Archviz Reference Photos for Skies, Vegetation and Context

Match your render to real light

Light is often what separates a convincing render from an unconvincing one. The two Ukrainian sky packs below are useful because they keep a city skyline at the bottom of the frame. You see the sky and, at the same time, how the buildings under it are lit and shaded.

• Blue Skies (587 photos): cirrus, cirrocumulus and altocumulus clouds over the city.
• Overcast Skies (216 photos): overcast skies with different cloud types, for soft daylight scenes.

Use them as backplates, or keep one open next to your render as a target for color and contrast. For clean skies with no ground at all, see sky replacement photos and cloud reference photos.

Vegetation that looks grown, not scattered

Real trees grow in groups, lean toward the light and thin out at the edges of a site. Scattered 3D trees often miss that.

• Eucalyptus Trees (112 photos, Victoria, Australia): trees growing sparsely on farmland, mostly at sunset, with some shots from a higher viewpoint.
• Frosty Trees (327 photos, Finland): trees under a thin layer of frost, shot in overcast light with a sharp prime lens. Good for winter renders.
• Botanic Gardens (643 photos, New Zealand): a library of many different plants and trees, for checking leaf shapes and planting.

See more in tree reference photos.

Gardens and landscape design

Landscape architecture needs details: paving, edges, water and the way stone meets plants.

• Chinese Gardens (175 photos): roof tiles, a pond, a rock garden, bonsai, wooden structures, floor tiles and covered walkways.
• Japanese Zen Garden in Autumn (95 photos, Nara): raked gravel, placed stones and red maples.
• Garden of Ruined Arches (146 photos, Sydney): part of a 19th-century underground water reservoir that partly collapsed and is now a modern park. It is a strong example of old structure and new landscape together.
• Giant Tree Garden Structures (255 photos): the large artificial tree structures in the Marina Bay gardens in Singapore.

Context: the neighborhood around the building

A building sits on a site, and the site sits in a neighborhood. For aerial composites and context shots:

• Suburbs in the Hills (325 photos): houses on the steep hills of Wellington, New Zealand. Useful for sloped sites.
• Brisbane Riverside Suburbs (249 photos): riverfront suburbs shot in detail from a boat. Useful for waterfront projects.
• Aerial Suburbs (66 photos, Auckland): suburbs from above, in afternoon light breaking through clouds.

Facades and materials

• Sino-Portuguese Old Facades Phuket (122 photos): facades in the mid-19th-century style also called Chinese Baroque.
• 19th Century Harbour Settlement Architecture (559 photos, Sydney): a 19th-century quarantine station now converted into guest accommodation. It is useful reference for heritage buildings with a new use.
• Modern Open Air Metro Station (101 photos, Sydney): a modern station on an elevated, open-air platform.

Frequently asked questions

Are these HDRI files?

No. The packs on this page are photographs, not HDRI environment maps. Use them as backplates, as references for color and light, and as a source for textures. Each product page lists the resolution.

Can I use a sky photo as the backplate of a marketing render for a client?

Use a Commercial photo. Commercial photos can be used for nearly any purpose. Editorial photos can't be reproduced in advertising or promotion, and a marketing render is promotion. Mixed packs keep Editorial photos in a separate folder.

Can I model plants or make textures from the photos?

Yes. The license lets you create your own 3D models and textures from the photos for your projects. You can't resell the photos or the packs themselves.

Our architecture office has 8 visualization artists. Which license do we need?

A Small Studio license, which covers an organisation whose art team is 10 people or fewer, counting employees and contractors. Larger teams need a Large Studio license.