A Precise Way of Seeing.

Architecture, corporate and sports photography. Lucerne, Switzerland.

001

Residential Architecture – Arni

Architecture

Architectural photography of a private residence in Arni: glazing, metalwork and STOBAG shading systems within the garden architecture.

Garden side of a house with an ornamental balcony railing, a lowered beige exterior blind and a pond in the foreground — 1 / 5

Ground floor with a lowered beige exterior blind and sliding glazing above a gravel garden and a pond with water lilies — 2 / 5

Corner of the house with a lowered blind and a glass sliding door, seen past clipped shrubs and a red-leaved tree — 3 / 5

Terrace in front of full-height sliding doors with a sofa inside and a garden table with pink chairs — 4 / 5

Close-up of a roller blind housing and a beige fabric blind between dark grey profiles — 5 / 5

002

Private Residence

Architecture

Architectural detail photography of a private residence: custom metalwork, precise connections, material finishes and integrated Sky-Frame solutions.

Corner of a house with a dark vertical-slat facade above a white base, seen from below against a pale sky — 1 / 5

Detail of a dark sliding glass door and its floor rail beside a pale brick wall — 2 / 5

Covered entrance with pale brick piers, a front door lined with timber and dark garage doors above a paved forecourt — 3 / 5

View along a terrace with a dark metal railing and a handrail, the pale corner of the house behind it in grey haze — 4 / 5

Close-up of a dark door with a bronze handle next to white-glazed brickwork — 5 / 5

003

The Affiliate Battle – Nîmes

Sports

Black-and-white sports photography from the Affiliate Battle 2026: speed, focus and competition in expressive motion blur.

Black-and-white image of runners on a track, two women in focus among motion-blurred athletes — 1 / 5

Athletes carrying heavy bags on their shoulders in a dark hall with warm light — 2 / 5

Athlete pedalling an exercise bike in a dark competition hall with spotlight rays, a person crouching beside him — 3 / 5

Black-and-white image of a woman standing behind a loaded barbell in a dark gym — 4 / 5

Shirtless athlete in brown trousers and a glove standing beside a metal rig, looking to the side — 5 / 5

004

Product Shooting – ICIW Sportswear

Corporate

Sportswear photography for ICANIWILL: functional apparel across running, strength training, and indoor and outdoor environments.

Man in a light grey running outfit running along a misty path, fence posts fading into the fog — 1 / 4

Man with a backpack and a white T-shirt walking along a red running track beneath a grandstand roof in low sun — 2 / 4

Close-up of a seated man in a white T-shirt tying a white running shoe — 3 / 4

Man in a dark running jacket between tall trees in morning mist — 4 / 4

005

World Championship IF3 – Hungary

Sports

International sports photography from the 2024 Functional Fitness World Championships in Hungary.

Athlete leaping toward a basketball hoop with the ball in one hand, in an indoor arena with national flags along the barrier — 1 / 5

Athlete in an orange top climbing a rope in a large hall, seen from below — 2 / 5

Woman holding a heavy black ball against her chest and chin in a dark arena — 3 / 5

Woman doing a pull-up on a metal rig, a number 5 on the post beside her — 4 / 5

Athlete in camouflage shorts climbing a rope under bright arena lights, seen from below — 5 / 5

006

Outdoor Dog Photography

Animals

Natural dog photography: portraits, action and quiet lifestyle moments between a dog and its owner.

Black, white and tan dog sitting upright on a stone and facing the camera, soft pale background with bare branches — 1 / 5

Dog in a harness sitting on a wooden jetty and facing the camera, a lake and trees behind — 2 / 5

Dog in a harness on a fallen tree trunk at a lake shore under bare branches — 3 / 5

Portrait of a dog with a white chest in dry grass and driftwood — 4 / 5

Dog standing on a pebble beach and looking into the camera — 5 / 5

007

Restaurant – Linde Schüür

Business

Business and architectural photography for the restaurant: interiors, exterior views, portraits and the team.

Large timber-framed hall with exposed roof trusses, lighting rails and a wooden floor — 1 / 4

View along a long timber-framed hall with a symmetrical roof structure toward a glazed door at the far end — 2 / 4

Building with a dark slate roof and a timber-clad facade with an external staircase, in sunshine — 3 / 4

Three people in a cobbled courtyard in front of a timber-clad building: a woman in a dark blazer, a man in a white chef's jacket and a bearded man in black — 4 / 4

008

CrossFit Semifinals – French Throwdown 2024

Sports

Sports photography from the 2024 CrossFit Semifinals at the French Throwdown: elite competition, effort and arena atmosphere.

Woman in a purple top climbing a rope on a metal rig under spotlights — 1 / 5

Wide view of an arena floor where competitors kneel in a row by low obstacles, spectators on the stands behind — 2 / 5

Woman squatting with a loaded barbell on her shoulders beside a man lunging in a blue shirt, on a marked competition floor — 3 / 5

Two athletes climbing ropes on a large metal rig in a dark arena — 4 / 5

Athlete in a handstand with bent legs in front of spectators and a yellow sponsor banner — 5 / 5

009

Corporate Event – Hobler Metallbau AG

Corporate

Corporate event photography in Muri: networking, a sake tasting, a sushi workshop and dinner.

At a sushi workshop, a man in a dark polo fans rice in a wooden tub while a woman in a patterned jacket speaks — 1 / 5

A man and a woman concentrating on rolling sushi at a table with glasses and name tags — 2 / 5

Four men in conversation, two of them shaking hands, in a converted industrial hall with timber cladding — 3 / 5

Men talking around a round table with wine glasses, small flags hanging in the hall behind them — 4 / 5

Hands in transparent gloves rolling sushi on a bamboo mat as a man with glasses leans over — 5 / 5

010

Product Shooting – OACE Sportswear

Corporate

Sportswear photography for OACE in a dark functional fitness gym: movement, strength and product details.

Black-and-white image from above of a muscular man reaching upward against a dark floor — 1 / 5

Black-and-white image of an athlete's legs in white socks stepping onto a box, kettlebells hanging at his sides — 2 / 5

Man holding a ball in front of him and looking up into the camera, seen from above on a dark background — 3 / 5

Black-and-white portrait of a muscular man in a sleeveless shirt leaning forward in a gym with gymnastic rings behind him — 4 / 5

Legs of an athlete in grey shorts and white socks, standing on a dark floor, one hand at his side — 5 / 5

011

Fitnessholiday Performance Camp – Mallorca

Business

Business photography for a one-week Fitnessholiday training camp: coached workouts, outdoor training and community.

Two men with sunglasses standing shoulder to shoulder on a beach, backlit by the sun, buildings behind them — 1 / 5

Group warming up on a blue running track under a cloudy sky, a man in a dark T-shirt walking in the foreground, pine trees behind — 2 / 5

Woman in a blue top stretching sideways with one arm raised on a track in front of a fence — 3 / 5

Man hanging from a pull-up bar in a dark gym, two people watching him from the foreground — 4 / 5

Runners on a track with motion blur: a man in a white shirt sprinting in front, two others behind him — 5 / 5

012

Augstmatthorn – Bern

Animals

Alpine landscape and wildlife photography from the Augstmatthorn: sunrise, mountain ridges, Alpine ibex and chamois.

Two ibex with large curved horns facing each other on a grassy ridge against a cloudy sky — 1 / 5

The sun above dark mountain ridges in an orange sky — 2 / 5

Green mountainside sloping down to a turquoise lake in the valley under a dramatic cloudy sky — 3 / 5

Close portrait of a young ibex looking into the camera, green out-of-focus background — 4 / 5

Two horned animals as silhouettes on a ridge in front of a hazy, peach-coloured mountain — 5 / 5

013

TORTOUR 500 – Team KA-EX

Sports

Editorial sports photography of Team KA-EX at the TORTOUR 500: pace, endurance and team cycling from the pre-dawn start across Switzerland.

Cyclists in red and white jerseys riding at night with bright front lights, a motorcycle escort with a rider in a yellow vest beside them — 1 / 5

Group of cyclists in a line on an empty road at dusk under an orange sky — 2 / 5

Cyclist in a white helmet riding straight toward the camera on a damp road at dusk, others behind him — 3 / 5

Cyclist on a white bike in sharp focus, the riders behind him blurred by motion — 4 / 5

Three cyclists riding side by side on a road above a lake, mountains in the haze behind them — 5 / 5

014

Services

01Architecture

Architecture, seen the way it was built.

Completed buildings and interiors, their details, materials and surfaces, and construction as it happens. For architects, and for the companies that build, supply and finish.

Completed buildings, interiors, details and materials, construction progress

Enquire about architecture View selected work

02Corporate & Events

Companies at work, and the occasions that bring them together.

Event coverage, company reportage and working environments: the people and teams, the products, and the craft and production behind them. Made for your communication.

Corporate events, company reportage, workplaces and teams, product shoots

Enquire about corporate and event work View selected work

03Sports

Effort, pace, and the moment it counts.

Competition and event photography for organisers, federations and sports brands. From the whole event to the single athlete, for reportage and campaigns.

Competitions and events, athletes, sports brands, reportage

Enquire about sports View selected work

04Business Portraits

People, as they are at work.

Portraits of executives and teams for websites, annual reports and the press. Available on request; a portfolio is in preparation.

Executive portraits, team portraits, annual report imagery

Enquire about business portraits

05Animal

Character, patience, and time outside.

Calm portraits that keep an animal's character, and selected wildlife projects.

Dog and pet portraits, wildlife

Enquire about animal portraits View selected work

002 Private Residence009 Corporate Event004 ICIW SportswearIn preparation006 Outdoor Dog Photography

015

Philosophy

I look before I photograph.

A building, a team or an athlete already has an order, and my work is to find it. So I begin by watching: how a space is put together, how people move through it, where the light falls. My training in interior design and my work on building sites taught me to read a subject this way.

Only then do I frame the picture, weighing line, light and context, and leaving out the rest. A photograph should be clear enough to read at a glance and rich enough to look at for longer.

016Photographer

Rafael Kirchhofer

I am the photographer behind Zeitrafferei, a personal practice in Lucerne.

Trained as: Interior design draughtsman
Then: Project and site management
Photographs: Architecture, corporate work, events and sport
Based in: Lucerne, Switzerland

Having drawn interiors and worked on building sites, I know how a space is designed and how it is made: the materials, the joints, the order of the work. I photograph with that knowledge, so architects and builders get pictures that show what was planned and what was built. Whatever the subject, I look closely, understand what the image has to do for you, and leave out the rest.

Discuss a project Explore the work

Discuss your project.

Tell me about the project, the place and what you have in mind. A few lines are enough; I reply personally.

A Precise Way of Seeing.