We’re keeping the Design Confessions rolling, recorded live from IDS Vancouver inside our custom recording booth by Bureau. Today I’m joined by the incredibly talented Ema Peter - an award-winning architectural and interior photographer whose images make you feel something.
Ema’s work has that rare, emotional pull - the kind that stops you mid-scroll and makes you want to step right into space. We talk about the beauty of raw, honest work, the comeback of analog, and how to capture that spark that makes a photo unforgettable. From her early days at Magnum in Paris to shooting globally recognized projects, Ema’s philosophy is simple but powerful: create work that truly touches people.
In this episode, we talk about:
• Why raw work moves people and why imperfection can be magic
• How to photograph spaces that tell a story and stop you in your tracks
• The creative comeback of analog and tactile inspiration
• The balance between art and marketing in architectural photography
• The danger of overusing AI and keeping design real and human
• Why details often speak louder than wide shots
• Ema’s design confession — and what she refuses to do the “easy” way
• How music, mood, and intuition shape every shoot
About Ema Peter
Ema Peter is the founder and creative director of Ema Peter Photography, based in Vancouver. Since launching her studio in 2005, she has become one of Canada’s most celebrated architectural photographers, known for capturing spaces with emotion, precision, and soul.
Trained in both the visual arts and photojournalism - with experience at the Magnum Photo Agency in Paris - Ema brings over 20 years of expertise and an unrelenting passion for her craft. Her work has been recognized internationally, earning awards from Architizer A+, Dezeen, Spotlight, Créateur Design, and more.
Connect with Ema Peter
Special Thanks to Our Sponsors
EMTEK
Personal style lives in the details. For over 40 years, EMTEK’s has helped design lovers transform houses into homes with customizable door and cabinet hardware. Each moment is an opportunity to express your taste and invite others to experience your home as only you can imagine it. Assembled to order in California with short lead times, helping designers make each choice a statement: your statement.
FREE Finish Ring for Designers!
Visit https://www.emtek.com/finishring/ and use the Promo Code: AVD
INTERIOR DESIGN SHOW
As Canada’s premier showcase of new products, superstar designers, and avant-garde concepts from North America and beyond, IDS is the platform to experience the importance of design firsthand, uncovering not just what’s new and what’s next, but taking part in the larger conversation around design. Experiential and transformative, we bring together compelling concepts, innovative products, upcoming talent and key experts in the industry so you can be inspired by the best of the future.
BUREAU
Bureau is a furniture and design company specializing in workspace fit-outs and made-to-order furnishings. We believe that modern workspaces are decidedly unmodern, fixed on out-of-touch, catalogue cliché notions on what it means to make deep and meaningful work. Utilizing data and technology, we design spaces that flex and modulate to the ever-changing, often abstract needs and behaviours of its people, furnishing businesses with the tools they need to shape workspaces that work.
Follow Aly Velji Designs & the AVD Podcast:
Instagram: @designs_av
YouTube: Aly Velji Designs Podcasts
Website: alyveljidesigns.com