About the studio

Swartz Photography is the working name of Ryan and Ashley Swartz. We're married, both photographers, running a small two-person studio out of Hinton, Virginia. We met in photography school. We've been working together since. The studio specialises in interior, architectural, and editorial work, with occasional portraiture that fits the same world.

Modern building facade photographed from a dramatic low angle with clear sky

Why Hinton

Hinton is a small town in Rockingham County, Virginia — about 30 minutes from Harrisonburg, 90 minutes from Charlottesville, and 2 hours from DC. It's not where photography studios traditionally cluster, but it's where we live, and the Shenandoah Valley has plenty of design, architecture, and editorial work to keep two photographers busy. Most of our projects are within a two-hour drive of home.

Living in a small Virginia town also keeps us grounded in the kinds of clients we want — local builders, regional design studios, mid-Atlantic architects, magazines that cover Virginia and the broader Southeast. We're not trying to compete for celebrity-magazine assignments out of New York. We're trying to do excellent regional work for clients we can build long relationships with.

Ryan

Ryan's photography background was originally documentary — he worked as a photojournalist for a regional newspaper before shifting into commercial work. That documentary instinct shows up in how he approaches architectural assignments: trying to understand the building's relationship to its site and context, not just capture pretty angles. He handles most of the architectural and exterior work.

Ashley

Ashley came to commercial photography from a fine-art photography background, with a particular interest in how light interacts with interior spaces. She's the one most likely to suggest delaying a shoot by 30 minutes because the angle of the light will work better. She handles most of the interior work and the editorial portraiture.

How we work together

On most projects, we both arrive on-site. Two pairs of eyes are useful for spotting the small details that make or break an architectural shot. We typically split coverage — Ryan on exteriors and full-room architectural shots, Ashley on interior details and atmospheric work. We're both involved in styling adjustments and the post-shoot selection process.

For smaller projects (a single half-day interior, for example), one of us handles the shoot solo. We coordinate based on the project's specific needs and our schedules.

Equipment

For anyone curious: we shoot Nikon full-frame digital bodies with tilt-shift lenses for the architectural work, plus a range of prime lenses for the interior and editorial work. We use natural light primarily — supplemented with continuous LED panels for low-light or evening interior work. We don't typically use strobes (the look isn't right for our style of interior work). For drone work, DJI Mavic Pro 3 with FAA Part 107 certification.

Elegant interior space with natural light streaming through large windows onto hardwood floors

What we believe about the work

Three things, in order of importance:

The space matters more than the camera. A great interior photographed adequately beats a mediocre interior photographed brilliantly. Our job is to honour the space, not to perform photographic technique.
Time of day matters. Most architectural failures happen because the shoot was scheduled around the photographer's calendar rather than the building's optimal light. We plan around the building.
Restraint beats decoration. Heavily-styled interior photography (fake fruit, fake books, fake flowers) reads as fake. We work with what's actually in the space, with light touches to clean up rather than perform.

Where we've been published

Regional design and architecture magazines including Virginia Living, The Local Palate, Blue Ridge Outdoors, and Charlottesville Family. Featured-photographer credits for several architecture firms in their portfolio and award submissions. Editorial commissions for several Virginia-based newspapers and lifestyle publications.

Outside work

Hinton, Virginia. A small house, a garden, two dogs, occasionally a third dog when fostering. We hike the Shenandoah trails, cook a lot, and don't post much on social media. The studio business gets enough of our attention; the rest of our life is private.

Get in touch

Email [email protected] for project enquiries, portfolio requests, or to talk through whether we're a fit for a specific project. We read every email and respond within 1–2 working days.