An In-Depth Exploration of Three Architectural Photographers: Part 2 - Helena Lee

Hello!

Today I would like to take a look at the work of a friend of mine, Helena Lee, who is the photographer. From the perspective of a person who is more familiar with virtual cameras rather than the physical ones and as a man who works in a field of architecture and design, I can safely conclude that Helena has what it takes to be a damn good architectural photographer. Her works are breathing with atmosphere of the place, full of life and well thought out composition. I also appreciate her ability to sense the strengths of the design she is presented with and place it in a mood that complements it very well. I could say much more, but this blog is focused on visual aspects rather than me describing everything you can see for yourself, even if it is partially what I do here :) So let's get down to business.

If there are reflections in an image - you better use them, and Helen here found a very good view to accentuate how this building seamlessly blends with the environment. I am aware that this project is set in Iceland, and I am very familiar with this design philosophy - architects often try to make their buildings integrated in a harmonious way with the environment they are built in and I think this shot really encapsulates those design aspirations. Also, take a moment to appreciate how well this composition works and how shapes and volumes interact with each other on the screen. I especially love the continuity of the mountain range in the reflection, which really makes it look like a single element while being clearly framed by the structure.

Being familiar with the Icelandic architects, I would not be surprised that this view would be one of their favorite ones. The large expanse of the lush, brown grass takes good 50% of the image. If someone showed that to a real estate agent or a developer company and told them that their building takes just about 5% of the image space they would lose it, but architects are often a bit more conscious about what they are trying to communicate with the imagery of their project and therefore welcome shots like this - giving a chance for a building to breathe and for the viewer to appreciate the context in which it is set. I also like a good understanding of values of contrast of Helen that she shows with this image - because the instinct would be to catch a time of day where the sun is shining on the facade in order to highlight it in the shot, but having a sun-basked mountain range behind a dark building works just as well to guide your eyes towards the building and make it 'POP'.

This photo is very lovely, I love the choice (or an accident) of weather setting, although this light is notoriously difficult to work with. A smart use of the water reflection and a busy brickwork on the facade creates a sense of weight and texture and helps balance the contrasts of the image. Just all around solid image that showcases a great understanding of photographic medium and ability to utilize most out of what seemingly could be a difficult task.

Now this lovely view got Helen a LOOP Design Awards 2025 in the Photography Architecture Portfolio category along with other photos I mention here. For a good reason I might say, there is a lot in the composition of this image that makes it stand out from your classic infinity pool views. First I would like to highlight the complexity of compositional elements here - you can see how the perspective lines defined by swimming pool and a roof create a sort of diagonal division between built and unbuilt environment with the sky being a joining element between them. A well placed figure (is it you, Helen?) helps us with scale and gives us a sense of wonder and fascination at the expanse in front of us.

Now, this one is a banger, definitely one of the shots to be seen on a cover of an architectural magazine. Here is a lesson for all of us: if there are some animals you can add to your photography/render - do it! Seriously, I might be biased because I love animals, but if you think what they are doing to the way we perceive the space you will understand what I mean. They are just as useful a tool for highlighting the context and scale as human figures or vegetation, except they add another factor to the image often overlooked: Cuteness. A cuteness of this image is at 100% and a solid work on the composition and lighting makes this image a superior piece of photographic art. Great job!

I might be too biased to give comments on this image since I love saunas, and I can practically feel the warms that is exuding from this image, considering that currently the thermostat in our house is not working and we have been chilling our bones for the past 2 weeks, this sauna is everything I want right now. Oh right, I am meant to talk about the photographic quality of this image... Damn, it is great, composition, colors, work with reflections and oh boy, that bucket is positioned so neatly. Love it!

As a resident of Prague I believe I have a great appreciation for historical elements of this city. Naplavka, which means embankment in Czech, is an iconic location along the Vltava river that has seen many transformations during its history: several floods, construction of culturally significant buildings and a few years ago it got those sleek, giant, pivot round doors that I love. There are several of these along this particular part of Naplavka, some are used as gallery spaces, some as bars or cyclist's pitstop and beer stop (all the same thing in Czechia really).

As for the photo, I think it manages to capture the aesthetic very well, especially accompanied by the next shot from the indoor. I can see how a presence of a human figure (she looks cute btw), is necessary to communicate the scale, because those doors are really that big in person. I also love how you can really feel the weight of all the materials of this embankment - the footsteps of millions of people stepping on those cobblestones and the darkened stones of the wall really make you feel like those round doors are alien technology, that nevertheless blend in perfectly with the structure of the space. Btw, a neat reference from an architectural nerd - that building to the left top corner is a Dancing House by Gehry and Milunić.

The interior view of this space really makes you feel like a time traveler who is floating in some kind of space ship looking through the illuminator, or through the portal to the 18th century that is suddenly opened in your hipster bar while you were drinking your matcha latte. To be honest, I like how minimal furniture of the space complements the lovely views you are getting through the window. And minimal yet contrasting color palette is able to captivate you without completely taking away your attention from that bomb of a view from the window.

This shot now showcases Helen's skills to really show the place without spelling everything for you. I know what I wrote above may have sounded like one of those things you hear from an art "connoisseur" say in an art gallery or on an architectural critic at a presentation of a "Ephemeral doghouse for birds" but stay with me for a second there. What I mean is that sometimes to describe a space, photographers, and archviz artists, yes, me including, try to give a lot of decor, or elements of the lived environment to make you believe that this space is inhabited. But, sometimes you are better off just using a few elements to get your point across. There is literally nothing unnecessary on this shot, and its minimalism makes you focus more on the feeling that this light gives you when it enters the house. Also, perhaps there is something I would like to consider for myself in my future projects - it is this very nice shadow of the plant - but not the plant itself. Very smart way of hinting at the context without being too literal and necessity to contend with the another compositional object.

This shot is also great, it really has a warm comfort of the lobby of a hotel which as nicely contrasted by vibrant and energetic painting on the back wall at the entrance. Compositionally, it works very well and blurred figure moving in the background helps to ground this building in some real proportions. Also, I really want that swing with the fuzzy pelt on it, it looks very cozy... God damn it, I am saying it just because I am cold again, aren't I? Ok, let's just accept that I am untrustworthy source and biased towards warm and cozy things and let's go on. The image is great!

And for the bonus I just wanted to show you this little image and I feel like I will not need describe much about it, I already said a lot about Helen's photographic mastery and I think you will appreciate if I leave you room to see for yourself and decode what makes this image look and feel so great. And no, it has nothing to do with me being cold in our apartment. Enjoy this lovely image!

Now it is time to wrap up this selection of shots, I would like to thank Helen for blessing the world with such great works of photography and teaching me several lessons on how to make my own work even better, I can't wait to implement my observations into my new projects!

Next week we will take a look at another smart lad from Poland - Hvze Dope from Łódź, Poland. Looking forward!

Cheers.