Tips and Tools: Architectural Photography

Architecture is a popular subject in photography. Often focusing on intriguing forms and structures, it’s a highly accessible choice of subject, given it’s existence all around us. Although a broad area, depicted objects may include anything from buildings and towers to bridges and windmills or even more unexpected subject matter simply like lamp posts! With practice and a solid understanding of principles & techniques, you can rapidly develop an eye for framing, composition and lighting. Master these skills, add some lateral thinking and incorporate personal style and you will create truly breathtaking photos.

LIGHTING

As with more areas of photography, lighting is a crucial part of architectural photography. In the case of architecture the photographer will likely have no control over the orientation and position of the subject and little ability to affect the physical lighting of the structure – leaving focus on the use of natural lighting paramount.

Generally speaking, back lighting should be avoided in architectural photography as it tends to render surfaces dark and unvarying in appearance. If the architectural subject is back lit we can compensate by cropping the sky out of the frame and utilising a longer exposure to increase the level of detail captured. Alternatively the object can be photographed as a silhouette.

Best results are commonly produced from side-front lighting as this provides ample illumination and casts long and aesthetically interesting shadows. These shadows will assist in heightening the detail on the front facade of the subject and increasing its three dimensional qualities.

Shooting at night can be a pleasure on account of the purposeful design of many structures to almost come alive in darkness. Carefully planned lighting introduce colour and vibrancy, producing shadows across the face of the subject. Be sure to use a tripod and set your camera to its lowest ISO setting to keep noise in the image at a minimum.

OLD V MODERN ARCHITECTURE

Old and ancient architectural subjects typically lend themselves to more simple compositions. This will allow the natural beauty, form and detail to stand out. In addition, it is often beneficial to avoid cropping too tightly as the gardens, formations or other surrounding scenery provide a rich context to the architecture. In contrast, when photographing modern architecture you can use a far greater degree of creativity and capture the structure in a more abstract style. Experimenting with wide angle lenses can produce stunning outcomes though the creation of extreme perspective. Photographing such buildings from unusual angles and toying with geometric patters also create intriguing images. You are also free to crop in more tightly without causing an unnatural feel about the image as it is common for modern buildings to be positions in very close proximity to one another. With regard to inclusion of a subjects surroundings, it ultimately depends on what you as the photographer wish to convey. If it compliments the shot take a wide photo, if it distracts, cut it out.

REDUCE DISTROTION

Photographing an architectural structure from too close a distance can cause distortion. This can be utilised for abstract or artistic means, however, it can also become distracting. If you're intention is to produce images with straight and clean lines, walls and so on, consider using a telephoto lens and photographing your architecture from further away. Telephoto lenses can also be used to create effects such as flattening perspective, creating lines that appear parallel and giving your image a surreal quality. This is achieved by shooting from a great distance and using a long focus length lens. A special group of lenses known as tilt/shift are also available. These give two different types of movements: rotation of the lens plane relative to the image plane, called tilt, and movement of the lens parallel to the image plane, called shift. Shift is helpful in avoiding the convergence of parallel lines, a common occurrence when photographing tall buildings.

A final note – make the most of any inherent detail in a structure, which may vary from grand features and sculptures to the most intricate of patterns. Be on the lookout for these details and feature them in your photographs as this will best convey the character of the architecture.

See below for some useful tools in architectural photography

Manfrotto 055XRPOB 804RC2 Tripod

Only $399

The 055XPROB makes the famous Manfrotto-patented horizontal centre column feature even easier to use. By extending the column to its highest vertical position, it can be swung round to horizontal without removing the head or disassembling the column itself, so switching between framing and positioning set ups is more convenient than ever. The ergonomics of the leg angle release mechanism and the quick action leg locks themselves have also been greatly improved.

Designed for small and medium format cameras it is also equipped in this kit with the new and highly versatile 804RC2 Basic Pan Tilt Head with Quick Release Plate. This 3-way photo head is constructed of ultra-durable and lightweight technical polymer, enabling it to easily deal with the daily rigours of the professional photographer. A unique spring feature has been added to the 804RC2 to assist in the tilt motion of the head to compensate for heavier, off-centre loads. Ergonomic and newly designed handles fit comfortably in the hands, while the standard quick release plate fits snugly in the low-profile receiver.

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Adobe Lightroom 4

Only $239

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom is the leading photo management and editing software solution. To help you bring out the best in your photographs, whether you're perfecting one image, searching for ten, processing hundreds, or organizing thousands.

Create incredible images that move your audience. Experiment fearlessly with state-of-the-art non-destructive editing tools. Easily manage all your images. And showcase your work in elegant print layouts, slide shows, and web galleries, as well as on popular photo-sharing sites. All from within one fast, intuitive application.

Adobe Systems Incorporated have announced the availability of Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom® 4 software for Mac OS and Windows. Lightroom is the essential digital photography workflow solution helping amateur and professional photographers quickly import, manage, enhance and showcase their images. Lightroom 4 introduces refined technology for superior shadow and highlight processing, ability to create photo books, additional local adjustment controls, and enhanced video support.

Click here for further information

Canon Tilt Shift Lenses: TS-E 45mm F2.8 (72m filter)

Only $1799

A normal lens featuring tilt and shift movements. The floating system and rear focusing give sharp and stable delineation from 1.3 ft. (0.4m) to infinity. The 45mm focal length is ideal for obtaining a natural-looking perspective.

Canon's Tilt-Shift lenses feature three adjustments not found on a typical lens; Tilt, Shift and Rotate. These adjustments can be used individually or simultaneously to alter the relationship of the optical axis of the lens to the sensor or film plane for stunning results. Architectural and landscape photography are common uses for this lens. They can also be utilised for environmental and group portraits.

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Only $1999

Canon Tilt Shift Lenses: TS-E 24mm F3.5L II (82mm filter)

Only $2699

For discerning architectural photographers, there is great need for wide angle lenses. Tilt and shift movements, features normally found on large format cameras, can be bestowed upon a smaller format of camera with a lens such as this wide Canon 24mm f/3.5L II TS-E Lens.

Being a Canon "L" lens, by definition it is a premium Canon optic. The 24mm TS-E has several distinct elements that make it stand apart from more common glass. Designers integrated a set of physical controls that allow users to rotate the direction of the tilt and shift independently of one another. There is ±8.5° of tilt and ±12mm of shift that gives photographers ample ability to correct for perspective when taking images of interior or exterior spaces, and landscapes. Additional features include a wide image circle of 67.2mm, 50% greater than 35mm/full frame film area, and high precision glass (16 elements/11 groups) for low distortion and high resolution to the edge of the image.

Canon Tilt Shift Lenses: TS-E 17mm f/4L

Only $2999

The widest tilt-shift lens in Canon's line up, the new TS-E 17mm f/4L lens expands shooting possibilities exponentially on EOS Digital cameras. Designed with UD glass to minimize and compensate for chromatic aberrations, with a specially coated aspherical element for the highest possible glare-free image quality, this tilt-shift lens offers a diagonal angle of view of 104° on a full-frame SLR camera.

New TS rotation lets users freely combine tilting and shifting within the range of +/- 90° in the direction of movement. The lens also has an improved tilt & shift knob with an enhanced range of movement of up to +/- 6.5° and 12mm respectively, with a revolving function for better operability.

It uses a circular aperture for beautiful out-of-focus areas and has an SWC lens coating to control ghosting and flare to a far greater degree than with earlier coating technologies.

Canon's Tilt-Shift lenses feature three adjustments not found on a typical lens; Tilt, Shift and Rotate. These adjustments can be used individually or simultaneously to alter the relationship of the optical axis of the lens to the sensor or film plane for stunning results. Architectural and landscape photography are common uses for this lens. They can also be utilised for environmental and group portraits.

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Hoya Standard Circular Polarising Filters

From only $47.99

Light rays which are reflected by any surface can become polarised so polarising filters are used to select which light rays enter your camera lens. Especially useful in architectural photography, circular polarising filters allow you to remove unwanted reflections from non-metallic surfaces such as water and glass.

Available from 27mm - 82mm

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Hoya Pro1 D Circular Polarising Filters

From only $175

The Hoya Pro 1 Digital Circular Polarizer takes advantage of Hoya's patented optical glass technology to create a hardened glass that is thinner than the normal optical glass. This allows the overall thickness of the filter to be reduced to avoid vignetting when used with ultra-wide angle lenses.

Digital Cameras Need Multi-coated Filters: Digital camera CCD or CMOS sensors are highly susceptible to reflections - this stray light can ruin your photographs! Don't risk your valuable photos by using bare-glass filters

Digital Multi-Coated: Digital multi-coated filters greatly reduce the appearance of lens flare and ghosting caused by reflections

Black Almite Fram: Filters feature a black matte aluminium satin finish Almite frame which reduces reflections

Black Rimmed Glass: These filters are equipped with black rimmed glass to reduce the chance of light reflecting off the edge

Low Profile Fram: Ultra thin filter frames to help avoid vignetting on super wide angle lenses are also designed to hold a lens cap

Knurling Edge Fram: These filters are equipped with a straight knurling edge for non-slip, easy attachment and removal

UV Protected Cas: Filter cases are UV protected to further lengthen the life of filter. Effect can be seen through the viewfinder and changed by rotating the filte. Polarizing filters do not affect the overall colour balance of a shot. The filter factor varies according to how the filter is rotated and its orientation to the sun

Hoya HD Circular Polarising Filters

From only $175

The Hoya Circular Polarizing HD (High Density) Digital Glass Filter represents the next generation of dynamic Hoya filters. This filter, with its hardened glass, has 4x the tensile strength of traditional filters of similar fabrication. This filter is also of great use in today's digital market where sensors are more sensitive to reflected light. Hoya incorporates special coatings that reduce these internal reflections and, thereby, promote a clearer, brighter and sharper image.

Additional features include a 25% higher light transmission than standard polarizing film used in current photographic filters, promotion of the acquisition of more light for your image and increases sharpness and eliminated ultraviolet rays to remove haze from outdoor shots as well as polarizing the light to remove reflections, and increase colour saturation, without affecting the overall colour balance.

Available from 52mm - 82mm

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