When it comes to Architecture Photography there are a couple of challenges every photographer will experience. They mainly have to do with lighting and image distortion. When shooting the exterior of a building all you have to capture your subject with is natural light. Capturing it’s lines and at it’s most glamorous moment can become the real challenge. This is because every building has lines running horizontal and vertical and they can easily appear distorted. Image distortion can be over come by using right angles to line up on and taking advantage of repeated patterns when ever they appear. Much like any other time, I’m shooting any kind of a subject, I prefer to shoot either early in the day or late in the afternoon. Try to be sensitive to the direction of light as this can increase contrast, shadows, textures and reflections. One trick I find useful is bracketing shots at different exposure values. This enables the photographer to capture highlights, midtones as well as the shadows and later merge them together in Adobe Photoshop.
When it comes to architectural photography using the right equipment is important. A good wide angle lens such as a 14mm is perfect especially when shooting the interior of a structure and I always recommend using a steady trip-pod. A tilt-shift lens is good for the photographer whose looking to control the center line. While shooting always make sure you line up with the natural lines that are provided such as the natural break where a wall intersects with another, a door frame or even a picture frame thats hung on the wall while trying not to cut things off. What this lens does is allow you to change that line without changing the way your angle or photograph will portray your building. This means that your perspective will remain the same. Tilt lenses also give you the ability to control what is and what is not in focus during your photo shoot while allowing you to focus on the subject. A fixed focal length lens is a great tool because it forces the photographer to concentrate on composition rather than width.
If you want to play with the element of distortion as a freedom of expression 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. To retain detail throughout the scene plump for a small aperture (large f stop) such as f14, alternatively try throwing out the sharpness of either the foreground or background by choosing a large aperture (small f stop).
Architecture is built on the principle of symmetry, so capturing this symmetry will ultimately reinforce the subject matter and hopefully strengthen the composition. Discover the centre of the symmetry by placing your hand between your eye-line and construct your frame around this centre. Alternatively break free of the cold and sterile straight lines and rectilinear angles and follow the principles of nature by including curves and circles in the form of shadows or reflections can help to soften the structure.
Unlike other forms of photography, exciting architectural images can be produced in all types of weather. A particular building 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 – maybe select the best three and you’ll have yourself an interest triptych.
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.
About Jeff McClintock
Jeff McClintock is an award winning Real Estate Architectural, Travel and Landscape photographer. His images first started appearing in magazines and publications back in 1988. Over the years his images have appeared in Sierra Club, National Géographique, Best of Photography, Country Magazine, as well as Travel and Visitor Bureau’s in Québec, Canada.
Today Jeff still accepts both local and international assignments in the United States, Canada and Western Europe as traveling still remains a passion and a big part of his photography. Based in Denver, Colorado, Jeff focuses his day to day energy providing high quality real estate images and virtual tours of homes for sale, on properties located in Denver, Co, Breckenridge, and Vail mountain valley communities. His services for residential photography extend to Aspen and Telluride Colorado as well. Jeff routinely provides high quality still image photos to realtors, custom builders, architects, hotels, resorts, interior designers and home staging experts to assist them in the personal marketing of their business and services. He also shoots commercial images for business looking to expand thier operations or just need updates in support of their marketing materials on a company website.”