Research Architectural Photography

In my last two years during my photography course, I really enjoyed taking pictures of buildings, people and dogs. So I did a personal research about architectural photography and environmental pet portraits to further my knowledge in these areas.

My first thought about the FMP was to take photos of buildings that I find interesting, for example buildings that has a reflection in their windows of their surroundings.

Architectural photography:

Architectural photography is about capturing the characteristics of buildings both interior and exterior. The top priorities of the photographer are the lighting and the angles, which can help the photographer to add depth to the image and capture the building in a point of perspective. The main focus is on the building and normally making use of the available, natural light. It's very important to include some of the formal elements as the majority of architectural photographs has some form of linear pattern or symmetry, reflection to show the beauty of the building and add interest to the image. To create brilliant images there are some useful equipment that can be used during the shooting, like a tripod, wide angle lens, fish eye lens or the most typical lens type, the tilt-shift lens.

This lens allows the photographer to manipulate the angle and distort the original perspective pf the building is taken at and making it appear straight and face on.






So the lighting is very essential, do the shooting in daylight and to add more interest to your photos, choose the right day and time of the day for your photos depending on what feel you wanna add to your photos. Notice the direction, colour of the light, the type of the shadow and the scene of the sky.
When working on location always check the forecast so you will be much more prepared on the day.

Art Deco Style

Art Deco is a design style that began in Paris in 1920's. This style influenced all areas of art and design, including architecture, interior design, fashion etc. The style is often characterized by rich colours and bold geometric shapes.

Architectural photographers

Berenice Abbott

Berenice Abbot was an American photographer best known for her black and white photography of New York City architecture and urban design of the 1930's.

 On the above images I really like the angle she captures the buildings. You get a distorted image of the buildings that lead your eyes towards the sky. Both image has triangular composition that really benefits the outcome and creates more interesting photos. The main building is surrounded by other buildings particularly the one on the right that kind of frames it in. These images have a more dramatic look then the ones under, these are looking much darker and less contrasted.

On the second two images I really like the way the buildings have been hit by the sun light. It makes the images interesting to me. The angle isn't as dramatic as earlier, you get a proper view of the buildings. The framing looks fine as well because the linear edge of the building are in parallel with the edge of the frame.

Cameron R. Neilson

Photographer Cameron R. Neilson has made a name for himself with his latest photographic project, named 'Straight Up'. According to Nelson the concept was, 'born in New York City', and at first glance, any pedestrian visitor of Manhattan can relate to the perspective of Nelson's camera. His black and white images capture iconic skylines from the interior of the city.

 I really like Neilson's perspective, it can help the skyscrapers live up tot heir title and shows a new perspective. Again, I can find the use of triangular compositions in the above images that really focus your eyes to the center of the image, where the sky is nicely detailed with the clouds. I have a feeling like I'm being squeezed while I'm looking at the pictures. This up pointed angle gives a really dramatic feel to the images and a very interesting perspective.

On these two images above, what I really like is the reflection of the buildings in the glass buildings. It creates a really strong effect and gives more interest to the image. This angle has the sense that you are lying on the grass, looking to the sky. The images have this tunnel kind of feel and show the open spaces between the buildings and make it easier for us to compare them.

The Golden Triangle Rule

I researched the triangle rule because I came across with this composition several times during my research.

The golden triangle is a good compositional guideline to use when your photograph contains strong diagonal elements. It involves splitting the photo into three triangles with corresponding shapes. It is simple and it can increase the impact of your photos and make your images more appealing. It best with lines and almost every photo will benefit from applying it. If you follow this pattern you are going to get a pleasing composition. Just roughly place three subjects in these triangles.

Here is an example shot: