When Maison Assouline commissioned Kalory Photo and Video to photograph its iconic Piccadilly location in London, the objective was not simply to show the interior of a store. The images needed to communicate the character of a unique destination that combines books, art, design, culture, and luxury retail within one of London’s most distinctive commercial spaces.
The final photography was distributed internationally and used across various marketing and editorial channels, helping showcase one of London’s most recognisable luxury retail environments.
Maison Assouline: More Than a Bookstore
Located inside a beautifully restored historic building on Piccadilly, Maison Assouline has become a destination for lovers of books, design, fashion, travel, and luxury culture.
Unlike a traditional retail environment, the space combines several experiences under one roof. Visitors can browse rare books, discover luxury publications, explore carefully curated interiors, and spend time within an environment designed to encourage exploration and conversation.
From a photography perspective, spaces like this present an interesting challenge. The goal is not simply to record the architecture but to communicate how the space feels when experienced in person.
Luxury retail environments rely heavily on atmosphere, and successful photography needs to preserve that atmosphere while still clearly showcasing the design details that make the space unique.
What Makes Luxury Retail Photography Different?
Luxury retail spaces often require a different approach than traditional commercial interior photography.
The objective is not only to document the design but also to reinforce how customers perceive the brand. Every image becomes part of the wider customer experience.
Several elements make luxury retail photography particularly challenging:
- Mixed lighting conditions
- Reflective materials and display surfaces
- Large open spaces that still need to feel intimate
- Architectural features that require accurate representation
- Brand guidelines that influence composition and styling
For brands operating at the luxury end of the market, photography needs to communicate craftsmanship, exclusivity, and attention to detail. Small differences in lighting, perspective, and composition can significantly influence how premium a space appears in the final images.
Why Perspective Matters in Retail Interior Photography
One of the key requirements for this project was to create a diverse set of viewpoints throughout the space.
Different angles allow designers, marketers, journalists, and customers to understand how the environment functions as a whole.
Wide architectural views help establish the layout and flow of the store, while tighter compositions focus attention on materials, styling details, and product displays.
Luxury retailers often need both approaches because the images may be used for a wide variety of purposes, including editorial features, press releases, websites, social media campaigns, annual reports, and internal presentations.
By varying perspectives, photographers can create a more complete visual story of the environment.
The Role of People in Retail Photography
One aspect that is often overlooked in retail photography is the use of people within the space.
While many interior photography projects focus entirely on architecture, introducing people can help communicate scale, movement, and customer experience.
In luxury retail environments, carefully positioned models or staff can demonstrate how customers interact with the space and make large interiors feel more welcoming and human.
When used correctly, people become part of the storytelling rather than a distraction from the design.
This is particularly important for brands like Assouline, where the experience of browsing, discovering, and engaging with the environment is central to the concept itself.
Why Luxury Brands Demand High-Resolution Photography
For this project, we used a Phase One medium-format camera system capable of producing extremely high-resolution files.
Many luxury brands require this level of image quality because their photography is often used far beyond websites and social media.
Images may appear in:
- International magazines
- Press campaigns
- Large-format print advertising
- Exhibition materials
- Luxury catalogues
- Brand archives
High-resolution photography allows designers and marketing teams greater flexibility while ensuring every material, texture, and architectural detail remains sharp and accurate.
For premium brands where presentation is everything, image quality is an important part of maintaining brand standards.
Why Professional Photography Matters for Luxury Retail Spaces
Retail environments evolve constantly. Displays change, collections rotate, and interiors are updated over time.
Professional photography creates a permanent record of these spaces while also generating valuable marketing assets that can be used for years after the original shoot.
For luxury retailers, photography supports:
- Editorial coverage
- Public relations campaigns
- Social media marketing
- Website content
- Design portfolios
- Internal brand documentation
Projects such as Maison Assouline demonstrate how photography can help preserve not only the appearance of a space but also the atmosphere and experience that make it memorable.
If you are launching a new retail environment, flagship store, luxury showroom, or cultural destination, professional photography can help ensure that the investment in design continues generating value long after opening day.
Explore our interior photography portfolio or get in touch to discuss your next project.
- What Makes Luxury Window Displays So Effective? Lessons from London’s Best Visual Merchandising - September 26, 2023
- September 2023 Selfridges’ visual merchandising in video - September 14, 2023
- 36 inspiring pictures of expert VM and boutique windows - May 25, 2023