What should you pay attention to when photographing buildings, and how to take good architectural photos?

Architectural photography is considered a simple photography subject. The buildings are motionless and the cityscape barely changes, with only changes in time of day and season affecting the image. In tourist attractions in various cities, every beautiful building has been photographed thousands of times. Whether from various angles or under changes in illumination, it is increasingly difficult to take high-quality pictures, which requires professional experience and Bold creativity.

How to take photos of buildings? You need to look more deeply, natural light, interesting combinations, colorful personality, reflection of light. In this case, you need to consider some skills to avoid An error occurred while shooting a cityscape.

1. Basic Rules and Techniques

Over the years, architectural photography has developed some rules and traditions. For example, it is customary to photograph large modern buildings made of concrete and glass on a clear sunny day, and add people and cars to the frame to show the rhythm and activities of daily life. Complementing old historical buildings with sunsets and silence, architectural monuments are logical - a minimum of people and a maximum of details can show the value and durability of the building. Temples and monasteries are often photographed under the dawn sun, showing the joy of morning and sunshine.

To correctly take beautiful photos of buildings, you need to understand some basic points. What you need to pay special attention to when preparing are:

1. The correct angle is the key to the success of the entire shooting;< /p>

2. Choose the best time of day and weather;

3. Compose, add and delete invalid content in the photo;

4. Lighting

5. Necessary equipment;

6. Camera settings.

If you take all the points into consideration and experiment with composition, lighting and settings, you will be best prepared to take high-quality photos.

2. Choose angles when photographing buildings

There are many options for the angles of each building. You can look around from various angles and see it in a new way. Here are some basic techniques for selecting angles:

1. Stand on other buildings to look at the building to be photographed, and try various compositions and changes;

2. Get closer A little, a little further, and sometimes changing the distance to an object can bring about completely unexpected results.

3. If the horizon line is visually in the center of the photo, then the building looks perfect and the position of the building is clear.

4. Include details and various elements in the picture: stairs, windows, decorative combinations, balconies;

5. Use natural pictures and compositions of branches, structures, surrounding objects.

6. The biggest problem faced by photographers is the lack of imagination and creativity in composition. These skills need to be developed through continuous practice and photography of various objects.

If you want to show the grandeur and enormity of a building, shoot closer or from a lower angle so that the building will appear visually stunning.

3. Time of day changes

After choosing the correct angle, different buildings will look different under different conditions. For example, old buildings look great on snow, while bridges are best photographed in summer and autumn, and forests are preferred in autumn. Each building looks special at different times of the year. Photograph a skyscraper during the day in bright sunlight and at night against the backdrop of thousands of windows, signs and lanterns - and you get two different scenes. Here are some tips and suggestions:

1. In the morning, the sunshine is soft, there are few people, and the buildings are covered with haze. Between 5 and 6 o'clock in the morning on a clear day, you can get excellent architectural pictures - all the details have a golden tint and it's easy to get good results.

2. During the day, under the bright midday sun, you need clear skies and minimal cloud cover to photograph buildings without detail. It is almost impossible to find a photo where all the lines are drawn and the light falls softly. point.

3. The evening time is very important for architectural photography. It is best to choose an angle when the sun is shining from the back. You can use lighting, car headlights and soft sunlight.

4. In summer, all urban landscapes are supplemented by bright green trees, lawns, flowers and signs. In winter, all photos are filled with sadness and melancholy. Autumn is a holiday of colors, and it is not even necessary to complement the picture with bright colors and details, the trees and leaves will serve you.

5. The weather will affect the atmosphere of the photo, the amount of light, the intensity of the street colors and the number of people. Sunny days create shadows, while clouds scatter light and create a soft glow, and rain and snow create glare and blurry images.

4. Composition details

The center of the picture is the building itself, and other elements should complement it in order to obtain a harmonious picture. Also, there is no need to place it in the center, just focus it. The photo can be full of details that pull it out from an ordinary photo, in addition to the building itself, it is possible to remove elements, combinations of parts, walls or parts of the house, stairs, balconies, doorways.

Long exposures, changing angles, and distances from the subject or lens can remove many unnecessary details.

You can take multiple pictures at different times of the day or year and combine them together in the editor. You can change focus, depth of field, highlight some details, send something out of focus.

5. Use natural light when photographing buildings

You can determine the ideal light and shadow ratio only during the shooting process. When adding the shadows of nearby trees, some materials and elements will look very different. pretty. Some walls should be perfect, free of glare and reflections, glass and mirrored surfaces that reflect the sun's rays, a car's lantern or headlights can even become the main storyline of the photo.

Key points for choosing lighting:

1. Cloudy days and insufficient light will greatly reduce the clarity and details of objects;

2. Shooting from the side of the building The low light allows you to capture as much architectural detail as possible.

3. Light reflected from above or from the side may produce glare or spectral conflict, thus distorting the color of the object;

4. If shooting against the background of the rising or setting sun For buildings, all attention will be on the silhouette and the details will be subtle;

5. Shadows can be part of the artistic intent, or they can disrupt the frame and keep track of it;

6. Dark clouds or changing the distance from your subject can help reduce the effects of harsh shadows in bright sunlight.

6. Camera technical parameters and required equipment

In addition to cameras, architectural photography may also require other tools and equipment:

1. For long-term use Exposure stabilized camera on a tripod. Without it, photos taken will be blurry, especially when using widescreen, telephoto and tilt-shift lenses.

2. Lens options. A wide angle will widen the viewing angle and have the side effect of vertical blending. Conversely, a telephoto lens will narrow down the scope and can be used for artistic creativity.

3. Tilt the lens allows you to change the perspective or change the depth of field, allowing you to shoot panoramas without distorting vertical lines. Objective lenses with a focal length of 24-35 mm are generally considered "universal".

4. Polarized and color filters can achieve a variety of artistic effects.

5. Control buttons, they are used in conjunction with a tripod to prevent shaking hands when releasing the shutter.

6. Other tools depending on the type of shooting and situation: flashlight, warm clothes, shoes, lens protector, spare memory card and batteries.

ISO can be selected independently from the camera settings - the buildings are stationary and the maximum value that can be taken is 400. The minimum value is adjusted on the spot and depends on the weather, amount of light, and distance from the object.