Sunday, November 18, 2018

The Purpose And Tenets Of Architectural Photography

By Betty Hughes


If one is angling to become a photographer, it is both important and fulfilling to try out as many styles and genres as one can muster. With all the other subjects and contingents vying to be permanently captured on lens, theres literally a whole host of options up for the taking. At some point in their career, shutterbugs would have tried architectural photography Minnesota.

For some introductory stage setting, this is all about photographing structures like buildings, monuments, edifices, and other some such structures. Its scope range all the way from modern buildings, historic ones, houses and residences, farm barns, bridges, factories, heritage sites, and many more others. This genre aims to capture these places in a way thats aesthetically pleasing but also accurately representative.

You dont want to make the mistake of confusing real estate photography with the architectural, though. The first is mainly concerned in showcasing a particular property, with the end goal of selling it. A specific point of departure is that it aims to capture all the spaces as much as possible so that an appraiser may be able to appreciate the size and amenities. The latter totally focuses on beauty and design. Its also largely interpretative, very much like traditional photography and art.

There are all the reasons in the world to delve into this department. It can be a very noble calling in itself. The very first architecture photographers worked with the respectable aim of capturing the feels and vibes of certain places before they transmute into irreversible modernity, change, and oblivion. This is why we still have nostalgic pictures of early twentieth century Paris or London, for starters.

It may also be that theyre aiming to tell a story. Yet again, buildings are imbued with personality, but thats due to their history. With an excellently captured photograph, one might be able to transmit to the appraiser the comprehensive history of a certain place. Fairgrounds, for example, are usually captured with lighthearted vibes, but places where terrible events happened, as with war sites and concentration camps, are usually captured in dark and gloomy portents.

Its also a way for onlookers to appreciate the beauty of design and architecture of a place when they dont have the ways and means to personally get to it. This is why people on the other side of the world are able to identify certain edifices such as the Empire State Building, the Eiffel Tower, the Taj Mahal, and the Pyramids of Giza. These are the types of structures one hasnt been to, but will know it once he sees it.

Architectural photography is on the higher echelons in this field. Therefore, it naturally isnt easy and breezy. It is easier to get away with certain subject matters who have dynamism and movement, as with people, since they can present a story all by themselves. In the architectural genre, however, all the elbow grease is wholly left to the photographer.

Landscaping is also imperative in this field. The surroundings and environment of a particular building contributes greatly to the overall composition of a particular photograph, and also aims to deliver a sense of harmony and an idea of scale. This is why trees, statues, or fountains are often included in some compositions, so as to juxtapose the relative grandness of a particular structure. One may also play with lines, lights, and shadows, so as to veer away from the standard aesthetic and graphic, and bring dynamism and movement into the picture. Or else add extra dimensions through the use or reflections, that which can be provided by placid lakes and similar water features.

There are many reasons to go by this enterprise. For one, it enables us to document architecture and scenes before they disappear to oblivion, perhaps due to modernization. It also adds a feel and story for a particular subject, and transmits a sense of achievement, strength, and even the fragility of a certain structure. Buildings are of great cultural, historical, and humanistic significance, and those grant it a certain essence.




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