Chapter 3

What make a good documentary photo?

Captivates, makes the picture clear

Type of photos?
Documentary

Artistic- grabs attention, less qualities of the building, tells a story, inclusion of other elements

How do photgraphers and architects see differently?

Architect 3d, design, concept, maximum visual info.,

Photographer 2d, light, shade, framoing or composition to create interesting views

What is the role of architecture as a photographic subject?

Central element= building

Role of composition and environment

Environment has a secondary role, important role, that tells a message

Interpretation of buildings can be different, it depends of the composition the way we perceive a subject

What buildings make good subjects?

All the buildings
The way to photograph depends from photo to photo

How can a mood of thee building/ photo be changed?

Weather
Include surroundings

What can help you discover great places before you photograph
them?
Research google maps, satellite, forums Panoramio

How to train your photographic eye?

Visit an area with a lor of buildings
Sorting and judging your images can help
Revisiting the same place
Try to crop the picture in a software, to identify views
Analyze coffee able books of architecture, ask yourself what would you do differently

Steps to take the picture

1. Select the subject
Which side of the building is best suited to being photographed? Where are
shadows or backlight positioned? What is the weather like? What other structures
characterize the surroundings?

What specifi c physical structures does the building have? Are there any interesting
(or irritating) refl ections?

How do you want to portray the building—in a documentary or an artistic style?

Static or dynamic?

Which camera angle best emphasizes the building’s strengths?

Which camera positions will deliver great shots and which are less suitable?
Which elements of the building’s surroundings should you include in your shot, and
which should you leave out?
Do you want to shoot in landscape or portrait format?

Which accessories (tripod, fi lter, remote release, etc.) do you need?

Which focal length lens is best for capturing your chosen composition?
How do you want to compose your image? With the subject in the center? Using
the Golden Ratio? Or with the subject positioned toward the edge of the frame?
How will you avoid converging verticals?
Which camera settings will produce a balanced exposure?
What is the right moment to release the shutter? Which people, cars, or shadows
are you waiting for?

What is the perspective?

Conversion from 3 d to 2 d

Types of perspectives
Central Perspective= single vanishing point

Two- point perspective= two vanishing points, depth and dynamism

Three- point perspective= worm (perspective view), bird eye

How to avoid converging verticals?

Keep the camera level
Highe vantage point
Use tilt/ shift lenses
Increase the distance from the subject
Raise camera position
Short lens
Shoot in portrait orientation
Digital correcting

How do tilt/ shift lenses work?

Avoid converging verticals
They have an enlaged image circle
Up to 12 mm of shift
Lack automatic aperture control

How to use tilt/ shift lenses?

Put camera horizontally
Set focus in neutral position
Shift the optical axis to adjust the composition
They can also remove unwanted foreground and include more sky
Can create vignette
Can take an entire façade or create a miniature

What is the standpoint? Of the camera

Point from which you shoot

Ideal subject distance?

Depends on the building size, the environment and visual impact
Closer point= good for three- deminsional depth, can cause perspective effect and converging
verticals
Further= building looks flatter, but no converged verticals, looks 2d, can include extraneous objects
Close-up= façade elements

Rule of thumb?
Exterior shots= 1, 3 times the building height

Effects of viewpoint on perspective?

Highlight different aspects of a building

Effects of standpoint on surroundings?

Even small changes, change a lot the mood and view

How is symmetry important?

Can enhance arch. photos
Aligning the camera with the building axis of symmetry can give great results (doesn’t mean that a
symmetrical building should look symmetrical in the photo)

How do telephoto lenses help? What limitations do they have?

Techniques for optimal use? What are they used for?
Frame distant subjects
Extreme distance= 2d view
Moderate wide angle lenses= realistic
Limitations:
Less depth, compared to wide-angle lenses
To maintain sharpness at the frame, use smaller aperture
Used for:
Shoot from distance
Emphasize details
Isolate subject from the background
Compress of perspective in order to unify more subjects, provide context to the viewer
Isolate shapes, do abstract artistic immages

Photos taken along the symmetry axes of courtyards and round

buildings?
Highlight depth and symmetry

Describe the spatial depth?

Depends on standpoint
Close subject, makes foreground prominent
Distant subject= compress space

What do close shots with short focal lengths do?

Exagerate the depth, more spatial information

Effects of focal length? What is related the choice of focal length to?
Related to standpoint
The photographer chooses if he chooses 1st the point and then the lense
Gives a lot of camera positions, if you have a lot of lenses

Difference from zoom lenses and fixed lenses?

Zoom= flexibility
Fixed= require movement
Extreme lenses= rarely in arch. photo.

Long focal length lenses?

Compress distance
Can isolate arch. details
Ideal for highlighting details, without incluving distracting elements

Short focal lenses?

Medium wide angle lenses?
24-35mm
Ideal for realistic arch. photography

Ultra wide-angle lenses?

Shoot from verry close or inside the building
Perspective distortion
Exaggerate 3d space
For artistic effects

Wide-angle zoom lenses?

May introduce barrel distortion, which needs post shot cropping

Fisheye lenses
Rarely used
Needs reduction in fisheye effect in post shot production
Extreme distortion
Quality loss in the edges

Increase angle of view with Panorama techniques

If the lense is not enough, more photos can be glued together in post-production
Important: rotate the camera around, rather than the body axis
Panoramic tripod= effective
Increase image resolution
Shift lenses can help by increasing the angle of view
Common sets:
2 landscae images for wide-screen panorama or three portrait images for a 5:3 panorama

How do shift lens adapters help with panorama?

If they have integrated tripod sockets, help doing images free of parallax errors
They shift the camera position, while keeps the lens static
Use manual exposure mode

Why is important choosing the right format?

For the composition

Extreme formats. What view do they give?

Panorama images= unconventional view, affects subject perception
How many degrees do cylindrical panoramas cover?
360 horizontally
180 vertically
Resemble fisheye pgotos
Not reproduce building proportion good
Give comprehensive overview of the scene

Key characteristics of good panorama?

Invisible seams
Effective use of space within the frame
Use tripod
Portrait format to increase the angle of view
Panoramic head adjusted to the nodal point of camera/ lens combination ensures superimposed
overlaps
Consistent exposure
Stiching software

For what to use landscape and for what portrait?

Wider buildings in landscape
Taller in portrait
Surrounding elements can alter the building dominance, can change required format
Use a format that contrasts with the building structure adds tension and alters the perception

What is the composition?

Arrange visual elements in the frame to create harmonious photos

Techniques that help with the composition

The rule of thirds
Leading lines

What is the golden ratio and the rule of thirds?

1:1:618 used to symbolize the ideal proportions
Rule of thirds is similar to the rule of thumb. Devides the area of a photo vertically and horizontally
into thirds, results in nine equal parts

Composition and surroundings

Including static and moving objects changes the interpretation of an image
It can clutter the picture or help the viewer understand it better
It is not a compromise due to space limitation, but can be compositional technique
"Artistic architectural photographers often use additional visual elements to emphasize the
relationships between a building and its surroundings."

What is the selective framing?

Isolate specific elements of an arch. to focus attention and create a more abstract or detailed
representation of the subject

What is shutter speed?

Affects motion blur and exposure
Faster speed= freeze motion
Slower speed= introduce blur, adds dynamism and realism, shows interaction with the space, diminish
movement, cleaner image
It is secondary in arch., because a building is static

What is the aperture? Types of perture? For what are they used?
In arch. photo. Medium and small aperture ensures sufficient depth of field, minimises lens errors
Wide-angle= optimal sharpness at f/ 8 to / 11, while very bright lenses aptimal sharpness at around f/
4
Standard and telephoto= small apertures
Wide frame Dslrs and medium format digital cameras can stop down to f/ 11 or f/ 16, with no
significant loss of sharpness
"diffraction limit" for high pixel-density DSLRs usually falls between f/8 and f/11
while full-frame DSLRs and medium format digital cameras can stop down to f/11 or f/16 without a
significant loss in sharpness, can introduce diffraction blur
wide aperture can create a shallow depth of field to highlight specific parts of a building
narrow apertures can be used to avoid moiré effect on subjects with fine geometric textures or to
create starburst effects with bright points of light. "Using apertures of f/16 and narrower tend to
produce defined starbursts."

What aperture for right balance between depth and minimizing

diffraction blur and lens errors?
f/ 8 or f/ 11

What is ISO sensitivity?

Camera sensitivity to light

What do lower ISO values do?

High-quality
What do higher ISO do?
Low quality, for low-light conditions, introduces noise, artistic photo

What gives theoretically the best sharpness and minimal grain?

Analog films

But practically?
practical considerations like cost and convenience often favor high-quality ISO 100 or 200
films

What are the digital considerations of ISO?

Low ISO= crucial to minimize noise, maximize dynamic range, provide ample headroom for post-
processing

warns against using super-low ISO settings that artificially extend the range without genuine
quality benefits

What is exposure for? What helps having right exposure?

Capturing details
Avoiding overly bright or dark areas
Helps:

Balancing shutter speed, aperture, and ISO

Exposure techniques?
Automatic exposure metering systems, centre weighted and matrix modes for arch. photo.
These meter for the entire frame, rather than just a spot

Lighting considerations to make?

Sunlight versus overcast skies
Direct sunlight creates high-contrast scenes (can be managed by manual exposure or graduated filters)

What are the histograms?

Recommended for accurate exposure assessment, superior to relying solely on camera monitors
which may not display true image quality
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