Complete Guide to Architecture Photography: Techniques, Equipment, and 6 Tips Every Architecture Photographer Should Know

Architecture refers to the design, engineering, and construction of manmade structures, as well as the final structures themselves. Endless architecture styles have emerged throughout the centuries, each with its own unique expressions: Romanesque, Gothic, Classical, Neoclassical, Baroque, Modernist, Brutalist, etc.

While it’s possible to simply point a camera at a building or a bridge and snap a picture, there is an art to photographing architecture. Famous architectural photographers include Albert Levy, who began photographing older buildings in the 1870s, and American mid-century modernist Julius Shulman, who became popular after photographing modern buildings.

Architecture photography boils down to two distinct types: exterior, and interior.

1. 1. Exterior architecture photography. This refers to photographs of the outside of a structure. Exteriors benefit from a wealth of natural light, which makes them easier to photograph. Depending on the whims of nature, exteriors may also produce wildly varying, moody, and dramatic results.
2. 2. Interior architecture photography. This refers to photographs of a structure’s interior. Interiors are often more challenging to capture: ambient light available through windows or skylights is often limited, and sometimes filtered, as through colorful stained glass windows in churches. Supplemental lighting in the form of a flash helps accurately capture interiors.

Whether it’s a smartphone or DSLR, any camera can capture interesting architectural shots.

• Smartphones, like Apple’s iPhone, are capable of taking surprisingly good architecture photos when paired with manual camera apps like Adobe Lightroom.
• Digital cameras, especially mirrorless cameras and DSLRs, provide more freedom in experimentation with lenses and more control in manual mode for camera settings like exposure, shutter speed, and ISO. Canon, Nikon, and Sony all offer a range of functional cameras, from affordable point-and-shoot cameras to top-of-the-line mirrorless cameras.
• View cameras, which allow for large format photography, are the best camera for providing the most professional looking images and are preferred by dedicated architecture photographers the world over. However, their bulk and hefty price tag make them less than ideal for new or hobbyist architecture photographers.

There is an assortment of photography equipment available to help you capture spectacular shots of architecture.

• Camera. For the casual or beginner architecture photographer, a DSLR camera will provide all the necessary modes and settings you need to shoot architecture images.
• Tripod. Whether you’re using a heavy telephoto lens or shooting a long exposure of an architectural subject, a tripod will steady your camera and lead to crisper, sharper final images.
• Flash. For interior architecture shots, equip your camera with a flash attachment to get brighter, more vivid images. You can also expand your kit to include speed lights, bounces, and shoot-through umbrellas for even more lighting help.
• Standard camera lens. A standard zoom lens or prime lens will suffice for capturing detail shots, both inside and outside. Learn more about choosing the right lens here.
• Specialty camera lenses. Specialty lenses allow a photographer to experiment with perspective and depth in creative ways. For instance, a tilt-shift lens fakes a shallow depth of field to help you play with the viewer’s sense of scale; a wide-angle lens captures larger sections of exteriors; and a fish-eye lens can distort interior shots in interesting ways.
• Elevation. Architecture photography is not simply limited to shooting from ground level: elevation can provide a unique take on an otherwise common shot. Since most structures are much larger than the average photographer, angles become as important as a sense of adventure. Ladders, stairs, boulders, skyboxes, and rooftops of other tall buildings are some ideas to get you started on exploring perspectives.

Once you’ve chosen an architecture interior or exterior to photograph, follow these simple guidelines to capture it effectively.

1. 1. Do your research. Every architectural structure has a story. Research the architect and his or her influences as a starting point, along with the style and the date the building was constructed or renovated.
2. 2. Get a first impression. When standing in front of or inside a structure, first look around and take stock of everything you see. What do you notice first? Where is your eye drawn? Let your gut be your initial guide to what’s interesting about your architectural subject.
3. 3. Zoom in on details. If you’ve done your research, you may notice small details that line up with the narrative of your architectural subject. If you haven’t done any research, or the building’s history isn’t sparking any particular inspiration, there is still plenty to explore. Consider the shape of the roof or the materials of the ceiling or floor. Look for repeating design elements or unusual symbols. Architecture photography is as much about capturing the details as it is about documenting the whole.
4. 4. Zoom out on the landscape. It is also important to survey the landscape and place the architecture in context. If there is a body of water nearby, try capturing the reflection of the building alongside the building itself.
5. 5. Incorporate other structures or rooms. If there are other structures that contrast nicely with your subject, try incorporating them into the frame. For interiors, try capturing your subject from an adjoining hallway or room that offers a different perspective. Photographing these details provides an additional layer of complexity and interest to architecture photography.
6. 6. Shoot from every angle. When you feel you’ve exhausted your architectural subject, Look for different angles, perspectives, and vantage points that may offer a fresh take. Can you shoot an interior from above, or through a window? What does that bridge look like from underneath? Is that building as impressive from the air as it is from the street?
7. 7. Shoot at different times and conditions. What does your exterior subject look like on a rainy day? How does the light of a desk lamp on a dark night affect the feel of an interior? Different times of day and weather conditions can add a unique atmosphere to your architectural photos.

Post-processing and photo editing are important finishing steps in architectural photography. Once you have an array of raw, unedited images, upload them to your computer and edit with Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom, the industry-standard tools.

Adobe offers two pieces of photography post-processing software: Photoshop and Lightroom. Both provide a full suite of tools to edit photos and are available as photo editing or shooting apps for both Android and iOS.

• Photoshop is more suited for retouching small areas (like say, if a single, errant piece of trash sneaked into your shot), for layering, and for compositing and stitching images to create composite images like triptychs or panoramas.
• Lightroom is a more comprehensive post-processing app that gives the photographer control over detailed and global adjustments when you edit photos. The most common editing tools include fixing perspective, exposure, contrast, and cropping, but Lightroom is also known for its presets, which is a faster way to automatically apply layers of filters with a single click.
• Photomatix and other apps specifically focus on certain aspects of editing, like merging underexposed and overexposed photos to create a properly balanced final image.

Follow these tips to get the most out of your architectural photography.

1. 1. Position matters. The simplest way to achieve a stunning photo is to position the camera perpendicular with the vertical lines of a building. Produce a visually arresting image by controlling the perspective and adjusting the focal plane to capture multiple parallel vertical lines.
2. 2. Keep an eye out for dynamic shapes. Clean lines set against a clear sky highlight the symmetry of a structure, but keep an eye out for curves or other dynamic shapes that add a sense of movement to an otherwise still image.
3. 3. Find the right light. Wait for the light to shift and capture the change in shadows stretching off windows or columns. If the light is not ideal, adjust your shutter speed and aperture (or, on a smartphone, your exposure setting) with the aim of grabbing three shots: underexposed, automatically exposed, and overexposed.
4. 4. Play with your camera settings. Since each scene is different, play with shutter speed and aperture for the three shots above, capturing one that is darker than you’d like, one that is brighter, and one that seems fine, but could use some work. Perfection does not matter at this point in the process, as you’ll be merging these three images during post-processing to produce a final, balanced image.

Considering we are surrounded by architecture, from the ancient to the hyper-modern, it’s a good thing little skill or expertise is required to nab that perfect shot. As long as you have a camera in hand, you can begin experimenting with architecture photography, starting in your own home before exploring the world beyond.

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