a list of camera equipment laid out on a floor.

a futuristic house sitting on top of a mountain at night.

the ceiling of a building with stars on it.

two people walking through a wooden structure.

the interior of a wooden building with a glass wall.

a restaurant with large windows overlooking a city.

Albrecht Voss

Architecture | Last Updated: August 10, 2023

Hi, my name is Albrecht Voss.

Although I am specialized in architectural photography, my assignments are pretty diverse.

It ranges from being the city photographer of the Saxonies state capital Dresden where I am assigned to photograph the whole city in eight thousand images carrying only my Canon EOS R5 and the Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II to hotel shoots where I sometimes take all my equipment in great production carts.

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I have accumulated a large amount of equipment over the first decade of my work so to make this article easier to digest, I have grouped my gear into different categories.

A. The Everyday Kit – This follows me everywhere. It’s always pre-packed and I take it with me each day from the office to home in case of some last-minute assignments for architects and realtors.

It happens pretty frequently, that a realtor needs photos within a few days or the weather conditions turn good and I head out for a quick shoot for a project close to home.

The kit is packed in a Peak Design Everyday Backpack v2 30l which is just fine. Although I had to have it exchanged two times because of some material wear and tear it looks fashionable for shoots in a business environment and it gives me access to all my gear without putting the bag on the ground.

In this bag lives a Canon EOS R5. It is the perfect workhorse for me and strikes the balance between awesome image quality, reasonable video quality, and a great user interface. It is also comfortable and reliable to handle.

Attached to the Canon EOS R5 are the SmallRig Camera Cage 2982 and an Arca Swiss plate BPnS-S from ReallyRightStuff.

I use the cage as an L-bracket and attach my CamRanger 2 wireless network remote. For my video work, I can easily add a SmallRig NATO Top Handle HTN2439B that holds a mic and an external monitor.

I pair the camera over some Canon Mount Adapter EF-EOS R to a Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II (sometimes with a Canon Extender EF 1.4X III added) and I would say seventy per cent of my work is shot with the Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II.

This lens is my joker, it gets the job done for many things, especially when photographing run and gun style.

If the space is too tight I grab the Venus Optics Laowa 15mm f/4.5 Zero-D Shift for Canon EF plus the Canon RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM lens for close-ups.

On my lenses, I attach the Freewell 95mm Magnetic Variable ND Filter System. I really like using polarizing filters to give the images a bit more punch. The six to ten-stop stop ND also serves as a five-stop ND plus polarizing filter.

This helps me to get my exposure to around one-twentieth of a second in the daytime for a slightly longer exposure time to blur people and cars.

I capture many images with the camera in my hand and love the flexibility of walking around a plot to find the best angles, but when it comes to crafting an image I always rely on the Gitzo GT2545T Tripod.

It gives me the best balance between weight and stability to carry it over multiple hours. To get the most precise control over my composition I use Leofoto LH-40GR geared head, which is precise, reliable and won’t break the bank.

I use flash lighting to enhance the quality of my interior images. Profoto is the brand of choice for me. I just love their B-series. I own a Profoto B1 500 AirTTL, the Profoto B1X 500 AirTTL, a Profoto B10 OCF and a Profoto B10 Plus OCF.

The Profoto B10 is always with me, as it is compact yet powerful enough for ninety-five per cent of my shots. To control the light, I also carry a set of coloured gels to balance the flash’s colour temperature and a Profoto OCF Octa Softbox (2′) as a compact and soft light modifier.

I have also been carrying a DJI Mini 3 Pro with me for the last few months for some drone shots on the go and plus I carry a 16“ MacBook Pro with the M1 Max and an iPad Pro 11“ M1 iPad for tethering.

B. The Video Kit – This is used from time to time as I shoot short videos for hotels, architects, realtors or online publications. They usually consist of an interview with added B-Roll from the property and for these productions, I use the SmallRig HD Focus 7 as an external monitor and a RODE Video Mic NTG together with three RODE Wireless Go and RODE Lavalier GO.

For B-Roll, I attach my Canon R5 to the original Ronin-S for stabilization and to light the interviews, I use an Amaran COB 60d with an Aputure Light Dome SE and the Aputure MC 4-Light Travel Kit.

C. The Medium Format Kit – As a Hasselblad Masters winner, I was awarded with their flagship camera, the Hasselblad X2D 100C. It is an awesome camera that feels so premium in my hands.

My heart melts when I look through the EVF or the big rear screen. I mainly use this camera for fine art series in a very deliberate process, where every detail counts.

The camera is paired with either a Hasselblad XCD 21mm f/4, a Hasselblad XCD 38mm f/2.5 V and a Hasselblad XCD 90mm lens and these get connected to the tripod via the ingenious Silence Corner ATOLL C tripod adapter.

The adapter makes it possible to turn the camera from vertical to horizontal without changing its orientation. It only works with the new XCD-V lenses although I have heard that they are crowdfunding a bigger version of this right now.

I also own a Techart Pro EF-X1D Adapter to allow me to use my Canon glass on the X2D, but I am not completely convinced by this setup yet.

D. The Drone Kit – I am an absolute drone fanboy since the launch of the DJI Mavic series!

After dumping my original Mavic in a river, I use the DJI Mavic 2 Pro as my main drone in combination with the Smart Controller. I produced a large fine art photo series that was printed to one by two metres in size and I even won the Drone Talent Award in 2022 with a top-down shot of a courtyard.

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The Smart Controller gives me extra reach and withstands cold temperatures, unlike my phone which usually shuts down after a couple of minutes.

For my drone light painting, I use two Lume Cube 2.0 LED lights in combination with the Lume Cube Lighting Mounts for DJI Mavic Pro. My drone kit stays in a Peak Design Everyday Messenger 15″.

E. The Motion Control System – Timelapse videos always felt like magic to me. When House of Cards was released on Netflix I even went out and produced a video similar to the intro sequence from my home town.

My timelapse kit is based around the Syrp Genie II 3-Axis Pro Slider Kit, with the Magic Carpet PRO Slider, Genie II Motorized Pan/Tilt Head and Genie II Linear Motorized Platform.

For time-lapses I use my Canon EOS R. It gets triggered by the Genie system or the Hama DCCS external remote.

For extra long timelapse I plug the camera into an Omni Charge Mobile 25600 PRO Battery via a Tether Tools Case Relay adapter and LP-E6 Battery. The whole setup is stored in a Manfrotto Pro Light Tough 55 Hard Shell Case.

F. The Miscellaneous – The Peak Design Tech pouch comes with me as soon as I leave the house. It is my wallet and contains, a medicine case, key holder, AirPods Pro, Victorinox Swiss Tool Spirit X Plus Ratchet, a lighter, Sea To Summit Ultra-Sie bag, a sharpie and my camera for everyday shooting, the Fujifilm X100V.

The Rest – Although these items don’t fall into a specific category, I use them almost every day. My grip equipment; the Manfrotto 5001B Nano Light Stand and a Manfrotto Alu Ranker Air-Cushioned Light Stand Quick Stack 3-Pack for the Profoto heads, two Manfrotto 190XPRO Tripods for the timelapse equipment, and the Gitzo GT5563GS for bigger productions.

An Avenger A2033L 10.75′ C-Stand Grip Arm Ki with Manfrotto weights for more complex light setups.

I really like Profotos Deep umbrellas and use them in white, silver and translucent in medium and XL sizes. I also carry some black foil to cover exit signs for interior shoots.

The Inovativ DigiSystem 1535 Pro Ultra Kit holds my digital equipment for bigger jobs, including the Apple MacBookPro, and Tether Tools cable as well as smaller items like clamps, an Aputure MC, stackable door stoppers, a duster and shoe covers.

My laptop is attached to Inovativs Digi Pro Plate and covered by a hard shell case from Incase Designs. For external storage, I use a SanDisk 4TB Extreme PRO Portable SSD V2 that is held by the Digi Pro Plate. The mouse is a Logitech MX Master 3S.

To power my production for multiple days, I use the Goal Zero Yeti 500X. This battery pack gives me complete freedom from wall plugs.

I also use DeTeWe Outdoor 8500 walkie-talkies to communicate with my assistant or a model in remote locations.

To top things off, I always carry a Club Mate (tea from mate plant), some snacks, business cards and my iPhone in a Peak Design Mobile Everyday Fabric Case. I really love this case. It’s very durable and attaches magnetically to a little tripod or my car and bike mount.

For my photo series “Modern Alpine Architecture” I packed all my photo equipment, hiking gear and climbing gear in a Lowepro PhotoSport Backpack Pro 70L AW III. This is an awesome backpack for multi-day photo hikes.

That wraps up the essentials however there are many other things flying around in my office, but these are the primary tools that help me make the magic happen.

I hope this gives you some inspiration for your own gear acquisition syndrome and if you want to find out more about my work check out below.

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