How To Take Photos Of Buildings
Taking great photos of buildings needn't be that difficult. A few quick steps will make your photos dramatic and brilliant. Taking photos of buildings has never been so exciting!
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Step 1:
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Lighting
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Taking decent pictures of buildings is all about lighting; glaring midday sun does little to highlight the crooks and crannies that'll make for an interesting picture. Much better is to do it in the early morning where natural light is crisp and clear, or early evening, where it's warm and filling; in both instances the light is also coming in from the side, which highlights the building much better.
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Step 2:
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Look At The Details
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Large, sweeping shots of buildings will most likely look lifeless and boring. A smarter move is to zero in on a specific detail, like a gargoyle or doorway or something, and use your photographic special-skills to highlight that instead.
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Step 3:
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Framing
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Unless you're MASSIVE, chances are the building you're photographing is bigger than you, which means you'll be looking upwards. This means there'll be acres and acres of sky in the picture.
If possible, ‘frame' your photo with some tree branches or another building – anything to crop the image down and give it some context.
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Step 4:
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If it's Night-time
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Quite often, impressive-looking buildings are lit up like Christmas trees at night, and look like they'll make for an amazing photo.
Beware of leaving your camera's settings on automatic as the low light and high levels of contrast can sometimes ruin your shot. Bright lights will become halos, while dark sections will be black as black.
Instead, adjust your ISO settings to a night-time mode and set a nice long exposure time to allow more light into the camera. Any lights will look bolder and brighter with a long exposure time, so practise getting this right.
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Step 5:
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Edit
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Sometimes, buildings are being worked on. There might be scaffolding or cranes or discoloured bits going on which detract from the otherwise-flawless quality of your photograph. Or, maybe, the colours aren't quite as bold as you'd anticipated. In this digital age, don't be afraid to touch them up in an editing package and make everything perfect.
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Buildings are brilliant, and make for amazing snaps. It's worth taking the extra time to make sure your shot is perfectly set up, which will result in a superior photo.
