Tips for Photographing Architectures

ref http://freshome.com/2015/01/06/10-architectural-photography-tips-to-get-the-ultimate-shot/

ref https://digital-photography-school.com/photographing-architecture/

ref https://www.adorama.com/alc/0014124/article/12-Steps-to-Success-as-an-Architecture-Photographer

Tips 1

• Location and weather

Be sure that your are prepared for the particular location. And then Take a look at the weather report for the location you are heading to. Depending on the type of shot you want -sunny, cloudy, rainy, stormy, clear - the weather could ruin your day.

• When it comes to architectural photography, a wide angle, fish eye or ultra-wide angle lens is the best option.

• Don’t Rush Perfection

One of the biggest tips for shooting amazing architectural subjects is to take your time.

You want to give yourself enough time to walk around and look at all sides of the building to discover which area will give you the best and most unique shot of the architecture structure.

• Shoot in Different Weather Conditions

It doesn’t necessarily mean you can only shoot when the sun is shining.

In fact, you may be surprised to find that the best photos are taken when a storm is brewing overhead, and the sky is overcast. The swirling clouds, rain misting down, and possibility of a rainbow can really intensify the atmosphere and increase the quality of the photo.

• Pay Attention to The Light

Shadows, reflections, and increase textural elements, as well as contrast.

• Photograph from a Different Perspective- A Bugs-Eye View

Get as close to the building as possible, shooting straight up, for a different perspective. Pretend you are a bug or ant crawling on the ground –No one really looks up at a building from this angle, but it just might make the most amazing photograph you’ve ever seen.

• Post Processing

Post processing normally consists of color correction, sharpness, and increasing the contrast. However, to get the ultimate shot, you will want to do a little extra post processing.

• Look For a Unique Location.

That thought is location, location, location.

• Watch Your White Balance.

When shooting at night or indoors, be aware that the color temperature of the artificial light can change the perceived color of the architecture.

• Look For Converging Lines.

If you have to tilt the camera up to get all of a building, you are going to come across the classic architecture photography bugaboo: Keystoning. Parallel lines start to converge, and the building that you are photographing appears to be falling backwards.

• Look For Reflections

• Lens choices

A telephoto lens allows you to creep into those intricate details that litter the building’s facia and highlight to the viewer why the building is so special.

A wide-angle lens can allows you to capture the building in its entirety and perhaps even place it context with its surrounding elements, adding a sense of location or season into the frame.

A fish-eye lens can be used to visually express the magnitude of the stature if the wide-angle lens doesn’t quite cover it or adds a bit of extra creative spice to the shot.

• Patterns

Geometric patterns, leadings lines, diagonals and grids are all rife within urban environments, and can make for attractive compositional aids to add interest and tension within the capture.

• Contrast

Juxtaposition of color, texture, content and light can inject tension instantly into an architectural frame. Look for an old building next to an ultra modren one, or a particularly colorful wall against a plain surface, or just look to where the light falls to capture areas of light and shade.

• Light and shade

Buildings are riddled with areas of high contrast, which can fool the camera’s metering system. This is particularly a problem if you want to capture the details within the shaded and hightlighted areas of the buildings at the same time.

• Scale

• Perspective Correction

• Architectural Interiors

• Silhouettes

Just as with human sujects, to get a visually stimulating silhouette shot of a building, move into a positon that means the sun is behind the structure and effectively blocks out the main orb of light. Here remember to deactivate the flash and expose for the sky.