This page outlines how 517 Visuals structures visual documentation engagements for architecture, engineering, construction, and development firms across Michigan, including architectural photography, people photography, planning, licensing, cost-sharing, and long-term usage considerations. You can also learn more about our architectural photography services across Michigan.

Pricing

What are your rates?

Architectural photography engagements are structured around three components: strategic alignment and on-site production, post-production refinement, and usage licensing.

Investment varies based on project complexity, access, stakeholders, and deliverables. A structured Architectural Photography Engagement and Investment Guide is available upon request through our contact page.

Do you offer discounts?

Each engagement reflects the planning, production, and refinement required to create consistent, long-term marketing assets. When needed, scope can be adjusted while preserving the structure and integrity of the engagement.

Cost Sharing

What is cost-sharing?

Architectural projects often involve multiple stakeholders who benefit from the same final image set. Cost-sharing allows participating parties to coordinate production investment and licensing before the shoot, while maintaining clear usage rights for each stakeholder.

Who is in creative control when multiple parties are cost-sharing?

The organization initiating the engagement typically serves as the coordinating creative lead. During alignment, stakeholder needs, image priorities, intended usage, and licensing requirements are clarified before production.

Additional participants may contribute input through the creative lead so the image set can support broader use cases without creating confusion on site. Final scope, deliverables, and usage rights are confirmed before production.

When do I need to get involved in a project to benefit from cost-sharing?

Cost-sharing must be coordinated prior to production. This allows stakeholder needs, image priorities, licensing, and cost allocation to be structured before the shoot. Once a project has been photographed, licensing requests are handled independently.

What if I only need a few of the images from a shoot?

Cost-sharing is designed for stakeholders participating in the engagement before production. If you only need select images after the project has been photographed, individual image licensing may be available upon request.

I missed out on cost-sharing a project. Can I still license a few images from a completed project?

Yes. If cost-sharing was not coordinated before production, individual image licensing from completed projects may be available. Contact us and we can review the available image set and licensing options.

Licensing & Usage

Who owns the rights to images and footage after a shoot?

All images remain the intellectual property of 517 Visuals and are licensed for defined usage. Our agreements are structured to support typical AEC marketing needs while maintaining clear copyright ownership.

What usage is included in your standard license agreement?

Standard licensing includes website use, social media, proposals, award submissions, trade publications, and display environments. Extended usage, such as paid advertising, can be structured as needed.

Is there anything not included in the standard agreement that I might want?

Our standard agreement covers the majority of typical AEC marketing use. If additional usage is required, it can be defined as part of the licensing agreement. For example, paid advertising placements such as billboards or digital campaigns require an extended advertising license.

Can I share the images with others, such as my client or subcontractors?

Third-party usage is not included in standard licensing. Additional licenses can be structured for clients, consultants, subcontractors, or other stakeholders.

Can I purchase a license for my client or another third party to use?

Yes. Licensing can be extended to third parties through a separate agreement.

Can I post the images on social media?

Yes. Social media usage is included in the standard license. Professional credit to @517visuals is requested.

What if I want to own the copyright to the images?

Copyright remains with 517 Visuals unless a separate transfer is specifically negotiated. If ownership transfer is required, it is structured case by case based on project scope and usage needs.

People Photography

Do you provide headshots and team photography for AEC firms?

Yes. We provide headshots, leadership portraits, and team photography for AEC firms that need consistent people imagery for proposals, websites, recruiting, speaking bios, internal communications, and leadership visibility.

Can headshots be coordinated with architectural photography?

Yes. Many firms coordinate project documentation and people photography as part of a broader visual standard. This can help align how buildings, leadership, and teams appear across marketing materials.

Can you maintain consistency for future hires or annual updates?

Yes. Headshot engagements can be structured around a repeatable visual standard so future team members can be photographed with consistency across lighting, framing, background, and editing.

Other Questions

Why is planning emphasized before the shoot?

The effectiveness of architectural photography is determined before production begins. Strategic alignment clarifies audience, usage, and image priorities so the resulting photography functions consistently across proposals, marketing, and long-term communication. You can learn more about that approach in our Visual Strategy page.

When should architectural photography be scheduled?

Architectural photography is most effective when scheduled near project completion, once the site, interiors, and surrounding conditions reflect how the project is intended to be presented. Early planning allows image priorities, access, and stakeholder coordination to be addressed before production.

What types of projects do you photograph?

We primarily photograph built-environment projects for architecture, engineering, construction, and development teams. This includes corporate, educational, healthcare, civic, mixed-use, and institutional environments across Michigan. You can review representative examples in our case studies.

How are multiple locations or buildings handled within one engagement?

Multi-building and multi-location projects can often be structured within a single engagement when scope, proximity, and usage are aligned in advance. This is clarified during planning so image priorities and production logistics remain consistent.

Where are you located?

We are based in Lansing and provide architectural photography services throughout Michigan, with ongoing work across Grand Rapids, Lansing, and Mid-Michigan.

Do you travel?

Yes. Travel can be coordinated as part of the engagement.

How is your production approach structured?

Production is structured around project requirements, site conditions, and intended image use. Planning, execution, and post-production are aligned to ensure consistency across the full image set.

How do you deliver images?

Final images are delivered through a secure download link. Files remain accessible for several months before being archived for at least one year. Clients are encouraged to maintain their own backups.

Do you photograph occupied buildings?

Yes. Many projects are photographed after occupancy or during active use. Planning accounts for access, timing, human presence, and site conditions so the building can be documented clearly without disrupting normal operations.

Do you provide drone photography?

Yes. Aerial photography can be incorporated when it supports the project and the intended image set. This is typically determined during planning based on site context, access, weather, and the role aerial views will play in the final deliverables.

Do you provide video or motion work?

Yes, selectively. Motion can be incorporated when it supports the documentation strategy, such as project overviews, hyperlapse, timelapse, site context, or environment-driven footage. Motion is treated as an additive layer to still photography, not a bundled add-on.

How many images are typically included?

Image count depends on project scope, intended usage, and the roles the final images need to fill. Rather than using a fixed package model, engagements are structured around what the project needs to communicate and how the images will be used over time.

Can you help determine what should be photographed?

Yes. That is part of the alignment process. Before production, we clarify audience, usage, image priorities, and any conditions that need to be captured before they change. This helps the final image set function more effectively across marketing and business development needs.

Do you photograph projects outside Michigan?

Yes, selectively. While our primary focus is Michigan, some engagements outside the state can be coordinated when the project, timing, and usage needs are a strong fit.