How does architectural photography get rid of the feeling of being old-fashioned?

Every photographer wants to know how to photograph buildings. Like any photography technology, architectural photography has its own characteristics. Today, we will introduce the technologies that are suitable for architectural masterpieces and modern architecture.

Lens selection

Using telephoto lens, we can distinguish specific fragments of buildings and express their uniqueness. If the building is very high, it is best to choose the highest point (top view) when shooting with telephoto lens, that is, shooting from the window of the opposite building or the higher point of the street.

The wide-angle lens in architectural photography is used to convey the volume of buildings and their surrounding objects (such as lawns, trees, etc.). If the task is to put the whole building in a frame, and a wide-angle lens can't solve this problem.

technical characteristics

If you shoot on a sunny day or at dawn/sunset, you can't avoid a strong contrast between light and shadow. In this case, you need to use exposure surround and HDR-style photo post-processing.

There is another way: to avoid the trouble caused by shadows and light, please choose the shooting time in the morning or evening when the sun softens the light.

When shooting with a wide-angle lens, perspective correction may be needed. In urban environment, many convergence lines will be further distorted by photographic equipment. To correct such errors, please use the Photoshop menu filter-> Lens Correction filter in Distortion.

Skill 1: geometry

Geometric figures, diagonals and grids often appear in urban environment, which is very helpful for photographers to create architectural composition. To convey the geometric shape of lines, it is best to use a telephoto lens to select various elements of the building exterior wall and include them in the picture. In addition, most buildings have symmetry element, and these elements can also be used for composition.

Tip 2: Think.

In modern cities, there are many glass structures. In this case, the window will become a reflecting surface, in which you can see the city. In addition to reflecting the building itself, other reflective elements (such as puddles, water droplets, sunglasses and transport windows) can be found to reflect the building itself to reflect the required building.

Tip 3: Contrast

The contrast of color, texture and lighting is often used in architectural photography. This can be a new building in an old background, a bright wall in a neutral surface background, or a luminous building in a shadow house background.

Tip 4: Scale

You can use ordinary objects in the urban environment (such as traffic lights, cars, people, trees, etc.). ) to convey the scale of the building and put it in the frame, opposite to the background of the building. On the other hand, on the contrary, you can avoid using these elements in the picture to change the viewer's sense of space.

Tip 5: Contour

The outlines of masterpieces of houses and buildings look as attractive as those of people. To create such a lens, you need to put the sunlight behind the building. Exposure must be selected in the sky and the flash must be disabled.

Tip 6: Night view

Because of the night lighting of modern buildings, photographers have excellent creative opportunities. The best shooting time is after sunset, when the sky is not too dark, but also reflected on the walls and windows of buildings, and the lights of cities and houses themselves have been lit up.

For architectural photography at night, tripods or other supports are needed. If you want to blur the lights of people and cars, please set the shutter speed to a few seconds. In addition to people and cars, slow shutters can also blur clouds. In this case, the aperture must be closed so that the frame does not appear too bright. To release the shutter, it is best to use the built-in delay releaser or remote controller of the camera to avoid the fluctuation when pressing the button.

conclusion

Of course, the most important thing in any shooting is creativity. All the above skills are only the basis of photography, but the final effect depends only on the photographer's own ideas.