Architectural photography is both an art and an exacting craft. Unlike most genres of photography, in which level horizon lines and correction for keystone and parallax distortions are secondary issues, architectural photography requires a disciplined workflow and a keen sense of design.
The following eight items are tools I find extremely valuable for photographing the exteriors and interiors of homes and commercial buildings. This list is by no means complete, but it does cover a range of essentials. As for camera format, bigger is always better but, regardless of how large or small your camera sensor may be, the rules and tools of architectural photography remain the same.
1. Tilt-shift, perspective control (pc), and wider-angle lenses
Architectural photography inevitably involves working in tight spaces, which require the use of wide-angle lenses. The best lenses to invest in for architecture are tilt-shift and perspective control lenses, which enable in-camera keystone and parallax corrections when photographing tall structures and high-ceilinged interiors. You can post-correct these “leaning building” distortions, but it’s always better to do it at the time of capture.
The widest tilt-shift lens made is the Canon TS-E 17mmf/4L, which has a whopping 104° Angle of View (AoV). Nikon and Canon manufacture 24mm (84° AoV) and 45mm (51° AoV) tilt-shift lenses. Nikon also produces an 85mm (28° AoV) tilt-shift, while Canon produces a 90mm (27° AoV) mid-range tilt-shift lens.
A selection of premium tilt-shift PC lenses is also available from Schneider in a number of mounts and focal lengths. And, for shooters on a budget, Samyang and Rokinon manufacture 24mm tilt-shift lenses with mounts for Nikon, Canon, Pentax, and Sony E-mount cameras.
Tilt-shift lenses aside, you should also include an ultra-wide-angle lens when packing for an architectural shoot. The widest rectilinear lenses currently available for mirrorless and DSLRs are 14mm (114° AoV) and they are available from Nikon, Canon, Bower, Rokinon, and Samyang.
Voigtlander produces rectilinear 15mm (110° AoV) and 12mm (121° AoV) lenses in a choice of lens mounts, and an even wider 10mm rectilinear ultra-wide (130° AoV) is expected in the latter half of 2016. If you’re looking for an ultra-wide-angle lens that also shoots life-size close-ups, you should check out the Venus Optics Lauwa 15mmf/4 Macro lens (110° AoV), which is available for Canon EF , Nikon F, Sony E, Sony A, and Pentax K lens mounts .
Lastly, it’s also worth noting there are typically a number of current and older-style used PC and shift-shift lenses in the B&H Used Department that can be adapted to many newer cameras.
2. Graduated neutral density filters
Graduated Neutral Density (ND) and Polarizing filters should be included in your architectural toolbox. Graduated filters enable you to even the overall exposure by compensating for light falloff when photographing rooms lit by large windows or multilevel interiors lit from above. Graduated ND filters are available in a number of densities. Graduated ND filters are available with tints, but for architectural imaging, you’re best off sticking to neutrally toned filtration.
Polarizing filters eliminate glare and reflections on windows and smooth, polished surfaces. In the process of eliminating glare, Polarizing filters often saturate color values too.
3. Cable releases and remote triggering systems
Long exposures and remote camera positions aren’t unusual when photographing interiors and exteriors of buildings. In the case of long exposure times, it’s always a good idea to trigger the camera shutter remotely to minimize camera shake.
If your camera has a threaded shutter-release button, the simplest and least expensive options are threaded cable releases, which are available in lengths ranging from 6" to 30'. We also stock a huge selection of wired and wireless electronic shutter releases, many of which can also be programmed for time-lapse, flash, and sequenced image capture.
Many of these triggering devices are available as individual components, as well as full-blown triggering systems for controlling cameras and lights.
4. Tripod with Geared center-column for fine-tuning the camera height
When photographing interiors and exteriors it’s not uncommon to have to make small, adjustments to the height of the camera. Geared tripod center-columns make it possible to adjust the height of the camera in fine increments compared to tripods using rapid-style center columns.
Not all tripods have geared center columns and, unfortunately, many tripods with rapid columns cannot be converted or modified to accept geared center columns. If you shoot architectural assignments regularly, you should strongly consider a tripod with a geared column—and make it a sturdy tripod.
5. Pan/tilt and geared ball heads for precision multi-axis camera positioning
Just as geared center columns enable subtle adjustments to the camera height, geared ball and tripod heads make it possible to level your camera with equal measures of accuracy. The problem of using ball heads with single-action locking mechanisms is that the moment you release the lock mechanism the camera goes completely off-axis.
Pan/tilt heads allow you to adjust the pitch and yaw of the camera position independently, as do geared ball heads, which enable far more adjustment control compared to single-action and non-geared ball and tripod heads.
6. Hot-shoe Bubble Level
The reason you want a geared ball head is so you can level your camera accurately, and the only way to accurately level a camera is by using a bubble level. Available in single, double, and triple-axis configurations, the smallest, least expensive, and easiest-to-use are shoe-mounted bubble levels. Bubble levels are also embedded in a number of leveling bases that fit between your tripod and tripod head, leveling plates, and quick-release components.
7. Table tripod and compact camera supports for shooting on stairs, nooks, crannies, and ground-level
Sometimes, the best camera angle is lower than the reach of your tripod or situated on a narrow step, ledge, or outcropping. These are times you want to have a sturdy tabletop tripod, which is available in a choice of form factors. In addition to traditional three-legged tripods, compact camera supports can be plate-like for ground-level shooting or clamp-like for mounting cameras on poles, rails, banisters, and other unorthodox camera positions.
8. Lighting
Lighting for architecture is a feature story in itself. Lighting types include studio, on-camera, and off-camera flash, tungsten, LED, HMI, Fluorescent, and window light.
The most commonly used lighting for interiors is electronic flash, which is daylight balanced and therefore easy to blend with window light. Larger studio-type strobes pack the most power and are best suited for larger spaces.
For shooting in close quarters, smaller on- and off-camera flash can be used, but do be careful of reflections and kickback when using flash on or close to the camera position.
Although they are not as popular as flash, tungsten and daylight-balanced continuous light sources can be used for architectural photography, though with a couple of caveats.
Tungsten and daylight-balanced (HMI) lights generate massive amounts of heat and, in the case of tungsten lights, care must be taken when mixing tungsten and window light.
HMIs are daylight balanced, but are costly and must be handled with care.
If you are shooting in windowless office spaces, fluorescent lights make color management considerably easier but at a cost—fluorescent lamps are large, heavy, and fragile.
So there you have it: eight essential imaging tools that can dramatically improve the quality and visual accuracy of your interior and exterior architectural photographs.
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