Architectural photographers for decades have lugged heavy bags and cases full of equipment around the globe. One case held the camera rig, bellow, stands, film holders, a loop, dark cloth and an assortment of lens boards. Inside duffel bags a large tripod, light stands, gobos, gaffer tape, gels, flares and reflector cards. This was a rare breed of Interior Photography. They spent countless hours adjusting minute increments. Correcting vertical lines. And adjusting perspectives beneath a dark-cloth as they painstakingly checked the images sharpness. Their eyes bulged out, as their brains calculated the upside down, rotated image before them. They were forever meticulous down to the millisecond of natural light necessary for the correct exposure.
Eventually, a film holder will be put into the shoot because they lifted the A-slide revealing the film for the inner belly in the 4×5 camera. A press of the plunger cord opened the aperture to the precise coordinates letting light gradually fall across the film before closing it away. Next the A-slide was pushed down you flipped the film holder, opened the B-slide and exposed the 2nd sheet of film. Repeating as necessary until you felt you had the shot. Before moving your camera gear to the next location to set it up all up again and fire off a few sheets of film.
Fast-forward 200 years to the digital era of photography and you may find a new breed of architectural photographer. No longer strapped to your film case and 2 sheets. No longer strapped down to an eye-loop beneath a dark cloth, architectural photographers are starting to devise new strategies using software interfaces. They may be no longer without having a darkroom when your digital darkroom by means of a laptop computer can be by your side during every shoot.
The very first aspect to get considered not only in architectural photography is the light. Lights can do magic by working on the shadows and the texture of the building. Bringing in the best contrast is exactly what the photographer aims to function at. Remember you are meant to accentuate those highlights of the property which will make it look magnificent. Deciding on the best lens is very important. You should judge whether the building would look best in a fish’s eye lens or a panoramic view. Considering how it is sometimes challenging to get a complete building in a lens, it might be an essential decision to select the right lens. In case you are having a shot in the interiors of the building ensure the white balance is established right.
It is essential which you have a great idea of which geometric shapes are complimented where weather. Your primary task is to obtain the look of your building right. For this particular you should break your building up mentally and discover which the perfect angle that compliments the building is. Should you be likely to click the skyline at nighttime it is a good idea to place the buildings between you together with sunlight. You have to have a wise idea of methods the reflections of the building would look. There are several amazing photographs with the shadow play from the building. You have to also be adept in obtaining the best images in each and every weather.
Today’s architectural photographer continues to be carrying much more tons of gear for their shoots but it is easier when all of your devices are neatly packed within your cargo van. Inside an architectural photographer’s van you will discover a personal computer, extension cords, halogen lights, gobos, gaffer tape, light stands, halogen bulbs and a camera. The exception here is whether you choose to shoot a very high-end Digital SLR, a medium format camera with digital back or a converted 4×5 field camera with digital back. You now have the effectiveness of an electronic environment.
Amazing effects are close at hand due to this digital environment. You are no longer put through weather because you can shoot using halogen lights at anytime in the daytime, evening or night. Your image capture holds everything on a high-resolution digital file. That you simply now drop on your computer, adjusting files and parameters composing a mofpbm image away from fifty or a hundred layers to create a magnificent composite image your client will marvel over. And rehire you, over and over.
Something every architectural photographer always says is get ready for the unexpected. Over a clear Arizonian evening we set up fifteen halogen lights, a Hasselblad camera with digital back and our computer. We had extension cords emerging from every light socket possible. Just before sunset somewhat of a breeze kicked up. Adding sandbags we quickly secured taller lights. 10 minutes later just as we were about to shoot, it began to rain. Because it started, we ran around unplugging all the cords then grabbing light stands, dropping the halogens and moving them to the garage. When we had moved every one of them we had been soaked and half the sunshine bulbs had popped. Unfortunately for us this shoot had to be canceled. But as Ann Landers once wrote, “Nobody says you must laugh, but a sense of humor can help you neglect the unattractive, tolerate the unpleasant, deal with the unexpected, and smile through the day.”