"I" as Image, "I" as Information. From the easy survey up to the digital photomodeling

Very often, the photograph is an essential component and it is integrated into the most common survey technologies, from the territorial scale up to the urban dimension. In such changing environment, photography is analyzed in its versatile properties, even in the immediate use for the three-dimensional reconstruction of existing buildings. This is the case of the newer application fields that enable low cost technologies, such as 3d restitutions using computer vision algorithms. The paper aims to outline a fresh and contemporary status of art about the uses that can be made for design and communication purposes.