Architecture photography can either be a fun hobby or a great career for those working with big clients like architects and project managers. Finding a way to shoot buildings and architecture can be tricky. Establishing the perfect angle, lighting, and best time to shoot buildings will determine the outcome of your photos of buildings and architecture. One way to find inspiration is to explore free photo sharing sites. They are a great way to find some inspiration from other photographers. Here are some other great tips to help you keep your architecture photography exciting and eye-catching.
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Capture Your Shots in all Weathers and Times of Day
Explore your options with daylight and night-time shooting as well as getting outside in all types of weather to find the most striking shot of your chosen building. For an atmospheric shot, a dark stormy night will make your chosen building or structure stand out from the black skies and bad weather. While bright sunny days can allow for some striking reflections and shadows with the perfect lighting.
Find a new Perspective
With any building or structure your perspective will help to find new angles. Finding a new perspective will allow your architecture photography to expose underappreciated detail of the building others may overlook when simply walking past or entering and exiting the building. This new angle could be from above, at a bird’s eye view, or looking up from below. This approach to your photography will also help to enhance your skills while allowing the audience to appreciate the building from a whole new angle.
Invest in High-Quality Photography Equipment
As with any style of photography your equipment is just as important as your skills and ability to capture a great shot. When photographing architecture and buildings you do not have to worry so much about fast shooting or waiting for your subject to come into frame. In this sense it can be slightly easier to explore your angles and lighting as your subject stays in place ready for you to take a shot whenever you are ready. For this style of photography your lens will be important. For tall and very large structures find a lens which can accommodate a wide frame without distorting the image.
Get to Know the Buildings – Do Your Research
For artistic direction walk around your chosen building or structure to find the best angles to shoot. Before thinking about taking any shots and wasting your perfect lighting, first get to know the building, its perimeter, and surroundings. Even doing some research on your chosen structure or building before you leave to shoot the perfect photos could help determine the style in which you shoot in. For example, for a modern, glass building you may prefer to capture your images in bright day light for the reflection of the sunlight and to emphasise its overpowering presence around its neighbouring buildings. Alternatively, delve into the history of the building to understand the thought behind the architecture and walk through this process within your imagery.
Include some people
With the building or the structure at the very focus of your photography this should be the feature of your image however incorporating some people into the image can help to add a sense of reality. When photographing busy buildings, like office blocks, it can be interesting for your audiences to see the humans who work within these buildings and the day-to-day occurrences surrounding these grand structures. This helps to highlight the relationship between the building and the humans connected to it.