The Art of Architecture (and why it is imortant)

Saturday Ambassador

I enjoy architecture for all its myriad details, the complexity of its engineering and the art form that it presents. I also enjoy photographing it; however, architecture presents a special challenge in this regard:

Hayden Ferry Lakeside Building, Tempe, Arizona, Deva Mayorga-Malone, 2013

It is imperative that the vertical lines of a structure remain straight in order to provide an accurate representation. Also, this is the way we perceive architecture after our brains automatically correct the distortion caused by perspective. Your camera, however, makes no such correction on its own. When you tilt the camera back to look up at a tall structure, a "key-stoning" effect is the result:

Hayden Ferry Lakeside Building, Tempe, Arizona, Deva Mayorga-Malone, 2013

You can use this to aesthetic advantage with symmetrical compositions which highlight architectural details and exaggerate the height of the structure, though usually a more precise approach is preferred.

               

 

Hayden Ferry Lakeside Building, Tempe, Arizona, Deva Mayorga-Malone, 2013

There are a number of ways in which this may be accomplished: Traditionally, architectural photographers often shoot large format with a camera which allows movement of the lens in relation to the film or sensor plane. However, tilt/shift lenses for the DSLR are becoming more common. They achieve the same purpose, in a more practical (and affordable) manner. For the rest of us, perspective correction must be achieved with software. Both Lightroom and Photoshop have excellent tools for this:

·         Lightroom: In the Develop Module, scroll down to Lens Correction and select Manual. There are sliders for distortion, vertical, horizontal, rotate and scale.

 

·         Photoshop: Under Filters, select Lens Correction, then the Custom tab. Here, you will find essentially the same options.

The effective use of these tools requires some practice, along with minute and careful adjustments. The end result, however, can be stunning:

Hayden Ferry Lakeside Building, Tempe, Arizona, Deva Mayorga-Malone, 2013

As an industrial photographer, the ability to shoot architecture is important to me. However, regardless of your genre, it can be a handy skill. For example, portrait and fashion photographers often pose their subjects in an architectural environment, and commercial shooters regularly photograph within interior architectural spaces. Regardless of your intended path as a photographer, honing these techniques can only prove beneficial.

Oh, and don’t forget the details:

Hayden Ferry Lakeside Building, Tempe, Arizona, Deva Mayorga-Malone, 2013

~Saturday Ambassador