An interview with Architectural & Interior photographers Aaron Zaccardelli & Ryan Laing - aka - ZAC & ZAC

“We went into this together and at the start always used to shoot together. Bouncing ideas off each other and learning as we went. It wasn’t intentional, it just worked out that way. We always work together as a team now but much less working together on the same shoot unless our client has time constraints on location or there are very technical light setups required etc… “

ZAC & ZAC are professional architectural and interior photographers based in Edinburgh and London working across the UK and Worldwide.

They specialize in capturing and enhancing interior and architectural spaces through the medium of photography and video. Established as a partnership and comprised of two cousins, ZAC & ZAC combine their strengths and passion for photography and the built environment to create striking and refined imagery.

ZAC & ZAC understand the importance if this and strive to offer you a flexible service that is catered to your specific requirements. With the utmost care and consideration, from shootin on-site to retouching in the studio, together ZAC & ZAC offer a unique service by working in unison, providing input and critique to one another throughout the process.

Their work was also featured in The Andrew Martin International Interior Design Review, described by The Times as ‘The Oscars for the interior design world’.

The Scottish duo approach every project with a friendly, fun and open manner, taking great pride in the images they create.

Hi Aaron & Ryan, I’m so thrilled you agreed to give up your time to share your work and have a little chat for our M.mode community.

I honestly think you were one of the first portfolios I came across a few years ago on Instagram that stood out and inspired me.

Let’s start at the beginning, I suppose we should start with why ZAC & ZAC? 

Zaccardelli is our Italian family name. We are Scottish/Italian cousins born and bred in Scotland. We felt Zaccardelli was a bit of a mouth full and abbreviating it down to ZAC leant itself well for a more catchy sounding ZAC and ZAC business name that resembled us both.   

Now when you say it that way that completely makes sense…

Can you tell us what has been keeping you occupied recently throughout 2021 and what your plans for 2022 and beyond? 

We introduced drone and architectural video into our services. We intend to push these further into the future to accompany our architectural photography. All these architectural focused services compliment each other well and allow us to offer our clients a more complete package to record, document and show off their work. 

I’ve have done exactly the same. I have found drone and video a great benefit to my portfolio and I’ve enjoyed using the medium of video again after so many years in the wilderness.

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

We have product design degrees. We’ve always been interested in design and the built environment. Our design education helps fuel our photography by allowing us to better understand the design of the spaces we are capturing. I feel we have a better appreciation for the built environment in general and the importance of good design within it. 

Whilst in University Aaron conducted a placement in China. This encouraged him to start taking pictures. To photograph this incredible culture he knew very little about. After purchasing a DSLR for the trip he never looked back. At the same time Ryan became engrossed in film photography in Scotland and undertook his own personal creative photography projects. 

We have interior designers in the family. They were using photographers who shot flash heavy with very wide lenses. We felt we could create photographs with more aesthetic appeal. So we had a test shoot and it’s not stopped since then. 

We sound similar, I trained in Graphic Design and discovered photography after graduating in 2005 where I was more involved in film more around then. I’ve always felt a slight imposter syndrome as I am self taught, but as I’m discovering a lot of us are. Thank you YouTube! I also have family in the interior design and architectural realm which have been a huge source of inspiration.

What is it like working as a duo, do you always shoot together and whose idea was it? 

We went into this together and at the start always used to shoot together. Bouncing ideas off each other and learning as we went. It wasn’t intentional, it just worked out that way. We always work together as a team now but much less working together on the same shoot unless our client has time constraints on location or there are very technical light setups required etc… 

That must be such a lovely way to work. I know a handful of other photographers that work well as a duo. I used to work with Andy Tye who is one part of French & Tye. Seeing where his career has gone has been a huge inspiration to me personally. It must be great to work as a team towards a common goal pushing and challenge each other.

If anyone is interested and wants to team up…..I’m available… : )

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

We used to do a lot of direct marketing. So, calling and emailing potential clients and seeing if our services could benefit them. But now with the new GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) rules we have had to change it up a little.

We try to push website SEO so we can be found more easily, and keep up appearances on social media streams like Instagram and Linked-In to keep our work and name visible to our followers and potential clients.

Attending design and creative events is a good way for us to meet clients face-to-face and we still post out the occasional print portfolio to those who enquire about our services.   

I’ve always felt a bit of a small fish in a big pond when it came around to my portfolio, however I’m finally starting to create work for the first time I’m actually happy with. I have a style which I’m hopefully developing and word of mouth can only take you so far.

I think 2022 I have to focus a bit more on target marketing and focus more toward the clients and direction I want to move towards. I have a huge love for sustainable architect…whatever ‘sustainable’ means these days. I feel that it has become so convoluted that it maybe even be ‘cancelled’ in 2022….:)

I’d also like to look up more from work this year and go to more galleries, exhibitions, creative events and meetups. The problem is they are mostly always in London…perhaps if anyone fancied a meet up in Bath?

I’m also going to try and listen to that creative voice inside my head a bit more this year and perhaps say no to the one off clients that perhaps in the past have been a paid day but not necessary a step up in creativity. God, I hope that doesn’t sound too arrogant.

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

We see the continuation of moving picture advancing past stills to be a more desirable product overall, especially in the 3D realm. Don’t get us wrong, stills will always be required and hold value but with the advancement in video popularity in the last 5 years and the ever so popular photographs and cinemagraphs, we feel this shift is going to advance even further. Covid also really pushed the architectural 3D-Tour product in a big way, so we expect this product to advance and develop further into the future. 

There has certainly been a huge uptake in video and moving image over the past few years. The introduction of drones, gimbals and mirrorless video resolution has seen a huge surge in that part of the market. I suppose the question is, with the desire for so much content, is this content any good or is it just disposable?

The TikTok revolution is here to stay…unfortunately…even Instagram is changing their algurisms to more video and teen content. If only someone set up an app for more of an online creative gallery…We’ll have to wait and see.

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

Most of our work comes from Scotland. Since Covid we’ve been primarily based in Edinburgh. We still have our London studio for shoots south of the border but recently we have been shooting all over the UK. Our international clients are starting to open back up again as travel rules are being relaxed but 90% of our work is in the UK with interior designers and architects. 

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. 

Our favourite architectural lens is without a doubt the Nikon PC-Nikkor 35mm F/2.8 from the early 1980s. Sharpness, colours, and build quality are phenomenal and it’s prob the cheapest lens in our kit. Not sure how that works out but you can’t complain about that! 

As for editing we use a lot of layers, avoid automatic settings religiously and QC our own work between Ryan and Aaron to ensure the best quality. Some edits can take excess of 1 hour to complete depending on the complexities involved.  

I’ve seen you’ve mention this little beast, it looks gorgeous. In regards to editing and post production, I’m always on the lookout for a new little nugget of wealth that can improve my work flow so I can concentrate more on the shoot, although I do enjoy the editing process.

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

Of course! We couldn’t do this job if we weren’t. Satisfaction of the final product is what keeps us going. There are definitely times when you revisit an old photograph and you like it less than the time you created it, but to us, that’s a sign of evolution and improvement.  

That is great news. I’m just starting to like the work I produce in all honesty, not all but more an more with each shoot.

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

- Persistence is a big one. As long as you are providing quality photos, you will be sought after.  

- Charge image licencing. It’s not fair for third parties to financially gain from you work without you being compensated. So don’t let them. Respect yourself. 

-  Stay up to date with the latest photographer gear. 

- Always do some level of marketing, whether it’s SEO, Social Posts, attending events….etc 

I think that is a good link to my next question, 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? 

You just have to break it down. Whenever it’s explained properly to clients, 99% agree that licencing is fair, and it makes perfect sense do supply it. 

We feel that putting an emphasis on educating photographers more than the clients will help make the industry healthier. Sites such as APALMANAC/ Fstoppers and on Instagram Shiftercom, are helping spread this information. 

From our experience so many photographers don’t respect themselves enough (without realising) and give bucket loads of images away for free making it hard for those who do licence to explain why they do and others don’t. This is particularly hard when you’re starting out and don’t yet have a name for yourself.  

Mike and his team at APA and Art & Lauren at Shifter have been great supporters in helping out with more information in regards to copyright, especially Mike.

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

Of course we are inspired by some of the old greats like Lucien Hervé, Hélène Binet and Julius Shulman. Their select compositions, use of light, shadow and old film equipment is admirable to say the least.

As for us, our creative style is all about making a space look beautiful by the means of natural light, or where natural light is deprived, manipulating artificial light to translate in a naturalistic way. We aim to create striking images with a strong emphasis on one point perspectives, just can’t resist them, and also taking styling into careful consideration with every shot.    

I hear you on the natural light…

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

We love to capture a space at just the right time when it’s looking its absolute best. This could all come down to a 5 min period where sunlight falls in a specific way and aligns with the interior or exterior of a building just right. They are special moments and feel great to photograph. 

I think this is why it is important to spend time within a space or environment to understand it more.

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

No single moment really stands out. The whole journey to where we are now has had its ups and downs, so we guess the fact we’re still actively shooting beautiful buildings and spaces whilst constantly evolving is an active highlight in itself.   

I suppose it is all about the journey in the end.

Do you have any favourite photographers that inspire you and anyone you think we should be keeping an eye out for? 

Definitely the old greats mentioned above, but also just innovative creative people in general. Those who are doing new things, breaking boundaries, and working incredibly hard to achieve their goals.  

We’re not sure about who’s up and coming, but one to watch is Arturo Sanchez. His photography and video game is brilliant and the properties he shoots are epic. 

Yeah, Art is smashing it at the moment. There is no way in hell with my cowardination that I’d be able to balance on his electric standing scooter thingy…what are those even called?

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

Adapt, persist, stay positive, and things will work themselves out. 

Just another huge thanks to both Aaron & Ryan for giving up their time for their takeover and interview. I wish them all the continued success in 2022.

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