In Focus is Archinect's new series of features dedicated to profiling the photographers who help make the work of architects look that much better. What has attracted them to architecture? How do they work? What type of equipment do they use? What do they think about seeing their work in blogs?

In this feature, we talk to Liao Yusheng, a NYC-raised photographer & food lover who is currently working out of Taipei.
 

Archinect: What is your relationship with architecture? What drew you to architecture, as a photographer?

Liao Yusheng: I've wanted to become an architect for as long as I can remember, since I was a child drawing buildings and furniture. I've always regretted being talked out of studying architecture when I was applying to college. So it was a natural attraction when I started doing photography to capture architecture.


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Harajuku Protestant Church (2005) in Tokyo, Japan - Ciel Rouge Creation (Kaneko Fumiko & Henri Gueydan) / Photography by Liao Yusheng


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Harajuku Protestant Church (2005) in Tokyo, Japan - Ciel Rouge Creation (Kaneko Fumiko & Henri Gueydan) / Photography by Liao Yusheng


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Harajuku Protestant Church (2005) in Tokyo, Japan - Ciel Rouge Creation (Kaneko Fumiko & Henri Gueydan) / Photography by Liao Yusheng

Describe how you work... who are your clients?

LY: I start with meeting the architects or publishers on the project and finding out if there are specific details they want me to highlight. Though in many cases since they've seen my work and know my style, I'm given free rein to express myself through the architecture.

At the moment my clients are mostly local architects, though I do occasional work for bold-faced names in architecture and design. I have a large selection of photographs of famous architecture on my website, and they are frequently licensed by publishers around the world.


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Prada Tokyo (2003) in Minami-Aoyama, Tokyo, Japan - Herzog & de Meuron / Photography by Liao Yusheng


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Prada Tokyo (2003) in Minami-Aoyama, Tokyo, Japan - Herzog & de Meuron / Photography by Liao Yusheng


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Prada Tokyo (2003) in Minami-Aoyama, Tokyo, Japan - Herzog & de Meuron / Photography by Liao Yusheng

Do you mostly work in a specific region? What is your travel schedule like?

LY: I used to work in the States when I was based in New York, but for the past four years I've worked mostly in Asia, primarily in Taiwan and China. I usually end up traveling about four times a year.


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Osanbashi Yokohama International Passenger Terminal (2002) in Yokohama, Japan - Foreign Office Architects / Photography by Liao Yusheng


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Osanbashi Yokohama International Passenger Terminal (2002) in Yokohama, Japan - Foreign Office Architects / Photography by Liao Yusheng


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Osanbashi Yokohama International Passenger Terminal (2002) in Yokohama, Japan - Foreign Office Architects / Photography by Liao Yusheng

What is your goal when capturing buildings in photographs?

LY: I try to capture the feel of a building as I experience it for the first time, so I try not to see other photographers' photos of the same place if possible. Sometimes the client has specific things he wants captured, but more often I get to decide how best to represent the buildings pictorially.

As I walk around and absorb the building, I decide how to convey how it makes me feel. Sometimes I go back several times in order to capture the building in different lighting conditions.


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National Centre for the Performing Arts “The Egg” (2007) in Beijing, China - Paul Andreu / Photography by Liao Yusheng


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National Centre for the Performing Arts “The Egg” (2007) in Beijing, China - Paul Andreu / Photography by Liao Yusheng

What are your thoughts about including people in your photos? Is it important to photograph a building in use, or by itself?

LY: I think there's no absolute right way to photograph a building. Some buildings lend itself to be photographed in use, with people, some work better by itself. I find that the buildings that rely heavily on the interplay of light and shadows are best showcased by itself, or rather, by itself and the light. Kahn's buildings come to mind, for example. But I suppose in answering this I'm saying that I try to never capture a building by itself: It's always a building plus something, be it people, or light.


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Christian Dior Omotesando (2003) in Jingumae, Tokyo, Japan - SANAA / Photography by Liao Yusheng


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Christian Dior Omotesando (2003) in Jingumae, Tokyo, Japan - SANAA / Photography by Liao Yusheng


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Christian Dior Omotesando (2003) in Jingumae, Tokyo, Japan - SANAA / Photography by Liao Yusheng

What are your favorite pieces of equipment?

LY: As photographers tend to be, I love gear and gear-talk, but also as photographers tend to be, I also (paradoxically in a way) feel like the equipment doesn't matter ultimately. The part about the equipment being irrelevant sounds pretentious even to my ears, but it's true, to a point. The equipment only has to be as good as necessary to get the job done. I've had 4-megapixel images from the 90s published in design books and they look fine. That said, my favorite pieces of equipment are probably the ones related to camera support: tripods, ball head, quick release system. I love the quick release clamps and brackets that allow me to quickly reposition my camera with ease.


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St. Mary's Cathedral (1963) in Tokyo, Japan - Kenzo Tange / Photography by Liao Yusheng


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St. Mary's Cathedral (1963) in Tokyo, Japan - Kenzo Tange / Photography by Liao Yusheng


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The Chapel of St. Ignatius (1997) in Seattle, Washington - Steven Holl Architects / Photography by Liao Yusheng


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The Chapel of St. Ignatius (1997) in Seattle, Washington - Steven Holl Architects / Photography by Liao Yusheng

Do you work alone?

LY: I've always worked alone. While it would be great to have an assistant to lug around the heavy gear, it's a luxury I can't afford.


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Mikimoto Ginza 2 (2005) in Ginza, Tokyo, Japan - Toyo Ito / Photography by Liao Yusheng


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Mikimoto Ginza 2 (2005) in Ginza, Tokyo, Japan - Toyo Ito / Photography by Liao Yusheng


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Mikimoto Ginza 2 (2005) in Ginza, Tokyo, Japan - Toyo Ito / Photography by Liao Yusheng


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Mikimoto Ginza 2 (2005) in Ginza, Tokyo, Japan - Toyo Ito / Photography by Liao Yusheng

How do you feel about seeing your photographs on blogs and websites?

LY: I love it, it's free publicity, but I am concerned about health of the publishing industry, from which I derive a not-insignificant amount of income.


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Morgan Library Expansion (2006) in New York City - Renzo Piano Building Workshop / Photography by Liao Yusheng


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Toyota Municipal Museum of Art (1995) in Toyota, Aichi, Japan - Yoshio Taniguchi / Photography by Liao Yusheng


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Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels (2002) in Los Angeles, California - José Rafael Moneo / Photography by Liao Yusheng


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Shinto shrine inside the Grand Hyatt Tokyo / Photography by Liao Yusheng



Liao Yusheng is an independent architecture photographer currently working out of Taipei after spending the majority of his life in NYC. Though he didn't formally study photography or architecture, his years at The Cooper Union gave him many opportunities to immerse in the world of architecture.

His photographs have been published in architecture books by teNeues and Taschen as well as in periodicals like Time Magazine, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, among others.

In his spare time, he travels the world looking for good eats, documented at liaoyusheng.com and in his Flickr account .