Learning about the Structure:
Prior to embarking on an architectural photoshoot, familiarize yourself with the building and its unique characteristics. Dig into its history, uncover the architectural highlights, and understand its strengths from the designer’s perspective. Such knowledge enables you to showcase the edifice’s persona more authentically.
This is the time to not only focus on artistic views but think about the usage of space, location, and environment. while it is important to understand the history, we are not necessarily talking about 100 years of research but talking with the architect, the builder, or the client to get their take on what makes this property unique.
Comprehending Photography Laws:
Navigating the legal landscape of building photography is paramount. This protects you from potential legal confrontations and ensures you’re respecting the rules of the land. When in doubt, it’s best to secure permission.
It really depends on what type of work you do, are you photographing for fun? do you plan to use those images in the future in a commercial way (books, courses, competitions) or do you want to establish your portfolio?
If you are working your way to becoming a commercial photographer meaning you are looking for paying clients like architects, designers, builders, and companies you should have in mind they are more interested in your commercial experience rather than just your photography skills, meaning they would expect to see commercial projects in your portfolio and not architectural landmarks.
Copyright Implications:
Be aware of how copyright laws affect architectural photography. This is crucial, especially for commercial purposes, to avoid infringement. If photographing a private, recognizable post-1990 structure, you may need a signed release form from the building owners. while we talked about it in the previous section of the law, it’s important to get familiar with copyright both for your users and your clients. depending on where you live, it’s common in the US to register your photo’s copyright for large-scale projects to protect future use of your images, but it’s important to know that you must think about getting the right to capture those images from the beginning.
For example, for residential properties, we always have a clause in our contract that talks about our client permitting us and more importantly having the permission to capture this space from the owners, that we reserve the copyright for those images.
Experimenting with Moods:
Natural lighting and conditions govern the color scheme of any outdoor photograph. To fully depict the structure’s personality, capture it at varying times of day and under different weather conditions.
I think the best practice is to experiment until you developed your own technique, it’s important for clients to recognize your style, but roles are meant to be broken so don’t bind yourself to one technique but experiment and try to have consistency in your work as a client would expect those result best on the previous work you have been hired for.
Utilizing a Tilt-Shift Lens:
A tilt-shift lens, paired with a wide-angle lens, is a vital tool in your photography arsenal. This lens helps avoid the convergence of vertical lines when shooting tall structures and can create unique effects.
Personally, our studio works with the Canon TS 17mm and 24mm which are to-go lenses for any project that involves capturing spaces. it is more coming into a must when capturing large spaces like buildings to maintain perspective.
Employing a Polarizing Filter:
This accessory is essential for controlling reflected light, particularly off windows and metallic surfaces, and reducing glare in bright conditions. Have in mind that some wide lenses like the TS 17mm can’t have a filter attached to them directly due to the glass dome structure, depending on the situation a polarizing filter can be very helpful in shoots like retail store exteriors with windows and shiny objects.
Infusing Human Elements:
Don’t forget to include people in your shots. Buildings serve human needs and by capturing this interaction, you add warmth, dynamism, and context to your images.
But i think many people miss the purpose of combining the human factor into their images, they should show how the space can be used rather than taking the focus from the space, let’s not confuse commercial to architectural imagery as the purpose in the commercial is to market to an audience the lifestyle, as oppose selling the space itself.
Stability with a Tripod:
A tripod is indispensable. It provides stability, aids in symmetry, and allows for lower shutter speeds, capturing more light and detail. while this tip seems pretty obvious a good tripod can save your day when high winds are picking up, or when you have to lower your shutter speed for evening shoots. while carbon fiber is much easier to cray we still prefer the alloy tripods which are more sturdier.
The Precision with a Spirit Level:
Perfectly horizontal lines are essential in architectural photography, and a spirit level can help achieve this precision. again this might seem like a no-brainer, but when we are talking about mastering this field you need to think also about productivity, any 10 seconds more on every image you spend on fixing the horizon in the picture can be multiplied by thousands of visuals across a year. especially for the exterior when many projects are built today on a slope landscape.
Using Shadows for Depth:
Shadows are a great tool to convey depth and shape, providing a sense of three-dimensionality to the image. it creates stronger pictures if done correctly,
