Interior and Exterior Architectural Photography
Interior and Exterior Architectural Photography
Architectural photographers generally divide architectural photography projects into two distinct categories, interior photography and exterior photography.
While the exterior photography of a building may seem to be simple in comparison to the lighting complexities encountered with interior photography projects, this is not always the case.
A truly exceptional exterior photograph of a building owes much to the skill and experience of the architectural photographer. Whether it’s a bright sun-lit photograph taken at mid-day or a twilight photograph of a building glowing against the deep cobalt blue of the night sky, nothing should be left to chance.
Much of the planning begins with the scouting trip to the site. Compass readings are taken to determine exactly where the sun will be on a particular day and time. Architectural photographers in Ontario and the U.S. mid-west are accustomed to the regions rapidly changing weather and so weather forecasts must be studied. Will cars and traffic be an issue? Is anything visible through the windows of the building that will detract from the photograph? When doing night or twilight photographs arrangements must be made to be sure that all of the interior lights will be turned on in all of the visible rooms. Will wet pavement enhance the photograph? If so, will a hose do the job or will it be necessary to hire a water truck for the shoot?
Architectural photographers in the U.S. and Canada are well aware of the dramatic changes in sunset and sunrise positions throughout the year. While the sun sets well north of 270 degrees due west on June 21, by October the sun will not strike the front of a north facing building. Buildings that face north require special planning. Waiting until summer when the early morning and late afternoon sunlight will strike the front of the building is one option, another is to do a dramatic twilight or night photograph. Still another possibility is to do the photograph on an overcast day and then “Photoshop” the sky.
These are just a few of the issues and considerations faced by architectural photographers when planning to produce an important exterior photograph for a client. The more experience the architectural photographer has and the more time that is spent planning the photograph, the greater the chances are that the resulting photograph will be a truly exceptional photograph.
Curt Clayton
http://www.claytonstudio.com
architectural photographer
Architectural photographers generally divide architectural photography projects into two distinct categories, interior photography and exterior photography.
While the exterior photography of a building may seem to be simple in comparison to the lighting complexities encountered with interior photography projects, this is not always the case.
A truly exceptional exterior photograph of a building owes much to the skill and experience of the architectural photographer. Whether it’s a bright sun-lit photograph taken at mid-day or a twilight photograph of a building glowing against the deep cobalt blue of the night sky, nothing should be left to chance.
Much of the planning begins with the scouting trip to the site. Compass readings are taken to determine exactly where the sun will be on a particular day and time. Architectural photographers in Ontario and the U.S. mid-west are accustomed to the regions rapidly changing weather and so weather forecasts must be studied. Will cars and traffic be an issue? Is anything visible through the windows of the building that will detract from the photograph? When doing night or twilight photographs arrangements must be made to be sure that all of the interior lights will be turned on in all of the visible rooms. Will wet pavement enhance the photograph? If so, will a hose do the job or will it be necessary to hire a water truck for the shoot?
Architectural photographers in the U.S. and Canada are well aware of the dramatic changes in sunset and sunrise positions throughout the year. While the sun sets well north of 270 degrees due west on June 21, by October the sun will not strike the front of a north facing building. Buildings that face north require special planning. Waiting until summer when the early morning and late afternoon sunlight will strike the front of the building is one option, another is to do a dramatic twilight or night photograph. Still another possibility is to do the photograph on an overcast day and then “Photoshop” the sky.
These are just a few of the issues and considerations faced by architectural photographers when planning to produce an important exterior photograph for a client. The more experience the architectural photographer has and the more time that is spent planning the photograph, the greater the chances are that the resulting photograph will be a truly exceptional photograph.
Curt Clayton
http://www.claytonstudio.com
architectural photographer
Posted by Curt Clayton at 4/28/2009 6:04 PM 
Categories: Interior Photography, Architectural photography
Tags: professional photography photography architectural photography interior photography
Categories: Interior Photography, Architectural photography
Tags: professional photography photography architectural photography interior photography
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