ARCHITECTURE The urban jungle

Capture man-made structures in all their tonal glory

Architectural photography is often seen as a highly specialised discipline, but it’s one of the most accessible forms of photography, and is readily available – indoors and out, day and night.

Lens choices tend to involve shorter, wide-angle focal lengths because of restricted space and large subjects, but architectural details can be just as satisfying, so a mediumto-long telephoto zoom is a good choice, too.

For mono architectural shots, the high contrast of direct sunlight can be your friend or your foe, depending on which way the building is facing, and what else is around to cast shadows across it.

Picking the right time of day will help (morning for eastfacing and afternoon for westfacing buildings), but don’t ignore flat, overcast days, as the soft light from cloud cover will reduce overall contrast and even up the lighting.