way of street photography in the newly reunited Berlin in late 1990's, and then via construction documentation overseas and in my hometown of Seattle and childhood home of Los Angeles.

Do you remember the first project you were commissioned to shoot?

I had my first contract with the City of Seattle's Seattle Center to document the reconstruction of the Coliseum into the new NBA KeyArena, over the course of a 10 month period.  

Are their aspects of your work/process that feel the same as when you started? What has changed? What has stayed the same?

The actual photo taking feels the same on many levels, though I now work in the lightweight DSLR format in lieu of the cumbersome 4x5 field cameras I started with, shooting  4x5 negative and transparency sheet film, on a Lindhoff Technikardon camera, and lugging around LOTS of Polaroid and film boxes. With transitioning to digital, there has been a big learning curve with the different processing, viewing and storage modalities. The clients are both more savvy, but with more variables in terms of viewing screens not all being equal, there is also a big learning curve bringing up the client. Also with making the change from delivering hard materials like film, negs or prints, delivering a license to the creative intellectual property (IP) with no hard deliverables, there has been a perspective shift. However re-licensing archival shoots has become easier.

Do you have any personal guidelines for cultivating your own version of work-life balance? 

The job isn't everything, and for me at least, being a photographer who derives all my income from my work, I need to be more of a whole person than just a photographer. I'm also a mother, a spouse, a friend, a gardener, an open-water swimmer, a craftsperson, etc. The work is all important, but without other meaningful pursuits you become very unbalanced and your perspective grows unhealthy.

Are there any kind of educational tools/platforms you utilize as resources--be it photo/retouching/business-related?

I have an in-house digital tech who is my part time assistant in office. She runs my archive and manages licensing requests. I do read some of the blogs out there, but the PMSA2 (formerly ASMP ARCH) group is my best resource of peer colleagues.  

Is there a singular project that stands out as one you’re proud of, be it for personal reasons or logistical hurdles you overcame?

Hard to pinpoint just one over a 20-year career. I guess my contracts with the Seattle Symphony, the Experience Music Project (now the MoPOP), and the Seattle Central Library, all of which started as long term docs, then culminated in book projects and EMP with connecting me to the ESTO agency, were among my formative favorites. All difficult end games in the negotiation for rights and ownership of finished photography, but with EMP which started as a "work-for-hire" I ultimately was able to gain ownership of my finished images, and sell them to the wider news media and design press.  

I was particularly excited by your project and the resulting publication, PROCESS: Seattle Central Library. Documentation and interpretation of a construction site, especially of a cultural landmark such as this one, is an interesting and challenging assignment. How did you approach this project differently, if at all, and how did it inform your broader process?

When you are hired for a longer term contract, you can really release yourself from the singular pressure of only getting to commune with your subject once or twice if you're lucky, and really get to spend time without feeling the need to create the definitive set of images upon hitting the ground. Typically the pressure to get everything you came for is real and a driving force, and it does add a level of stress to a regular shoot. 

Travel shoots being the hardest, whereby you have come from afar, and you cannot leave without everything you came for to represent a project that you get to experience only once. It's a blessing and a curse. Time is always of the essence, especially if the client is on site with you, and you also need to navigate the client's needs and rhythm. The lighting conditions may be static or if changing, the pressure to keep moving and producing is greater. But as the sun and clouds never stand in the same place longer than minutes, no shooting conditions are ever fixed and without some level of pressure. 

You were part of an architectural delegation to the United Arab Emirates last year. How did this come about and what did it involve? Were there any surprising moments?

I was very fortunate to have been referred by a client, the head of art curation for Vulcan, Inc, the largest real estate developers (and owners of the Seattle Art Fair, the MoPOP, and several major league sporting franchises) in the PNW, for whom I've shot for years, to participate in the delegation. We were a group of 17 total, with 4 guides being from the Embassy and the NGO that organized the tour. I was astonished by the vast architectural heritage in the different UAE Emirates, of which there are 7 in all. But beyond the architecture touring and endless eating, I was interested to spend so much time on a bus and at meals with 7 photographer colleagues from around the country, sharing stories and experiences.  

You were granted Honorary AIA Membership in 2005, a prestigious and well-deserved recognition for your contributions to the field. How much do you engage with your local architecture community (outside of shooting) and what does that look like? Can you talk about some of those relationships?

I'm not super involved anymore, but as I'm married to an architect, we are both aware of many of the industry happenings, always attend the AIA awards events, and also contribute to the quarterly ARCADE publication, which covers design and urbanism in our area.    

Your portfolio encompasses a diverse range of project type and geographical location--you’ve documented many different examples of architecture/design affecting the way we live, learn, interact. Are there any projects that stand out especially in terms of how design can play a role in our lives? 

I always love and appreciate a smaller, residential or community project, where there are less variables for access, lighting, etc, but my heart is in civic documentation, and I love libraries most as a building type. I'm currently in pre-production stages of a book on regional libraries of the 21st C. Museums and places of worship embody our societies' loftiest ideals, while libraries to me are the most democratic of spaces, they represent equalizers.  

Reflecting on the beginning of your career, is there a lesson that was tough to learn at the time, but for which you are thankful for now?

Yes, knowing how to charge what your work is worth is a very hard lesson. Figuring out the business is something you do along the way, with help from your community of peers, of course.

I was lucky to form a small group of local architecture shooters here in Seattle area, who would gather occasionally over lunch to swap stories and lean on each other for business help. I feel also fortunate to have acquired several midwest clients in the MSP area, who have led me to become friendly with lots of Minnesota area shooters. I was also affiliated with the famed NY stock archive, ESTO, early on in my career, which helped me to make connections with the broader industry. Having colleagues is of real value.  

What excites you about the future of our medium and profession?

It's morphing parameters. I'm looking forward to learning to fly my drone and provide aerials to my clients, but not so much video content.  I'm not always super thrilled to have to keep up with social media, but understand that's part of our job now too as image makers.

Any piece of advice for someone just starting out in this field?

Develop your own style. Don't fret the naysayers. Ask for help!