An interview with Warsaw based interior & architectural photographer Nate Cook

“I’m quite a perfectionist when it comes to my work, so I often find myself going through images sets multiple times and taking numerous small tweaks before delivery. After each shoot I take notes on areas where I could improve and general lessons I learned throughout the process.”

Nate Cook is an architectural and interiors photographer currently based in Warsaw, Poland.

Born in Michigan, he has an academic and career background in architecture. He received his education in both America and Germany and worked as an architect in Phoenix, Norway, and Italy.

After starting his photography career shooting high-end real estate in Los Angeles, he made the switch to working with architects and interior designers upon moving to Poland.

A fascination for light and shadows is what initially attracted him to photography and it remains the driving force behind his work.

Hi Nate, I hope all is safe and well with you and many thanks for taking the time to share with our community. Apologies for the wait in getting the interview up, I have no idea where the time has evaporated this year.

Can I say I'm a huge fan and can't believe I've only just come across your portfolio towards the end of last year.

Can you tell us what has been keeping you occupied recently and what your plans for 2022 and beyond?

Thanks Pete, and to you as well! I really appreciate the invitation and I'm stoked to have the chance to share some of my work and be part of the M-Mode community.

2021 has been a fun year for me. It's actually just my 2nd full year of doing Architectural & Interiors photography full time, so it's been a year of growth and new opportunities. I've had the chance to work with some amazing new clients whose work I've admired for a long time, and I also finally got back to traveling, which is one of my main passions.

For 2022 I'm very excited to be kicking off the new year by working for the first time with 2 of my favourite design studios in Poland. Later on in the year, once spring comes and the prime shooting conditions return, I'm hoping to visit some of my good architect friends back in the States and potentially shoot some work there as well.

Quite the traveller.

I can’t believe that you’re only in your second year as a professional. Your work is so well considered and appears much more mature than your experience suggests, for that I congratulate you.

Could you tell us a bit more about your past, your education, ethos and how you both approach your work currently?

So I'm originally from Michigan, where I grew up right along the lake, and I studied architecture and planning at Kansas State University. After graduation, I worked for 2 years as an architect in Phoenix, Arizona at a big corporate office. I had a lot of free time so I would bike around the city and take pictures of the modern architecture there, which initially sparked my deep interest in photography. I had lived in Germany during and after high school, and I always wanted to return to Europe to live, so before I got too attached to the awesome desert dweller lifestyle, I made the choice to part ways with my job and the city.

After some quick travels around the world, I ended up in Florence, Italy, where I worked in a small boutique architecture studio for another 2 years. During this time I serendipitously got my first paid photo gig through Instagram, and the idea to eventually work full-time as a photographer was planted in my head.

When an opportunity presented itself to move to LA to shoot high-end real estate, I decided to commit and make the switch from architect to photographer. After 6 months learning all I could and getting some great experience through trial and error, I moved back to Europe and joined my Polish girlfriend in Warsaw towards the end of 2019. Since then I've only focused on working with architects and interior designers whose work I admire and whose visions I really believe in.

Probably because of my background in architecture, I'd say my approach to work is very premeditative. I spend a lot of time before projects drawing the floorplans, studying where the light will be and how it will interact with the design and materials, and I run through the shoot multiple times in my head to create a detailed plan. While it's important to artistically capture the project with my vision, it's essential for me to understand the intent of the designers and to create a story which reflects this and expresses the most important elements of the design.

What a back story and what a journey. Your studies as an architect is plain to see within your portfolio and your incredible attention to detail in planning your shoots is inspiring.

How do you go about getting work and what do you find is the best solution you've found?

That has certainly been and continues to be one of the trickiest parts of my work. I had no previous contacts and don’t speak Polish, so when I originally arrived in Warsaw, I took an unconventional approach and biked to all of the design offices in town and knocked on their doors. I handed out business cards, asked if they wanted to see my portfolio, and luckily some of them were receptive. Since then most of my new clients come from a mix of emailing and correspondence through Instagram, which I’d say is my main marketing tool.

Another method I’d used is to personally photograph a new project right when construction is ending, and to send the set to both the architects and the local online architectural publication. Surprisingly this works pretty well and I’ve licensed images this way to some of the largest offices in Poland, as well as to American offices with projects here.

That is some great advice, I only wish there were more exciting new projects around here for me to go to.

Where do you see the future of photography heading, not only in our genre but as a whole?

One thing I've noticed more often is that people are choosing to use their phones cameras over dlsr systems, even if they own a proper kit. For most people's travel and general needs, their phones will do just fine and are far more convenient. I think this will broaden the gap between the professional world and your average photography enthusiast.

As far as gear goes, I am very excited about the new lower cost medium format options that are becoming available, and can't wait for the native tilt shift lens to arrive. I think these types of things will allow us all to have access to the best quality equipment, no matter which country or currency you're working in.

I agree, I’m really excited about the Fuji GFX systems and the new Nikon Z9….decisions decisions! Not what my bank account wants to hear….

What is the interior and architectural scene like where you live and is this where do you do most of your work?

For now basically all of my work is here in Poland and there is a lot of new construction going on and many new exciting projects happening. The interior design scene has a great unique style to it as well. There are a few offices, both architecture and interior design, that are doing very thoughtful work, often blending a mix of traditional and modern styles, and always paying close attention to the detailing. This is the type of work that resonates the most with me.

Well your images are stunning and the projects you’ve been shooting are wonderful and diverse in equal measure.

As a photography community we love a bit of gear talk, could you tell us what equipment you have in your bag and enlighten those who aren't familiar a little bit more about your process and editing.

I've been using the Sony A7iii since it came out and besides the 2x3 aspect ratio, I really enjoy working with it. The rest of my kit includes the following:

Canon 17mm ts and Canon 24mm ts + the 1.4 Extender for my architectural work.

Sony 85mm for architectural details

Sony 16-35mm and Sigma 24-70mm for interior work

Mavic 2 Pro for aerials

Manfrotto 055 Tripod with 410 geared head and Menges top plate

Flashpoint Streaklight 360 Nix Colour Sensor for making sure I get my colours accurate

Huawei Tablet for wireless tethering and for use as my drone remote screen

Due to living in an often very cloudy place, I patiently wait and attempt to pick the sunniest days to shoot. Timing is key for me, as I plan every shot I take, both interior and exterior, around the sun positioning and light conditions. This allows me to only use flash when I need it to solve problems, such as for window flares, reflective surfaces, and poorly lit spaces.

As far as editing goes I keep it simple; I always shoot a series of brackets and manually blend the exposures in Photoshop after some initial editing in Lightroom, sometimes using luminosity and colour masks. Once I bring the files back into Lightroom, I sometimes do a bit of tone curve work and minor colour adjustments to synchronise the set.

Love it, keep it simple! I’m not sure I have your patience in regards to planning and performing a shoot, I’m a bit more of an opportunistic photographer, however like yourself, I try and use as much natural light and exposure blending.

Do you feel that you're happy with the work you produce?

I’m quite a perfectionist when it comes to my work, so I often find myself going through images sets multiple times and taking numerous small tweaks before delivery. After each shoot I take notes on areas where I could improve and general lessons I learned throughout the process. In addition to this, I’m frequently saving images from photographers I admire, whenever I see an inspirational aspect of their work that I could incorporate into my own. So in summary I’m proud of the work I’ve done so far but I want to be constantly improving and growing.

OMG…the tweaking! I drive myself nuts with the tweaking…..I’ve learnt to step away from a shoot for a day or two then come back to it with fresh eyes. It is always amazing what I have missed….and to think in the past I used to send those first edits off to clients! You live and you learn.

Do you have any advice for aspiring photographers to keep motivated and pushing yourself forward?

First and foremost it’s important to be inspired by other photographers, but you should never compare yourself to others, as this can definitely be demotivating. Always keep shooting and working on personal projects. This allows you to not only to grow your skills, test out new ideas and find your own style risk free, but it can be very satisfying to photograph great architecture which you can then add to your portfolio.

Sound advice. Saying not to compare yourself with others is like saying ‘don’t judge a book by its cover…’ It is so hard to to do. I also agree that there is so much talent out there that we’re spoilt for choice for inspiration.

I think we should talk a bit about copyright.....How do you go about educating your clients about licensing and is there anything we can be doing better to inform our clients better?

Personally whenever a new client asks for my pricing, I include a quick section under my fees which describes the general license included in my day rate. I also have a small section which describes how pricing for multiple client licensing works and incentivises them to get the other parties involved from the beginning. Fortunately I haven’t had many issues with clients and licensing thanks to this, so I think being upfront about everything from the get-go is crucial. Lastly I’ll mention that I never sell my copyrights and we should all try to avoid doing this for the sake of the profession.

That sounds great…I’d love to get a copy of that! Even though I’m clear at the start and explain it and licensing usages, still clients fail to understand passing images onto other clients. It is a work in progress over here in the UK. We’ll get there.

Where do you draw your inspiration from and how do you go about creating your stylised look?

As I mentioned before I’m constantly soaking in the images of many of my favourite photographers, but I also love watching architectural documentaries and short videos, such as those from the Local Project.

As far as my style goes, I like to let the light do the talking. I love to shoot interiors with strong direct sunlight, which creates drama and mood. For exteriors, although I will shoot the main compositions at many different times to capture how the building changes throughout the day, my favourite time is at golden hour and sunset, when the soft light and colours of the sky interact with the design in beautiful ways. In my editing I like to emphasise these effects, but it’s important for me to accurately represent the project’s materials and colours. The designers spend a lot of time meticulously choosing these and this needs to be shown in the images.

Do you have a favourite thing you like to shoot and why?

Houses all day! As an architect, the first images that really captivated me were those from modern house books. They have such a variety of spaces and offer endless opportunities to capture moments which everyone can appreciate, as we all have our own living environments in one form or the other. In addition to this, the level of design for each space, materiality, and detailing is often the most thought out for houses.

I agree, there is nothing more I enjoy than first walking into a well crafted, thought-out interior designed space. I still get the WOW factor and get all giddy….Then doubt sets in if I’ll be able to do it justice….!

What would say the highlight of your career would be to this point?

I’ve had the chance to photograph many awesome projects of different genres, but I’d say photographing the new Press Glass Office Headquarters for the architect Konior Studio was one of my favourites. The design features an immaculate mix of modern materials, sweeping curved curtain walls of glass, a beautiful sculptural staircase, and a grand courtyard with a Japanese style garden. On top of that, the building is situated directly on an expansive golf course, surrounded by ponds and extensive landscaping, making it a dream to shoot. The weather cooperated quite nicely during the 2 days I spent there and provided a great mix of dramatic cloudy sunsets and clear sunny skies, allowing me to capture the building in all conditions and play with the direct light and shadows on the interior. The design has gone on to win many awards and I'm very proud to have been able to play my part in documenting it.
Do you have any favourite photographers that inspire you and anyone you think we should be keeping an eye out for?

My favourite architectural photographer is Joe Fletcher as I'm sure many other photographers would say. I was lucky to have discovered his work at the beginning of my career and his use of light and colours blew my mind. I found myself studying and dissecting many of his images and he's no doubt had a huge influence on how I approach my work.

Others whose work really inspires me include Kevin Scott, Rory Gardiner, Timothy Kay, Doublespace, Einar Aslaksen, and Minh T.

The latest photographer whose feed I've been binge scrolling is David Zarzoso. Whether light and bright or dark and subdued, his images evoke an amazing sense of mood which I just love.

You have great taste in photographers, some of my all time favourites on that list. The way their images are so soft in tone and beauty is so enviable. I’m working on it and improving my portfolio the way these masters of their craft do.

Lastly, what have you learnt and taken away from the past years events?

Due to the fact that I've lived in many places, my friends and family are spread out all over the world. It's already a difficult task to regularly visit everyone and covid made it virtually impossible. The situation made me see how important it is to cherish the time with my loved ones and that I should take advantage of the opportunities I have to make the trips to see them. On the flip side I started using video calling much more often and I've been reaching out to many friends I haven't talked to in years, so it has also strengthened my relationships.

A huge thanks for Nate for his wonderful takeover at the end of last year and for taking the time for a little chat.

To see more of Nate’s portfolio click on the following links - Website - Instagram