Customer Case Study: Cloud9 Photography

Being at the cutting edge of architectural photography meant that using Matterport was a natural progression in offering their clients immersive virtual tours as well as world class stills photography.

Cloud9 was set up in 1989 and specialises in architectural photography, particularly in the retail world.

Over the years they have built up an enviable set of clients that include some of the most well known brands internationally. From the restaurants of McDonald’s and KFC, to high street staples like Primark and Fraser Group as well as the luxury coterie of Christian Dior, Versace, Givenchy and Charlotte Tilbury to name just a few.


Co-founder Jonathan Taylor has always been keen to stay ahead of technological trends, saying “We have always worked with the very latest and best equipment available. Our stills equipment includes the Phase One camera system with its unrivaled 150 megapixel imaging capabilities.”


And that desire to innovate through technology is what brought Jonathan to Matterport, where he saw a functionality for digital twins beyond just being a selling tool for estate agents.

“We had tried various 3D photography techniques since around 2000, but it was only when I saw what the Matterport Pro2 could do that I really bought into the idea as one that would really benefit my clients. Whilst the system was primarily marketed to real estate agents in the USA, we immediately saw its potential for our clients for using it as a facilities management system. The store development teams find the ability to quickly reference any previous sites immensely valuable, and the Visual Merchandising team in stores like Primark allow colleagues to share best practice internationally.”

This proved to be a shrewd decision and drove growth for Cloud9 with a steady roster of clients asking for digital twins to be created alongside photography work. This meant that when we met Jonathan, he already had four Matterport Pro2 cameras. On the launch of Matterport’s Pro3, he turned to Surveytech to supply him with the ground-breaking new camera:

“Having four Pro2 cameras already, as soon as the Pro3 camera came out we immediately bought two of these as the ability to capture exteriors is important for many of our clients and the enhanced scanning capacity and speed has allowed us to scan up to 100,000 sqft retail spaces.”

And we can tell by his work that the investment was worthwhile, with some of the most visually engaging and complex Matterport spaces we’ve seen captured, Cloud9 combine their background in photography with extensive Matterport field experience to create some of the finest digital twins around. We’ve peppered some of these examples throughout the article, but you can view more on the Cloud9 website or by following their globe-trotting adventures on social media.