Where you place the camera when photographing buildings is just as important as camera position for landscapes. If you photograph the building straight on, you show only one wall. This can make the structure look like a movie-set facade, as though there is nothing behind the false front.
Changing your camera position to shoot from a corner of the building shows two walls and makes the the structure appear more three-dimensional or "real." You're not limited to showing two walls; you can show a roof and a wall, or any combination of sides of the building to make it appear more substantial.
Granted, this can be impossible to accomplish if you are shooting on city streets where the buildings abut each other. But any time your architectural subject gives you the room to view it from an angle, your picture will show more depth.
Get help framing a variety of subjects in Photography in the Field, starting Thursday, May 30, 2019, at 6:30pm at the Lifelong Learning Center in Missoula, Montana. Click here to register.
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| Photographed from the end, this old barn could be just a facade held up by the board on the right. |
Changing your camera position to shoot from a corner of the building shows two walls and makes the the structure appear more three-dimensional or "real." You're not limited to showing two walls; you can show a roof and a wall, or any combination of sides of the building to make it appear more substantial.
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| Moving the camera to a corner of the barn reveals it as a three-dimensional structure with two walls and a roof. |
Granted, this can be impossible to accomplish if you are shooting on city streets where the buildings abut each other. But any time your architectural subject gives you the room to view it from an angle, your picture will show more depth.
Get help framing a variety of subjects in Photography in the Field, starting Thursday, May 30, 2019, at 6:30pm at the Lifelong Learning Center in Missoula, Montana. Click here to register.