architecture photography help (suggestions?)

Jaraviss

i'm really excited about photographing architecture exteriors *and* interiors.
as an architect myself, i'd like to document my work.

i've googled a few books on the subject but am recieving various reviews from users...

i'm not looking for a book of some famous architectural photographers work.
but more of a "if you want an image like this...possibly use this type of setup"

etc.

does anyone have any suggestions?

in a pinch..i could learn as i go...but i'd like to have some background on what works.

attached is an image i've recently shot (first exterior image of a buiding with my new camera)


if you do have any book recommendations, please letme know.

Thanks!
-G

kisi

not that i have any experience with architectural photography, but just from reading about it... i think a lot of architectural photography is done with large format cameras or tilt/shift lenses in order to show a true representation of the lines of the building and get rid of any converging lines coming from tilting the camera up to get the whole building in the shot.

this link seems to have a lot of good ideas/examples. it also has some tilt/shift examples in the perspective correction section. good luck

Jaraviss

kisi wrote:

not that i have any experience with architectural photography, but just from reading about it... i think a lot of architectural photography is done with large format cameras or tilt/shift lenses in order to show a true representation of the lines of the building and get rid of any converging lines coming from tilting the camera up to get the whole building in the shot.

this link seems to have a lot of good ideas/examples. it also has some tilt/shift examples in the perspective correction section. good luck

Thank you very much for the quick reply!!

I'll check those links out.
-G

Icebear

Tilt/shift
The skew function in Photoshop is a heck of a lot cheaper than t/s lenses!!!

NanaMo

Hi....well, we are in the same boat! However, my challenge is metal buildings which are usually just rectangles..mmmmm.

I would have sent you to the same photonet link that has already been suggestd so if I find others in my reseach that seem informative I will send them along. :ivarHave only today and tomorrow to do a building .....with 2 levels of green roof which is set off very nicely with tan siding on the building.....and we just got 8" of snow!! Now this is going to be a challenge!!!

Good luck and BTW you shot of the building is great!

Maureen

pathfinder

Icebear wrote:

The skew function in Photoshop is a heck of a lot cheaper than t/s lenses!!!

It certainly is if he already owns Photoshop.

Canon's Tilt-Shift prime lenses - the 24 T&S or the 45 T&S will be much sharper than the zooms he is currently using also.

A good tripod, and several flashes and stands with remote triggers will be very useful also.

SloYerRoll

pathfinder wrote:

A good tripod, and several flashes and stands with remote triggers will be very useful also.

Very is an understatement.

Icebear

Elements
I have both CS3 and Elements 4. I've used the skew function in Elements for a long time for architectural work. Don't need CS3 just for that. What's Elements cost? Less than $100. He's gotta have SOMETHING for pp.

Icebear

Oh and another thing
I've made quite a nice bit of money over the last couple of years with a Tokina 12-24 and a couple of Nikons. The Tokina is a really nice, versatile lense for architectural work. I think it was around $900.00, but I have selective amnesia. I don't think I'd spend the money for t/s lenses unless I couldn't think of anything else I "needed" and had a pile of extra cash lying around. Far better to spend the $$ on lighting, as has already been pointed out. Especially for interior work, zooms are indispensible unless you have an unlimited glass budget..

Jaraviss

thanks for all of the suggestions
i've also emailed a few photographers i found on an aiap site...(ones that shoot around here anyway...sacramento area)
i was pleasantly surprised by their responses and kind words on the images i sent them.

very promising and encouraging...one suggested a different lens (i can't get into my email right now for some reason..or i'd post which lens they suggested)

these guys/gals had wonderful images that were very inspirational.
i just need my building to get built so i can shoot it!!!!

hehe
thansk again.

in the meantime..i took a differnt shot from the same shoot and converted it to b/w
it looked "ok" onscreen to me...but when i printed it..the darks got darker.
??

-G