Shooting a building at dusk

karuzo · June 6, 2005

Hello all,
I was asked to take a picture of one of our architectural projects we did at our firm. They want the picture taken outside the building around dusk time so both the exterior and the interior will have somewhat even illumination and will expose evenly in the picture. I am planning on using a tripod of course. Is using a polarizer a good idea and/or make sense to use? Any suggestions?

Shay Stephens · June 6, 2005

I would use a polarizer only if you have special needs (glare) or you are going for a certain effect. I wouldn't use it just in general for night shots.

My suggestion would be to try a test run and see what you get. Modify your plans for the real shoot, and then go for it. Nothing spells success like preparation :-)

And don't forget to use the self timer to take the shot if you don't have a remote control.

And a custom white balance wouldn't hurt either, especially if shooting in jpg.

Other than that, enjoy your hour of photography and show us some samples of what you get. Especially if you do a test shot ahead of the real shot.

karuzo wrote:

Hello all,
I was asked to take a picture of one of our architectural projects we did at our firm. They want the picture taken outside the building around dusk time so both the exterior and the interior will have somewhat even illumination and will expose evenly in the picture. I am planning on using a tripod of course. Is using a polarizer a good idea and/or make sense to use? Any suggestions?

karuzo · June 6, 2005

Shay Stephens wrote:

I would use a polarizer only if you have special needs (glare) or you are going for a certain effect. I wouldn't use it just in general for night shots.

My suggestion would be to try a test run and see what you get. Modify your plans for the real shoot, and then go for it. Nothing spells success like preparation :-)

And don't forget to use the self timer to take the shot if you don't have a remote control.

And a custom white balance wouldn't hurt either, especially if shooting in jpg.

Other than that, enjoy your hour of photography and show us some samples of what you get. Especially if you do a test shot ahead of the real shot.

Thanks Shay,
Thinking about it, there is an ugly gas station accross the street which might reflect on the building storefront. I might use a polarizer just for that. However, I don't think the polarizer will function 100% at the tripod position in relation to the building. I think I am limited in where I can position the tripod. Man, I sound like a newbie - I should go onsite to check this out. Wait a second, I AM A NEWBIE. Oh well...

erich6 · June 6, 2005

I think you are right in thinking the polarizer will help you see through the glass and more of the building's interior...but I think it does depend on view angle.

Erich

jfricks · June 10, 2005

Have you thought about double exposure?
You didn't indicate if building was primarily glass, but I'm assuming this is the case since you want to be able to see interior/exterior. You are using a tripod which makes this fairly easy, especially if you are shooting digital. Set up the camera, expose for correct dusk outside, and take the photo. Expose for the interior, take exact same shot. Take them into Photoshop, Elements or whatever software you are using and blend them together. Hope this helps.

John

karuzo · June 10, 2005

jfricks wrote:

You didn't indicate if building was primarily glass, but I'm assuming this is the case since you want to be able to see interior/exterior. You are using a tripod which makes this fairly easy, especially if you are shooting digital. Set up the camera, expose for correct dusk outside, and take the photo. Expose for the interior, take exact same shot. Take them into Photoshop, Elements or whatever software you are using and blend them together. Hope this helps.

John

Thanks,
I actually already taken the shot. I was thinking on the method you mentioned. However, by shooting at dusk I can somewhat get good exposure for both eaterior and interior. I am very satisfied with the result. Unfortunatly I cannot post the picture as I have not asked for a permission to do so from the client.

Shooting a building at dusk

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