Capturing Photography for CGI Visualisations at Manchester's Landmark Stocktons Development
Creating the Perfect Photography for Architectural CGI and Photomontage
Architectural visualisation begins long before the final CGI is rendered. Behind every realistic development visualisation is a carefully planned photography shoot that provides the foundation for accurate photomontages and marketing imagery.
Recently, I was commissioned to capture photography for Virtual Planit's CGI work on the proposed Stocktons development in Manchester. Located at the junction of Great Ancoats Street, Store Street and Ducie Street, the scheme has the potential to become a significant addition to Manchester's rapidly evolving skyline.
As a specialist architectural and development photographer, my role was to create a series of high-resolution images that would allow the CGI team to accurately integrate the proposed buildings into their real-world surroundings.
What is the Stocktons Development?
The Stocktons development is a major regeneration proposal for a prominent gateway site on the eastern edge of Manchester city centre. Current plans feature two striking towers, with the tallest reaching over 50 storeys, alongside commercial space, landscaped public realm, and hundreds of new homes. The project sits within a wider regeneration area identified for substantial residential and commercial growth.
For developers, planners, investors, and local stakeholders, CGI imagery plays a critical role in helping people visualise how a future development will sit within the existing cityscape.
Why Professional Photography Matters for CGI Production
Photographs used for architectural visualisation must achieve far more than simply recording a location.
Every image must provide:
- Accurate perspective and geometry
- Consistent lighting information
- High-resolution detail
- Precise camera positioning
- Existing site context
- Surrounding buildings and infrastructure
- Realistic environmental conditions
The quality of the final CGI is heavily influenced by the quality of the source photography.
For a city-centre scheme such as Stocktons, where the proposed towers will be visible from multiple locations across Manchester, obtaining the correct viewpoints is essential to producing convincing and technically accurate visualisations.
Photographing Existing Conditions for Photomontages
One of the most important aspects of the assignment was documenting the site and its surroundings from carefully selected viewpoints.
These viewpoints are typically chosen by planning consultants, architects, and CGI artists to demonstrate how a proposed development will appear from key public locations.
Photography was captured to provide:
- Planning submission visuals
- Verified views
- Marketing CGI imagery
- Public consultation material
- Investor presentations
- Development websites
- Future sales and promotional campaigns
The objective is to create images that allow Virtual Planit's visualisation team to seamlessly integrate the proposed architecture into the existing urban environment.
Working with Virtual Planit
Virtual Planit has developed a strong reputation for producing high-quality architectural visualisations, photomontages, animations, and marketing imagery for major developments throughout the UK.
Projects such as Stocktons require a collaborative workflow between photographers, architects, planning consultants, and CGI artists. Every photograph must contain the technical data necessary to ensure the digital models align perfectly with the real-world environment.
This process helps create visuals that accurately communicate scale, massing, design intent, and the relationship between the proposed buildings and the surrounding cityscape.