The architectural photographer is responsible for shooting outdoors and/ or interior of a building, its structure, and its facilities. He uses different techniques to purify his photograph and put forward the main subject: respect prospects, controlled exposure, removal of unwanted elements etc. For the best results hardware, specific and thorough techniques can be used.

Operating and technical

Prospects: Keeping all lines of a building is a constant challenge for the architectural photographer. Building lines will present inconsistencies if the photography is about diving or cons-diving. All horizontal and vertical pins, which are free, will no longer be on the image. To rectify this, the photographers generally use several complementary methods such as- perfectly straight camera, using a tripod, a frosted grid, using a shift lens and software corrections if necessary.

Light: Outside of the building is a stationary subject, the photographer must be patient to get the best light. He is then faced with too much brightness difference between it and the sky if the structure is in shade. When it illuminates the building sufficiently, it must wait for the right light. Inside, the windows are brighter than the room itself. To avoid overexposure of these openings, the photographer may need to use artificial lighting such as strobes, or make a shot in HDR.

In Exterior shot, to disappear passersby, it can reduce its shutter speed. For example, an exposure time of several seconds, from a walking does not clearly appear on the image. Inside, the photographer must be attentive to all the details that can service the room: a misplaced lamp, off center furniture, too violent shadows etc.

Retouching: Always with the idea of purifying the scene, it can "erase" unwanted elements that could do away with the shooting. Retouching also allows working light, contrast, and color photography to showcase subject.

Equipment used

View camera: The photographic camera has however been used for decades. It has dedicated to architectural photography. With a sensitive support of a full screen display and an articulated assembly, the photographer could counter the problems of deformation and prospects of 24 × 36. The room also provides large format prints with fine details.

Wide Angle: It provides a wide-angle to a full frame structure. A too much large angle however has the effect of slightly distorted at the edges of the frame. Manufacturers have also made much progress in recent years, particularly in correcting these distortions. It is also for this reason that architectural photographers have used the photographic rooms for a long time because they allow the use of medium focal lengths with the same objectives that a wide angle field of view.

The shift lens: Taking the centre of the room, the shift lens keeps its case totally right while the optical shifts. Thus, it can correct distorted perspectives that would be with a standard lens.

The tripod: An indispensable tool for this type of picture, like the spirit level, it helps to stabilize the aircraft and especially to work its framing accurately. It must withstand heavy equipment and climb high enough to optimize the shot without diving or cons-diving.

The ball rack-micrometer: Added to the tripod, it gives the photographer a precision ball for careful framing. With heavy equipment, such as a room, a standard 3D ball is unmanageable, the offset of the too important goal that might tilt the head.

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