Harriet Andronikides HA Photography
One of the first architectural photographers we ever worked with continues to be one of our favorites and most
trusted in New York City. So, we sat down with Harriet Andronikides to hear her story. Our discussion ranged
from her pivot from being an architect to becoming a photographer, the ways social media has changed the role of
architecture photography, and her experience working with us at the THE UP STUDIO.
“I took a darkroom course while studying abroad in Sydney as an architecture student. I was naturally drawn to
photographing buildings and I kept up with it over the years while working as an architect.”
While still very much an architect, Harriet feels its been a natural progression moving from designing buildings to photographing them. An interesting development in her profession is the impact of social media. She feels social media has made architecture and design, in general, more accessible. As a result of more exposure to architectural photography through social media, more people feel encouraged to venture out to find and experience architecture on their own.
“I sometimes think of my own Instagram posts as a way to introduce a building or neighborhood or point out a building detail or material that might otherwise be overlooked. I hope to give people a sense of what architecture is about, where to find it and how to see fun moments in it. I also think a lot about social media when I'm shooting and editing, so I like to include a few square-cropped detail shots or more graphically interesting shots that I think could do well on Instagram for my clients.”
Harriet has photographed three projects for UP so far. We love working with Harriet because her background in architecture makes her approach to her work unique. While our West Beech, Free Float and Mudgil projects are each very different however, her experiences in the architecture industry allows us to easily convey what details we’re hoping to capture.
“West Beech was great because I got to go multiple times and see the progress
first hand. The first time, the house was totally empty and there was still some construction finishing up so
I couldn't take too many overall shots forcing me to look closer at the details, which lucky for me THE UP
STUDIO does really well.
The second time, it was complete and the designers were able to stage the kitchen and bedrooms so it was a
totally different experience. That time was also open to friends and family of the design team to share their
work so I got to see people walk through admiring the space which was great.
The third time was exterior shots, day into twilight. The landscaping was complete and the home looked
incredible as the light changed from day to night. The moon was perfectly centered above the house that night,
which was so bizarre and cool to capture.”
“Free Float may have been one of my all-time favorite projects to photograph.
I spent a perfect summer day in this incredible backyard overlooking the Long Island sound photographing a
super modern cabana - it was the best.
The cabana has this intense cantilevered overhang with a wood trellis that cast really beautiful shadows I
tracked throughout the day. THE UP STUDIO is not shy about pushing the envelope when it comes to big design
gestures, they also have a great eye for materials so every corner was so photogenic. I got to capture an
amazing sunset too which added a touch of magic to the shoot.”
“Mudgil Practices was a really unique shoot for me. It's a combined
dentist/dermatologist office but the most interesting part was the ceiling treatment. THE UP STUDIO had this
clever approach to create a swooping and intertwining soffit that guides patients from the waiting room at
entry into their dr's room.
I'm usually dealing with a flat, white ceiling that I can crop just about anywhere but this time the ceiling
was the feature so I had to make it a prominent part of the shot. Doctor's offices are usually pretty bland
and sterile, so I was really excited about the curved lines and warmth the designers brought to the space.”
When asking Harriet to describe her ideal photography project, she quickly responded, “My ideal photography project? I'd say any building that has a minimal material palette with lots of texture and natural light. I don't have a preferred building typology or interior vs exterior. It's all about building materials and light. My absolute dream photography project would be Chandigarh by Louis Kahn.”