Studio ArchViz

06/10/2026

The most dangerous mistake in a photomontage is the one that looks perfect.

On a recent project I caught one before it went anywhere.

A single grid reference was missing its 100 km square prefix. The numbers looked completely reasonable, and they were 100 km out. Every camera built on that data would have been wrong.

The render would still have looked gorgeous. That's the uncomfortable truth: a visualisation can be beautiful and wrong at the same time.

Other pitfalls I watch for:
→ Dropping the "boring" views where the building is hidden
→ Trusting phone GPS for ground height
→ Scaling data until it "looks right"
→ Declaring the wrong lens or field of view
→ Using data without checking its licence
→ Overstating accuracy (honesty builds credibility)

Planning officers don't need drama. They need images they can trust.

If you're preparing an application and want Type 3 visualisations done properly, send me a message or email [email protected].

Or comment TYPE 3 for the free guide.

05/10/2026

What does a 22-viewpoint Type 3 package actually involve?

Less "make it look nice", more forensic.

📍 Tripod on the seafront in February wind. Camera, lens, height, date and time all recorded.
📍 Ground levels taken from LiDAR data, never phone GPS. Phones can be metres out.
📍 Ordnance Survey mapping, LiDAR, topographic survey and the architect's model, all in one real-world coordinate system.
📍 A virtual camera placed at every recorded position, then checked against fixed features in the photograph.
📍 Close views fully rendered, distant views as massing, as agreed.
📍 For views where the building is hidden, a dashed silhouette showing exactly how much is concealed.
📍 A technical methodology explaining every step, every data source and the accuracy achieved.

Nothing scaled by eye. Nothing "near enough."

After 20+ years of making buildings look beautiful, this work asks something different of me: make them look true.

If you've got a tall, dense or sensitive scheme heading to planning, comment TYPE 3 for my free guide to the whole process.

02/10/2026

The three most expensive words in planning visualisation:

"The model's changed."

Type 3 work touches almost every discipline on a project. When one person isn't in the loop, it shows up later as re-matching, re-rendering and delay.

Who needs to know:
→ Developer: owns the brief and makes the call early
→ Architect: supplies the model and heights, and confirms the design freeze
→ Landscape or townscape consultant: selects viewpoints and judges effects
→ Planning consultant: manages the officer relationship
→ Planning officer and specialists: agree the type, views and method
→ Heritage consultant: where listed buildings or conservation areas are involved
→ Surveyor: levels and spot heights
→ Visualiser: photography, camera matching, rendering and methodology

My rule: freeze first, visualise second.

Who's usually missing from the room when your visuals get discussed? Tell me in the comments.

The full role breakdown is in my free guide. Comment TYPE 3.

01/10/2026

The cheapest moment to get your planning visuals right is before a single photo is taken.

Here's how to request Type 3 properly:

1️⃣ Raise it at pre-app. Ask the officer which views matter to them.
2️⃣ Put your approach in writing: purpose, likely effects, proposed type and draft viewpoints.
3️⃣ Agree the viewpoint list. Expect the officer to add views, and to keep ones where your building might be hidden.
4️⃣ Agree season and render level. Winter views can show more.
5️⃣ Brief your visualiser with a frozen model, AOD levels and survey data.
6️⃣ Get it confirmed by email. A nod in a meeting is not agreement.

A line you can borrow:
"We propose to provide Type 3 photomontages in accordance with LI TGN 06/19 from the viewpoints listed. Could you confirm these are acceptable, and whether any views would require Type 4?"

That one email can save weeks of further-information requests.

The full wording, plus a pre-commission checklist, is in my free guide. Comment TYPE 3.

30/09/2026

The four types, simply

"Type 3" sounds like jargon. It isn't. Here's the whole system in 60 seconds.

The Landscape Institute's guidance (TGN 06/19) sets out four types of visualisation:

Type 1: Annotated photograph
A photo with the site marked. Good for early context.

Type 2: 3D wireline or model
The building's form, usually without a photo behind it.

Type 3: Photomontage or photowire
Real site photography with an accurately placed 3D model. This is the workhorse for most planning applications and LVIAs.

Type 4: Survey-verified photomontage
Surveyed camera positions and verifiable scaling, for the most sensitive or contested views.

Think of it this way:
Type 1 points at the site.
Type 4 is ready for cross-examination.
Type 3 is what most applications need: honest, accurate and proportionate.

The type should be agreed with your planning authority, ideally before anyone picks up a camera.

Save this for your next pre-app meeting. For the full guide, comment TYPE 3.

29/09/2026

Your marketing CGI is not planning evidence.

Golden hour. Wide lens. A camera floating where no human has ever stood. Neighbouring buildings quietly softened.

That isn't deception. It's the brief. Marketing CGI exists to make people feel something.

A planning officer needs to know something. What will this look like from the bus stop? From the beach? From the conservation area?

A Type 3 visualisation answers that with:
→ An agreed viewpoint, not a flattering one
→ Eye-level camera height, stated on the sheet
→ Date and time of photography recorded
→ Lens and field of view declared
→ Real context, including consented neighbouring schemes
→ A written methodology anyone can check

You need both, and they do different jobs. The smart move is producing them from the same accurate 3D model. That way the scheme you sell is visibly the scheme you had approved.

Developers: has an officer ever questioned one of your visuals?

My free guide has a full side-by-side comparison. Comment TYPE 3 and I'll send it over.

28/09/2026

Yesterday I pressed send on 22 viewpoints.

A full Type 3 photomontage package and technical methodology for a tall building application, now sitting with the planning officer.

Nobody claps when you email a PDF. But I sat back and felt it.

Behind every one of those sheets is:
→ a camera position recorded to a grid reference
→ a ground level taken from LiDAR, not a phone
→ a declared lens and field of view
→ a 3D model placed in real-world coordinates

That's what turns an image into evidence.

Most developers don't find out what Type 3 involves until the officer asks for it. By then it's already costing them weeks.

So I've written the guide I wish every client had before that conversation:
→ The four visualisation types, explained simply
→ Why your marketing CGI can't do this job
→ How to request Type 3, with wording you can send your officer
→ Who needs to be in the room
→ What's actually involved, step by step

It's free. Comment TYPE 3 and I'll send it to you.

25/07/2026

08/07/2026

Then we did the maths.

One week of slow sales costs more than the entire CGI package. Missed enquiries. An idle sales team. Marketing spend with nothing behind it.

CGIs aren't the expensive part. Slow sales are.

Still weighing up the cost of visuals? Comment SCORECARD and I'll send you the tool that shows you what slow really costs.