Architectural Photography

1. Architectural Photography

2. What is Architectural Photography? • Architectural photography emphasizes the elements of composition, such as; line, pattern, shape, form, texture • Encompasses views of the exteriors and interiors of domestic, commercial, religious, institutional, and engineering structures, as well as records of the evolution of towns and cities. • Its aim may be to create either visual documents or expressive images for artistic, publicity, or propagandapurposes. Depending on format, carefully calculated camera movements and/or the use of special lenses (Wide Angle, Fish Eye, or tilt shift) are required, especially to control perspective.

3. 7 tips for Architectural Photography • 1. Focal Length – You will probably want the widest angle of view that you can get in many cases.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

4. Tips…. • 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.

5. Tips cont… • 4. Use a bigger Aperture Number- 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).

6. Tips cont. • 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. Also, don’t be afraid to use a worm’s or bird’s eye view to accurately photograph the perspective. • 7. 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

7. Photographers rights and laws on Photography • http://content.photojojo.com/tips/legal-rights-of-photographers/

8. Architecture vs. abstract • How are they the same? • They both emphasize the elements; line, patterns, textures, shapes/forms, colors • They both require the use of higher aperture numbers for a large depth of field. • How are they different? • In an abstract, your subject should be unrecognizable/unclear. With architecture, you want to get a bigger picture of the structure or the whole structure itself. Let the building tell the story in the photo.

9. Examples

20. Resources • http://www.wallaceresearch.net/photographers.html • http://andrewprokos.com/photos/architecture/ • http://www.rauljgarcia.com/ • http://www.davidcardelus.com/gallery-2/ • http://redsquarephoto.com/

21. Today: Practice • Take and upload to your folder 2 interior (inside) and 2 exterior (outside) architectural examples. • Also, take 2 NEW abstracts. • Remember, the focus is on the elements of design; line, pattern, texture, color, shape/form • Put all of your examples on a contact sheet and turn-in with your name on it.