It is essential for the 21st century generation of students to be equipped with proficient visual skills and the need to use visual methods for teaching design in architectural undergraduate studies cannot be overemphasized. Photographs are used for analytic illustrations and case study presentations mainly in architecture. However, utilizing photographs as a visual reference tool will build a better prospect for students to enhance their creative thinking and design concepts. This study required a group of first year students in FARC 102–(Introduction to design), Eastern Mediterranean University, to watch a movie of their choice and extract ideas that would inspire the design of a theme park. They were also asked to snap photos from various scenes in the movie that most captivated them, for use as visual references, then translate the feelings and ideas from these photos to create architectural designs. A second group which served as a control was also studied, to compare the outcomes from both groups in order to make a concrete argument. The study seeks to analyse the impact of using photographs as a visual reference medium at the undergraduate level in architecture design studios. The methodology adopted is both qualitative and quantitative, problem solving and a participatory observation of the students involved. Interviews were conducted with some expert academicians in the subject matter. For the quantitative analysis, Microsoft excel 2013 and IBM SPSS Statistics 20 software was used. The results found in this research revealed that photographs are very useful as reference for students in undergraduate design studios and provides a platform for further studies to consolidate its validity as an important pedagogy in architectural education.