For an article in ARCHITECT a few years ago, Ernest Beck spoke with publicist Elizabeth Kubany about her tips for hiring an architectural photographer. He reported: "It’s critical to find a photographer who gets you and how you want your building represented, Kubany says. After all, the photographer’s job is to create an image that captures and explains a three-dimensional building in a two-dimensional format for someone who will probably never see it in reality."

This is the photographer's basic role: shoot a building. But then there are those images—think Julius Shulman's famous Stahl House photograph—that add a little bit of something else. On Thursday, the Los Angeles chapter of the AIA announced the 11 winning images in its first Architectural Photography Awards, which were open to photographers and subjects anywhere in the world. The compositions range in geography and architectural style, but one point unifies the bunch: The photographs do more than simply capture a structure.

Honor Award

"Offseason" (Wildwood, N.J.)
Darren Bradley "Offseason" (Wildwood, N.J.)
"View Hill House, Yarra Glen" (Victoria, Australia, house designed by Denton Corker Marshall)
Tim Griffith "View Hill House, Yarra Glen" (Victoria, Australia, house designed by Denton Corker Marshall)

Merit Award

"Out Building 2 at Tverrfjellhytta Reindeer Pavillion" (Hjerkinn, Norway)
Steve King "Out Building 2 at Tverrfjellhytta Reindeer Pavillion" (Hjerkinn, Norway)
"Riverside 66" (Building in Tianjin, China, designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates)
Tim Griffith "Riverside 66" (Building in Tianjin, China, designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates)
"Hygge House" (Winnipeg, Manitoba)
Paul Turang "Hygge House" (Winnipeg, Manitoba)
"Sea Cabin Interior, Manshausen Island Resort" (Cabin in Steigen, Norway, designed by Stinessen Arkitektur)
Steve King "Sea Cabin Interior, Manshausen Island Resort" (Cabin in Steigen, Norway, designed by Stinessen Arkitektur)

Citation Award

"Reflection Reading // Geisel Library" (Library designed by William L. Pereira and Associates Architects in La Jolla, Calif.)
Robert Brooke Sadler "Reflection Reading // Geisel Library" (Library designed by William L. Pereira and Associates Architects in La Jolla, Calif.)
"Flight 93 National Memorial, PA" (Memorial in Shanksville, Pa., designed by Paul Murdoch Architects)
Eric Staudenmaier "Flight 93 National Memorial, PA" (Memorial in Shanksville, Pa., designed by Paul Murdoch Architects)

Best Series

"Urban Squares" (Venice, Los Angeles, Calif.)
Sandra Feller "Urban Squares" (Venice, Los Angeles, Calif.)
"Urban Rectangles" (Denver)
Sandra Feller "Urban Rectangles" (Denver)
"Urban Lines" (Denver)
Sandra Feller "Urban Lines" (Denver)