Beato benefited greatly from James Robertson's photographic experience. He absorbed his skill for producing topographical and architectural views that included incidental figures that provide a sense of daily life. Beato also learned from the business acumen of this successful entrepreneur. Robertson's photographs were widely reproduced through engravings in books and periodicals, and he participated in several exhibitions in Paris and London between 1855 and 1860.
In Constantinople (present-day Istanbul) Robertson and Beato focused on architecture, such as the mosque of Sultan Ahmed built in the 1600s, a masterpiece of the Islamic period. Their skills enabled them to record the intricate patterns of the leafy ornament on a public fountain.