David Eichler: Through a New Lens
The grandson of a Midcentury Modern legend finds a voice in architectural photography.
Stunning architectural photography from the grandson of a Midcentury Modern legend. David shares insights into his process and background.
Sometimes an appreciation and understanding for an art form is passed down like a family heirloom. That’s the case for David Eichler, architectural photographer and owner of David Eichler Photography. A rich history predates him— his grandfather, Joseph Eichler, was a renowned real estate developer who brought affordable Midcentury Modern designs to American families— and set David on his own life path to a creative profession. “My interest in architectural and interior design subject matter began as a child, from being around my grandfather’s home- building business,” he says. David wasn’t exceptionally close to his grandfather, but he grew up around him and looked up to him as a figure of energetic confidence.
As a student at the New England School of Photography, David was initially interested in street and photojournalistic photography. However, he continuously found himself drawn to scenes in which architecture played a role and often depicted people interacting with the architecture in some way. The appeal of the structures themselves never left and “after working for my brother’s kitchen- andbath remodeling business for a couple of years,” David says, “and being around designers and related products and materials, I decided to give architectural/ interiors photography a try. It seems to have taken!”
AN EYE FOR EXCELLENCE
Now he’s based in the San Francisco Bay area and has forged a name for himself capturing stunning designs in the area and beyond. His process shows his expertise and devotion to his craft. “I like scouting a project well before photographing it,” he says. “I also request any renderings, site plans or sketches of the project and consult with the clients to determine what they feel are the most important qualities to highlight and what are their preferred perspectives, times of day, weather, etc.” David prefers it when a client attends the session and invites their input about the compositions and arrangement of the scenes as he shoots them. Afterward, he edits the images to polished perfection. “The processing and retouching of the photos is a major component of the process,” he says. “Architectural and interior photography is one of the more technically demanding genres of photography, and I often spend as much time in front of the computer as I do on the photography sessions.”
The job is rigorous but that’s just what David enjoys. “Every project is different in some way, and every assignment poses new and different problems to solve, sometimes logistical ones, sometimes aesthetic ones, often both,” he says. “I enjoy the challenge.”
“My interest in architectural and interior design subject matter began as a child, from
being around my grandfather’s home- building business.”