Architectural photography
Content
Photography The process of forming stable or permanent visible images directly or indirectly by the action of light or other forms of radiation on sensitive surfaces. The word “photography” comes from the Greek “photos” and “graphé”, which means “drawing with light”, and describes a technical means of optically capturing the likeness of objects and making them palpable in places where they cannot normally be seen. Photography thus propagates images of buildings into the wider world, enabling people to view them in a wide variety of circumstances - whether in newspapers, books, posters, the Internet, or in galleries or museums. Architectural photography The term “architectural photography” describes both the subject (architecture) and the means of capturing it (photography). Architectural Photography is a form of photography that focuses on capturing buildings, houses, bridges, sculptures, ruins, and other structures to highlight the beauty of the structure's architectural form or elements. It may be done for commercial reasons. . It involves special lenses and techniques to portray the subjects in proper perspective and without photographic distortion. It is primarily concerned with accurate portrayal of the structure, rather than artistic merit. A structure may be photographed at different angles to create the desired impression. At its best, architectural photography communicates the ambiance of a manmade structure. Architectural photographers, are usually skilled in the use of specialized techniques and equipment. Techniques A tenet of architectural photography is the use of controlled perspective, with an emphasis on vertical lines that are non-converging (parallel). This is achieved by positioning the focal plane of the camera at so that it is perpendicular to the ground, regardless of the elevation of the camera eye. This result can be achieved by the use of view cameras, tilt/shift lenses, or post-processing. Traditionally, view cameras have been used for architectural photography as they allow for the lens to be tilted or shifted relative to the film plane. This allows for control of perspective, as well as a variety of creative possibilities. In a similar fashion to landscape photography, a deep depth of field is usually employed so that both the foreground and background (to infinity) are in sharp focus. More recently, digital single lens reflex (DSLR) cameras have been used in the field of architectural photography. These cameras also employ detachable, tilt-shift lenses of varying (usually fixed) focal lengths.
7 Tips for Better Architectural Photography When you live in a city, as most Light Stalking readers do, then at some point you’re probably going to find yourself taking a photograph of a building. Unfortunately, it is very easy to take very poor photos of architecture. Hopefully, these tips will help you capture something a little better than just a snap.
The static nature of architecture is great for photographers in that it means that we can really plan a shot and minimize potential problems. The level of control the photographer has is unmatched in most other subjects in photography.
photo info(via: Wylio)
©
2008 Wolfgang
Staudt | more
1) Focal Length – You will probably want the widest angle of view that you can get in many cases. That means shooting with wide angle lenses. Anything under 35mm (on a full frame sensor) will probably do fine depending on how close or far you are from your subject. If you’re lucky enough to be in a situation where you can get a great shot of a building from a long distance away, then longer focal length will be fine, but in most city situations you will need to shoot from quite a close distance due to other buildings, cars, people and clutter being in the way. In such cases, you’re probably going to want wide angle lenses anywhere from 12mm to 35mm. 2) Stabilize Your Camera – Shooting an inanimate object means that you are not going to face many of the problems that other types of photography has with motion and light. It is quite possible to take your time
and get as much light onto your sensor as is required to produce a great shot – it just might take a little longer and require a very stable camera. Get a decent tripod and don’t be afraid to use it. 3) Shoot Low ISO – As you’re going to have a stable camera, you’re not going to have any trouble getting enough light into your camera (ie. you’re free to go with longer shutter speeds as a building won’t move – hopefully). Minimize noise by shooting at a low ISO. 4) Close the Aperture – Again, you’re free to close the aperture when your camera is mounted on a tripod and you have time to leave the shutter open. Shooting at smaller aperture allows you to minimize any lens errors too. Shooting at wider aperture can be good for artistic effects, but usually an architectural photographer will want a greater depth of field which means f8 or above in most architectural situations. 5) Converging Lines – For the maximum amount of realism in architectural photography, it’s best to keep vertical lines vertical (usually by increasing the distance between you and the building you’re shooting). Sometimes this simply isn’t possible (such as when a fish eye lens is required to capture a whole building) and sometimes it’s simply not desirable (such as when you want to exert some artistic license). Do what you need to to achieve the desired look, but simply remember the general convention against converging
lines. info(via: Wylio)
photo
©
2009 Steve | more
6) Camera Position – If you position a camera with a wide angle lens close to a building, then the effect can be quite dramatic in emphasizing the size of objects in the foreground compared to objects in the background. The wide angle stretches the perspective. If that is the arrangement you want, then fine. If not, then get further away and use longer focal lengths to bring the objects closer together – an effect that appears less dramatic, but adds a more solid look to a piece of architecture. See the two photographs below to see the difference that only a few meters in camera position can make.
photo © 2008 Paul Hart | more info(via: Wylio)
photo © 2008 Paul Hart | more info(via: Wylio) 7) Stand Up For Your Rights – In this age of terrorism, every goon and his Doberman thinks he can tell you to stop photographing something or other – especially, it seems, buildings. As with so many of his other life choices, he is often wrong. Check the local laws, but in most cases, if you are in a western country and shooting from a public place then you probably have every right to do so. Check this great post from Photojojo about legal rights and photography for more information on that.
Technique:
Converging Verticals
When using a wide angle lens you will find that walls of a tall building lean inwards when you shoot from a low angle. This can be prevented by using a special lens known as a shift lens to correct the perspective problems but these lenses aren't cheap. A less costly way is to find a distant viewpoint and use a longer lens or if you're shooting from close range try and gain height by climbing a nearby
hill or shoot from the upstairs window of a building opposite. Specialist architectural photographers take step ladders with them to gain the height. Ideally you want a viewpoint that positions you about halfway up the building any higher and the bottom of the building will start to slope inwards. These correction problems can also be fixed in Photoshop. You may, however, want to exaggerate the sloping walls by shooting wide and going low.
Detail
When you think about photographing architecture your first thoughts will be to take wide shots of the whole building but you can use a longer lens to home in on small details such as gargoyles on a church or an interesting carving in its masonry. When you think about photographing architecture your first thoughts will be to take wide shots of the whole building but you can use a longer lens to home in on small details such as gargoyles on a church or an interesting carving in its masonry. Look for more obvious subjects such as clocks, spires, sundials and stone carvings then turn your attention to shooting repetitive patterns. These can be found in the brick work or when you zoom in to show a row of roof tiles or windows. Try shooting from an oblique angle and the perspective will change dramatically creating lines disappearing towards a vanishing point. Don't overlook the ugly looking buildings either as most of the time, once you're zoomed in and focused on one part, you'll find great architectural patterns. If you can climb up to the rooftop of the church or cathedral you're photographing do as doing so present many photographic opportunities. As well as gaining you a great viewpoint of the city you can often find interesting statues projecting out from the walls.
A 200mm telephoto shot of the houses of parliament building in London. Most pictures you see of these famous buildings show the whole structure. By cropping in tightly you can highlight the fantastic repetitive detail and make an interesting pattern.
The 80mm end of a 28-80mm zoom was used here to crop in on these apartments in the Canary Islands. The rule of thirds (was used, placing the wall and blue railing on the intersecting lines.
White Balance
If you venture inside brighter buildings that are lit by fluorescent or tungsten lighting you can get colour cast but your camera's automatic white balance control should fix this problem. If not, switch to manual and key in the appropriate setting, checking the LCD preview to see the effect.
Exposure
Buildings are one of the easier subjects to measure light from. In most cases the brick or stone is a similar tonal value to mid grey so the meter will record it accurately. Problems will generally only occur if the material used is very dark (coated glass) or very light (white painted structures). In these cases the camera will compensate making a dark building too light and a light building too dark. As a result you'll need to open up a stop or close down one stop to compensate or if your camera has exposure compensation set either -1 stop or +1 stop respectively. If you have an auto exposure lock point it at your hand (if it's in the same light as the building) and lock the exposure. One other area that can fool the camera is when the sun is behind the building and in the frame. The bright area will fool the camera into setting a shorter exposure and the building will become silhouetted. Point down so just the building is in the shot, take a reading and recompose using manual or the auto exposure lock.
Use what's around you
To shoot a well known building slightly differently look for ways you can add other elements that are around to your shot. This could be using the side of a modern building as a mirror to capture an older looking structure, finding a puddle, as in the shot to the bottom left, to give a typical architectural shot more impact or it could be by using an arch, hedge or tree branch to create a frame for your shot.
Above: Use an arch or tree to provide a natural frame around your picture. Left: In this shot at Fotheringhay a huge puddle was used to get a reflection of the impressive church. This adds interest to a shot that could have ended up being just another horizontal view of the church.
Consider black & white
You don't have to shoot in colour all the time. Black & white makes an often more dramatic alternative. This shot of a plain looking building has been improved by shooting on infrared. In Photoshop the sky was then darkened, increasing the glowing areas of the foliage and a sepia tone was added.
7 Tips for Better Architectural Photography When you live in a city, as most Light Stalking readers do, then at some point you’re probably going to find yourself taking a photograph of a building. Unfortunately, it is very easy to take very poor photos of architecture. Hopefully, these tips will help you capture something a little better than just a snap.
The static nature of architecture is great for photographers in that it means that we can really plan a shot and minimize potential problems. The level of control the photographer has is unmatched in most other subjects in photography.
photo info(via: Wylio)
©
2008 Wolfgang
Staudt | more
1) Focal Length – You will probably want the widest angle of view that you can get in many cases. That means shooting with wide angle lenses. Anything under 35mm (on a full frame sensor) will probably do fine depending on how close or far you are from your subject. If you’re lucky enough to be in a situation where you can get a great shot of a building from a long distance away, then longer focal length will be fine, but in most city situations you will need to shoot from quite a close distance due to other buildings, cars, people and clutter being in the way. In such cases, you’re probably going to want wide angle lenses anywhere from 12mm to 35mm. 2) Stabilize Your Camera – Shooting an inanimate object means that you are not going to face many of the problems that other types of photography has with motion and light. It is quite possible to take your time
and get as much light onto your sensor as is required to produce a great shot – it just might take a little longer and require a very stable camera. Get a decent tripod and don’t be afraid to use it. 3) Shoot Low ISO – As you’re going to have a stable camera, you’re not going to have any trouble getting enough light into your camera (ie. you’re free to go with longer shutter speeds as a building won’t move – hopefully). Minimize noise by shooting at a low ISO. 4) Close the Aperture – Again, you’re free to close the aperture when your camera is mounted on a tripod and you have time to leave the shutter open. Shooting at smaller aperture allows you to minimize any lens errors too. Shooting at wider aperture can be good for artistic effects, but usually an architectural photographer will want a greater depth of field which means f8 or above in most architectural situations. 5) Converging Lines – For the maximum amount of realism in architectural photography, it’s best to keep vertical lines vertical (usually by increasing the distance between you and the building you’re shooting). Sometimes this simply isn’t possible (such as when a fish eye lens is required to capture a whole building) and sometimes it’s simply not desirable (such as when you want to exert some artistic license). Do what you need to to achieve the desired look, but simply remember the general convention against converging
lines. info(via: Wylio)
photo
©
2009 Steve | more
6) Camera Position – If you position a camera with a wide angle lens close to a building, then the effect can be quite dramatic in emphasizing the size of objects in the foreground compared to objects in the background. The wide angle stretches the perspective. If that is the arrangement you want, then fine. If not, then get further away and use longer focal lengths to bring the objects closer together – an effect that appears less dramatic, but adds a more solid look to a piece of architecture. See the two photographs below to see the difference that only a few meters in camera position can make.
photo © 2008 Paul Hart | more info(via: Wylio)
photo © 2008 Paul Hart | more info(via: Wylio) 7) Stand Up For Your Rights – In this age of terrorism, every goon and his Doberman thinks he can tell you to stop photographing something or other – especially, it seems, buildings. As with so many of his other life choices, he is often wrong. Check the local laws, but in most cases, if you are in a western country and shooting from a public place then you probably have every right to do so. Check this great post from Photojojo about legal rights and photography for more information on that.
Technique:
Converging Verticals
When using a wide angle lens you will find that walls of a tall building lean inwards when you shoot from a low angle. This can be prevented by using a special lens known as a shift lens to correct the perspective problems but these lenses aren't cheap. A less costly way is to find a distant viewpoint and use a longer lens or if you're shooting from close range try and gain height by climbing a nearby
hill or shoot from the upstairs window of a building opposite. Specialist architectural photographers take step ladders with them to gain the height. Ideally you want a viewpoint that positions you about halfway up the building any higher and the bottom of the building will start to slope inwards. These correction problems can also be fixed in Photoshop. You may, however, want to exaggerate the sloping walls by shooting wide and going low.
Detail
When you think about photographing architecture your first thoughts will be to take wide shots of the whole building but you can use a longer lens to home in on small details such as gargoyles on a church or an interesting carving in its masonry. When you think about photographing architecture your first thoughts will be to take wide shots of the whole building but you can use a longer lens to home in on small details such as gargoyles on a church or an interesting carving in its masonry. Look for more obvious subjects such as clocks, spires, sundials and stone carvings then turn your attention to shooting repetitive patterns. These can be found in the brick work or when you zoom in to show a row of roof tiles or windows. Try shooting from an oblique angle and the perspective will change dramatically creating lines disappearing towards a vanishing point. Don't overlook the ugly looking buildings either as most of the time, once you're zoomed in and focused on one part, you'll find great architectural patterns. If you can climb up to the rooftop of the church or cathedral you're photographing do as doing so present many photographic opportunities. As well as gaining you a great viewpoint of the city you can often find interesting statues projecting out from the walls.
A 200mm telephoto shot of the houses of parliament building in London. Most pictures you see of these famous buildings show the whole structure. By cropping in tightly you can highlight the fantastic repetitive detail and make an interesting pattern.
The 80mm end of a 28-80mm zoom was used here to crop in on these apartments in the Canary Islands. The rule of thirds (was used, placing the wall and blue railing on the intersecting lines.
White Balance
If you venture inside brighter buildings that are lit by fluorescent or tungsten lighting you can get colour cast but your camera's automatic white balance control should fix this problem. If not, switch to manual and key in the appropriate setting, checking the LCD preview to see the effect.
Exposure
Buildings are one of the easier subjects to measure light from. In most cases the brick or stone is a similar tonal value to mid grey so the meter will record it accurately. Problems will generally only occur if the material used is very dark (coated glass) or very light (white painted structures). In these cases the camera will compensate making a dark building too light and a light building too dark. As a result you'll need to open up a stop or close down one stop to compensate or if your camera has exposure compensation set either -1 stop or +1 stop respectively. If you have an auto exposure lock point it at your hand (if it's in the same light as the building) and lock the exposure. One other area that can fool the camera is when the sun is behind the building and in the frame. The bright area will fool the camera into setting a shorter exposure and the building will become silhouetted. Point down so just the building is in the shot, take a reading and recompose using manual or the auto exposure lock.
Use what's around you
To shoot a well known building slightly differently look for ways you can add other elements that are around to your shot. This could be using the side of a modern building as a mirror to capture an older looking structure, finding a puddle, as in the shot to the bottom left, to give a typical architectural shot more impact or it could be by using an arch, hedge or tree branch to create a frame for your shot.
Above: Use an arch or tree to provide a natural frame around your picture. Left: In this shot at Fotheringhay a huge puddle was used to get a reflection of the impressive church. This adds interest to a shot that could have ended up being just another horizontal view of the church.
Consider black & white
You don't have to shoot in colour all the time. Black & white makes an often more dramatic alternative. This shot of a plain looking building has been improved by shooting on infrared. In Photoshop the sky was then darkened, increasing the glowing areas of the foliage and a sepia tone was added.
