How to Get Your Architecture Project Published (ArchDaily, Dezeen and Awards)

What publications and awards are actually looking for

ArchDaily, Dezeen, Designboom, Azure, Western Living and most awards programmes evaluate a project as an editorial story, not a building report. They are looking for a coherent visual narrative, a clear idea, and a complete package that their editors can publish with minimal extra work. In practice that means three things have to land together: the images, the drawings, and the words.

• A strong, complete image set — enough photographs to tell the project from arrival to detail, all consistent in style and colour.
• Technical drawings — at minimum a site or floor plan; sections and elevations strengthen the case, especially for awards juries who read drawings fluently.
• A tight project text — usually a few hundred words explaining the brief, the site, the concept and how it was resolved.
• Full credits and accurate facts — practice name, design team, location, completion year, area, key consultants and the photographer.

Awards add a layer: many juries care about sustainability, context and craft, so make sure your text and images speak to those, not just the hero shot.

Image specs and how many photos you actually need

There is no single universal rule, but the working standard across the major outlets is consistent enough to plan around. Submit high-resolution, full-quality images — typically at least 1900-2000px on the long edge for web, and often the request is for the largest files you have so the outlet can crop and feature them. Most publications want a generous set rather than a tight edit: think roughly 15-25 finished images for a typical project, more for a large or complex building, so the editor can make their own selection.

• Format: high-quality JPEGs, colour-corrected and consistent; avoid heavy filters or obvious HDR.
• Orientation: include both landscape and portrait framing — feeds, hero banners and print all crop differently.
• Coverage: exteriors and context, the key interior spaces, and a few details. Editors love a single strong cover-candidate image.
• Drawings: supply plans and sections as clean line drawings (PDF or high-res PNG/JPEG), labelled and legible.
• No watermarks or logos burned into the photos — outlets reject those.

If you are unsure, look at how the specific publication presents recent projects and match that range. Under-supplying images is one of the most common reasons a good project gets passed over: an editor who can only build half a story will move on to one they can publish today.

Why professional photography is usually the gate

The hard truth is that editors and juries see the photography before they see the architecture. A thoughtful building shot on a phone, in flat light, with converging verticals and a cluttered foreground, reads as an unfinished submission — even when the design is excellent. Professional architectural photography is what makes the work legible at the scale and quality these platforms expect.

A specialist does the things that separate a publishable set from a record of the building: shooting at the right time of day for the light, correcting verticals so walls stand straight, balancing interior and window exposures, styling and tidying the frame, and editing to a consistent look across the whole set. In Vancouver and across BC that craft also means working with our particular conditions — long grey-sky stretches, dramatic mountain-and-water backdrops, glazing-heavy modern interiors, and tight winter daylight windows. The photographer's job is to make the project look its best and meet the technical bar in one pass, so you are not re-shooting before you can submit.

How submissions and photo credits work

Most outlets accept submissions through an online form or a dedicated email, where you upload or link the image set, the drawings and the text. The mechanics are straightforward; the etiquette around photo credits is where projects go wrong.

• The photographer must always be credited. Publications require a named photographer, and reputable ones will not run images without it. Build the credit line into your submission: "Photography: [name]".
• Clarify usage rights before the shoot. Architectural photographers typically license images for specific uses; press and editorial submission rights are usually included or easily arranged, but confirm it in writing so there are no surprises when an outlet wants the files.
• Tag and credit on social too. When the feature runs, credit the photographer alongside the design team — it is both correct and how you stay in good standing for future placements.
• Coordinate who submits. Sometimes the practice submits, sometimes the photographer pitches their own published work; agree this so you are not competing or double-submitting.

Getting credits and rights settled up front turns publication into a quick, clean process instead of a back-and-forth scramble months after the shoot.

How to plan a shoot with publication in mind

The most published projects are the ones where the shoot was planned for publication, not as an afterthought. Treat the photography as part of project completion and brief the photographer early.

• Shoot when the project is truly finished — fully furnished, styled and clean. Editors can tell when a space is half-dressed.
• Brief the target outlets. Tell the photographer you are aiming for ArchDaily, Dezeen, an awards entry, or print, so the shot list covers the images and orientations those need.
• Build a shot list together from the drawings: the hero exterior, the sequence of key spaces, the signature details, and the context shots that situate the building.
• Plan for light and weather. In BC that often means scheduling around the season and the daily window — blue-hour exteriors, golden interior light, or waiting out the rain. Allow a flexible day or a backup date.
• Consider aerial and Matterport where the project warrants it — a drone context shot can make a strong cover, and a Matterport tour helps clients and submissions, though it does not replace stills.
• Gather the package alongside the shoot — finalise drawings, draft the project text, and lock the credit list so everything is ready to submit the week the images are delivered.

Done this way, the photographer becomes the partner who makes your work publishable — honestly, and on the first attempt — rather than a service you call after the fact.