TIPS FOR TAKING BETTER ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOS:
Architectural photography is a very specialized branch of photography, which involves taking pictures of buildings, both interior and exterior as well as the spaces around those buildings. Many people who work in the areas that I’ve included in my portfolio enjoy taking pictures of their own projects. In Spring of 2007 I began giving how-to presentations to groups of people who use architectural photography in their businesses, especially realtors. Here are excerpts from those presentations that can help you make your photos look more professional, and that will let you have a lot more fun at the same time.
I know, I know, you like to use your point-and-shoot. But here’s the deal The principles of photography apply no matter what type of camera you use. And just as a better instrument can make a musician and the music better, a good camera can vastly improve the quality of your photos and make you a better photographer.
A good tripod (don’t cheap out on this one!)
A good 35mm digital SLR camera (at least 8mp)
Super wide-angle zoom lens (e.g. 16mm - 35mm)
Wide angle-to-telephoto lens (e.g. 24mm-135mm)
Remote shutter release switch (very important!)
Bubble level that mounts on the camera hot-shoe
READ YOUR MANUAL!!!
Use Automatic White Balance setting.
Set camera at ISO 100 or 200.
For exteriors:
Start in point-and-shoot mode.
Start with auto focus.
Graduate into time priority or manual mode and use manual focus.
Always use the remote switch and shoot on your tripod!
For interiors:
Start in aperture-priority mode.
Set camera at F16 and use manual focus.
Lighten or darken by exposure compensation.
Graduate into full manual mode (Luke, feel the force!!!).
Always use the remote switch and shoot on your tripod!
Use available light. Don’t use flash!
Choose the best side of the building.
Go for a 3/4 view if possible.
Avoid straight on shots, they are very difficult to pull off.
Avoid the ‘halo effect’ with the building evenly surrounded by sky.
Instead compose with the building to one side or another for drama.
Level the camera! The sides of the building should be parallel with the sides of the camera view finder.
If you can’t get the building in the frame with the camera leveled, then move back and zoom in.
Don’t forget to focus!
Choose the best vantage point to show off a room.
Again, avoid straight on shots if at all possible!!!
Choose the right height. Remember it’s almost NEVER at eye level! Weigh the ceiling to floor proportions against being able to look down on flat surfaces such as vanity tops and tables.
Level the camera. Level The Camera! LEVEL THE DAMN CAMERA!!!
Compose the shot. Be aware of obstacles, visual distractions, and objects in tangent.
Use strong diagonal lines whenever possible.
Think foreground, an object in the foreground gives a photo scale and provides a visual entry point for the viewer.
Remove clutter or style the clutter so that it’s not distracting.
Focus! You’d be surprised how many times people forget this step.
Use available light, if your camera thinks it’s smarter than you and the flash keeps popping up, duct tape the damn thing shut!!!
If you have crazy contrast between the darkest areas and the lightest, try borrowing a light from another room and placing it to light up a dark area.
One of my biggest pet peeves is a realty ad that touts “ocean views” and then shows a picture of the town beach. Here are some ways to best show a view from a house:
Include a part of the house in the picture. If the view is from a deck, put deck furniture in the shot or have the shot taken over the railing.
Let the viewer know exactly where the view is from.
If the view is from inside, frame the shot with the view window.
If the view is a panorama, shoot wide angle.
If the view is a vignette, use telephoto, but still put something of the house in the shot.
Information: Make sure the photo conveys all that it can. If you’re taking a picture of a house near a mountain lake, include the lake. If the house has a neat deck, include that as well. Let your photo tell as much as it can.
Inspiration: Make the viewer want what’s presented in the photo. Shoot that house in so that the viewer says: “Hey, I want that deck on MY house!!!”
Invitation: Take the shot so that the viewers find themselves in the picture. They should be sucked into the shot at the first glance. For those of you using photos to sell your wares, such as architects, builders and realtors this is the most important of the three.
This idea is the key to a photo’s “Invitation” factor. Creating a moment puts a time stamp on the photo, a little imperfection that instantly captures the attention of a viewer. Humans are naturally curious creatures and adding a little something in a photo that “isn’t quite right” makes our eyes and minds “trip” over the photo. AND most often, it’s all about styling.
For those who depend on these photos to generate revenue, these “visual speed bumps” are crucial for nabbing clients. Consider this: When a potential client visits your website, they typically spend .5 seconds at the most looking at a photo, and it doesn’t matter how beautiful that photo is. But if you can make that person stop on a photo, you have them hooked into exploring more deeply. Be creative, but be subtle. You want them to stumble, not see the speed bump and go around!
There are a million ways to create a moment in a photo and here are a few examples:
For exteriors:
Take the shot at sunrise or sunset with that beautiful amber light and long shadows.
Take the shot just as the fog is lifting.
If you shoot when the sun is all the way up try to shoot just after the sun begins to come around to a side of the house with long raking shadows.
Don’t put away all of the kid’s stuff, place a bike (along with a colorful helmet) very carefully in the foreground of the picture.
Put a colorful hat on the arm of the patio chair.
Put an open book or newspaper face down on the deck table with a pair of glasses sitting on top.
Put wine glasses and bottle of wine, or a sweaty jug of lemonade on the picnic table.
Put a towel next to the outdoor shower.
Open the outside door a foot or so.
For interiors:
In general, shoot when there is some sunlight streaming in.
In the living room, light a fire in the fireplace.
Open that book on the coffee table.
Put a colorful Afghan over the back of the couch.
Light candles in the foreground.
In the dining room, put a colorful placemat with wine and glasses on the table.
Pull one chair away from the table at an angle.
Drape a colorful napkin over the edge of the table.
In the kitchen, put a colorful bowl of fruit in the foreground.
Make sure there is a shiny teapot on the stove and that the light over the stove is on.
Drape a colorful dishtowel over the edge of the counter.
Slice up a loaf of bread or a juicy red pepper in the foreground.
In the bedroom, turn back the corner of the sheets.
Place slippers by the bed.
Hang a bathrobe on the bedpost.
Throw a colorful quilt over the side of the bed.
In the bathroom, place a folded bath towel near the shower or bathtub.
Do not make the toilet the focal point of the shot. And guys, (as well as gals), put the seat down!!! Don’t create the wrong kind of moment!
If the toilet has to be included in the shot, place a towel on the seat to take the curse off.
In the mudroom, take time to arrange the hats and coats.
If there is a row of boots, take a pair out of the row and arrange them on the floor as if someone just took them off.
Like styling options, there are a lot of tricks to getting the most from your architectural photos. Here are some of my favorites:
The 3-minute fire: Here’s the dilemma. Everyone agrees that a fireplace always looks best with a fire going. But when you’re shooting a room, you want to be in and out as quickly as possible. A log fire can take a long time to get going and it can burn for hours, not good if you can’t hang around to make sure it’s out. So I make a newspaper-knot fire instead.
Use full sheets of newspaper completely unfolded. Starting in one corner roll the sheet up loosely and quickly. When you’re done you should have a roll about 2-ft. long. Tie a simple overhand knot (the first step of a shoe-tying knot). You should be able to produce the knot in about 30 seconds. Make a half dozen or so and place them in a pile on the grate. Compose your shot and have it completely ready to go. When you’re sure you’re picture is ready, make sure the damper is open and light the pile in several places. Get back and click away. Unless the fire is in the foreground of the shot, none but the most discerning eyes will know that it’s only a paper fire. I shoot several exposures as the fire flares up and dies back. Sometimes a low fire looks best, sometimes the full Monty is the ticket. And in 95% of the cases, I shoot without the fireplace screen.
Lights out: Here’s the dilemma. I hate the look of dark lampshades or ceiling cans in my shots so I usually shoot with all the lights on. But on longer exposures, a ceiling can without a dimmer can look like the blinding gateway to heaven. So here’s a solution:
Station someone at the light switch if it’s out of your reach and out of the camera frame. When you’re ready to shoot, have them turn off the light as soon as the exposure begins. I usually give them a 3-count. Check the picture on the camera playback or on your laptop. If the lights are too dim, have your switch person wait a split second after the count. If it’s too bright, get them to go more quickly. I usually like lights to be just on the verge of “burning out” (turning completely bright in the photo) with the outline of the bulb just barely visible.
Spider on the ceiling: That’s what I call a ceiling fan that is standing still. It can be very distracting in your shot. The dilemma here is that when the fan is going, it just looks like a circular blur. So here’s how to take care of the spider and create a moment all in the same stroke.
The trick is to capture movement in the fan while being able to see the individual fan blades. For that effect, the fan has to be turning very slowly. One fan blade cannot reach the position of the next in the time of the exposure. So the longer the exposure, the slower the fan has to be turning. I usually just turn the fan switch on and off very quickly. When the blades are just about stopped, click your shot. Look at your shot. You should be able to see the blurred blades. Magically the fan is transformed from a static distraction to a moment creator.
Make 4 apples look like a mountain. How many times have I gone to shoot a kitchen, only to find that the only fruits in the house are four or five lonely apples! It always happens when I’m 20 miles from the nearest store or can’t take the extra 20 minutes to shop. Here’s a way to fool the camera into thinking you’ve got more apples.
Pick a bowl to display the apples, usually a medium size fruit bowl. Now find a cereal bowl or small mixing bowl that’s not quite as deep as the fruit bowl. Place the small bowl upside down in the fruit bowl and stack the apples carefully on top. A few bananas can really make a mountain out of the mole hill. So how do like THEM for apples!!!
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