Architectural Photography Urban Landscapes

Who uses architectural photos? Designers needing to capture inspiration

Firms needing to represent their work to future clients

Stylists who use these trends to style other things/themes

Home owners looking to sell their homes

Magazines looking to advertise their homes/home décor

items

Architecture lovers looking for unique artwork

Travelers wanting to capture their surroundings

What distinguishes architectural

photography? Classic = true Classic architectural photography focuses on accuracy –

horizontal and vertical planes are perfectly level in order to

underscore the quality of design and construction

Technical accuracy and quality is essential because these

images are often enlarged to enormous sizes

Classic arch. photography avoids wide angle views since

these distort the edges of the image and have light fall off

(like a vignette)

To achieve this, they only use top quality prime lenses (fixed

focal length lenses)

Straight lines are paramount (the most important)

In classic arch. photography, converging lines and tilted

buildings are the worst

Modern equipment used to compensate for some of these

issues are tilt and shift lenses (see youtube link)

What distinguishes architectural

photography? Contemporary= play Contemporary architectural photography allows for

perspectives that classic does not. Angled views, for

example, are allowed in contemporary arch. photography

Converging lines, too, are captured for effect

Telephoto lenses are still discouraged, but if they have to be

used, set them to the middle of their range (i.e.: around

35mm on our standard lens). This helps to minimize

distortion

Fisheye and action are also allowed; fisheye fully distorts the

lines while human action or traffic shows life beyond the

architecture

Main elements of this style Emphasis on shapes, textures, and form

Light and shadows are used to highlight these elements

It is essential to maintain accurate exposure in a variety of

light conditions, so auto WB won’t do it

Bracketing for more accurate HDR exposure is

recommended

Shooting RAW (test first) allows you to capture the most

information during the shoot

You need to decide on distortion or purity of representation in

each shot

Lens choices and consequences Classics use fixed focal length lenses (aka prime lenses) with

maximum aperture. These create an even image from centre

to corner with no light fall-off, so the entire image is evenly

light and distortion free.

Contemporary use prime as well, and sometimes wide

angles and fisheye

Zooms are discouraged in both styles because they distort

and limit the view

Shadows and textures The direction of light matters because this can increase

contrast, shadows, textures and reflections.

High levels of contrast can fool cameras into exposing the

scene incorrectly, but shooters can easily overcome this by

applying exposure compensation.

Reflections and glass Reflections add an extra dimension to architectural images

and allow the photographer to create a canvas on which the

building can be playfully distorted.

Urban environments are littered with a multitude of reflective

surfaces, so you’ll never have to look too far to practice, for

example: windows, water features, puddles and wet streets,

sunglasses, rivers and modern art

Buildings don’t move, but people

do

• To add some unique flair to your images, consider human traffic in the

context of the architecture

• To capture human traffic, you need a longer exposure and tripod or

steady hand

• This can lead to really neat photos, especially because the primary

subject doesn’t move

Inside and out Architectural photography isn’t restricted to the facia of a

building

Lots of classic work involves capturing the interior spaces

Oh, white balance White balance is essential in architectural photography.

Sunrise and sunset cast low colour temperatures meaning

mostly red-yellow hues.

Inside modern buildings, fluorescent lights are common, so

you may want to reduce the greenish effect by using a

warmer WB

Fully corrected WB with no colour variation can be desirable,

but in that circumstance perhaps full black and white would

be better

Often in arch. Photography, the colour casts add a mood and

style to the image, so use your discretion

Time of day Large structures cast shadows on sunny days (think of

airports with large windows)

Bright sunny days are effective for architectural photography

because of the sharp shadows and deep contrasts that are

cast are ideal for showing form, bringing out texture, and

giving strong colour.

When night falls When the sun goes down a new form of architectural

photographer can surface.

To shoot a structure as a silhouette during sunset, position

the architecture between yourself and the sun. Make sure the

flash is deactivated and expose for the sky.

If the foreground is too light set the exposure compensation

to a negative value to darken it. This effect can produce

particularly enigmatic results.

Night shots can be very dramatic and atmospheric too, but

remember to take them when there is still some light and

colour left in the sky as this adds tone to the backdrop and

help to illuminate details.

Use a wide aperture and long exposure, and if your camera

is supported you’ll be able to employ a low ISO to ensure

details aren’t depreciated by noise.

When night falls Dawn and dusk offer amazing light, and cast buildings in

such a way that they are hard to dislike

You need to consider where you want to be at dawn/dusk –

do you want the light on the buildings perhaps casting a

unique illumination, or behind the building adding to the

surrounding effect?

Urban nightscapes Cities look different at night

Night light can allow for light painting through longer

exposures and moving light/moving camera

Because of the long exposure required for these shots,

tripods or other support for the camera is essential

Weather or not Unlike other forms of photography, exciting architectural

images can be produced in all weathers. A church on a clear

day may strike the viewer as pleasant but maybe a bit bland,

revisit it when there’s a storm brewing overhead or a mist

rising from the damp earth and the results can be altogether

more intriguing.

By revisiting and shooting the same building in these various

weather conditions, photographer’s can produce a neat

portfolio of shots

Devil’s in the details Buildings of architectural merit usually include focal points so

try cropping in close on these for frame-filling abstracts.

You may want to shoot repeated artefacts that are littered

across the exterior, for example; intricate brickwork or

chequer board windows. Use a telephoto lens to zoom in

close and don’t forget a tripod to support those longer focal

lengths.

Perspective & distortion The average building is far taller than the tallest

photographer so there will inevitably be some element of

distortion in an architectural photo, but this can be employed

to create a source of tension within the frame.

Simply position yourself as near to the base of the building as

possible and shoot straight up.

If playing with perspective isn’t for you then stand further

back and add a sense of scale to your image by

incorporating everyday objects such as people, trees,

transport and benches, etc.

The Plan for this shoot Meet here during p5 and travel downtown in cars (I can take

six of you with me)

You will have to pay for parking in The Exchange District

Dress for the weather & for being outside for 2.5 hours (mitts,

hats, layers of cloths, winter jackets, warm boots/shoes)

At 3:30 (to be confirmed), we up with a local award winning

architect to get some background on how architects use

photography

Then, we wander in The Exchange District and around

looking for stuff you want to shoot

This will count as two classes

Shoot on Wednesday, process/production Thurs, class in lieu

Friday.