How to master... Fine-art Architecture
Sample the finer things in life! Tony Sellen explains his process of shooting astounding architecture and pushing artistic boundaries
Architecture photography is a genre that is getting increasingly popular with photographers. As more creative buildings are constructed in our towns and cities, us photographers simply can’t wait to get out there and shoot them! Architects are given a creative licence to go and construct a building how they want; they design it how they want the world to see it. As a fine-art photographer, I believe the same creative licence is given to go and capture the building how I want; how I want the viewer to see my photograph. Fine-art photography suits architecture, as the buildings can be manipulated more than a landscape – or a portrait – could ever be. You can be more creative with something that’s man-made than you can with something that’s natural. But what is ‘fine art’? To me, fine art is the freedom to become an artist, to push the boundaries and create. Using wide-angle lenses, clever compositions, long exposures and processing techniques, we get to show the buildings in ways that they are not normally seen.
In this article, I will outline my take on certain aspects of photography that inspire me the most. To name a few, I will cover long-exposure photography, abstract images, as well as capturing interiors. I will also give some advice on taking images using my experience and observations so far, all of which I hope you will find useful.
MODERN ARCHITECTURE
Modern architecture, ‘modernism’, or ‘postmodern’, are the most common styles of architecture in the 21st century. The minimalistic design of the modern buildings allows photographers to create something different from the image. With an emphasis on volume, asymmetrical compositions, and minimal ornamentation, the photographer has more of a blank canvas to work with. Older buildings tend to have a lot more detailed stonework. As fascinating as these details may be, from a photography perspective, a nice sleek building with few small details is much easier to create an image from.
Design and shape
So much time, thought and money goes into the design of buildings – they have to sit well in their surroundings and interact well with the humans
that work in and around them. The shapes of the buildings, or parts of the buildings, are what we really notice first. A drawn outline of a major city’s skyline is identified by its buildings – be it the Gherkin, Empire State Building or Sydney Opera House, we can guess the city by these landmark buildings. As a photographer, we need to use these shapes to create the image. Taking a photograph from an unusual angle can transform a well-known shape into something different. As much as people like to recognize what they are looking at, it’s always good to get them thinking; to get their eyes wandering around the image.
Architects often use shapes and lines in their designs – using these to compose your own image is vital. The lines running through a building will often act as the leading lines in your composition. Many buildings use repetitive shapes throughout their design. You can often find symmetry in the architecture, and photographing this can lead to some great shots.
Modern materials
The minimal modern look of new buildings is characterized by the heavy use of new technologies, with particular emphasis on the use of glass, steel and, of course, reinforced concrete. These materials are what allows the architect to create such sleek, flowing, buildings. No longer are buildings constrained by the blocky bricks used to build them, making them look very square and ridged. They are now tall and slender, with glass stretching all the way up the side. Steel beams give beautiful straight edges that run in all sorts of angles. Amazing shapes and designs are created by concrete that has no limits.
These modern materials do come with problems when creating a photograph, however. Glass can often show unwanted reflections, and having a nice smooth image is no good if there is another building, or ugly cloud, reflected in one of the many windows. This can make composing shots difficult when there’s so much glass involved. Long exposure techniques can help with clouds, but buildings,
Taking a photograph from a different angle can transform a well-known shape into something different
trees and so on aren’t as easy to resolve and the image needs to be composed without reflections. Sometimes they can be removed in post, though.
That being said, there are times when a reflection can lend itself to the image. Mirroring a building against itself, or with a neighbouring building, can work very well.
INTERIORS
So much thought goes into not only the design of the outside of the building, but also the inside. The interior is often more important than the exterior. With people living and working inside the buildings, a lot of time and effort needs to be spent making sure these areas’ environments are desirable to spend any amount of time in.
Look for shapes
Modern buildings will often have bright insides, with lots of shapes and lines creating an open feeling. Designed very much like the exteriors, with lots of glass to achieve this bright, open feel. Unusual shapes, and often symmetry, make good subjects for interior architectural shots. These are often stairs or escalators. Looking directly up – or down – a long escalator can create an intriguing image.
The lure of stations
I’ve often taken photographs in train and metro stations across Europe, because many of these are deep tube stations that have long escalators with interesting façades surrounding them. But stations often have more than just escalators that are interesting to shoot; the platforms themselves have many leading lines that can create compelling compositions. The rails on the track, the platform edges and the platforms themselves all have long stretching lines. The façades and tunnels in stations are often missed. These are ideal for creating aesthetically pleasing photos. With most people rushing through the crowds, in a hurry to get somewhere, they often don’t even notice the design and detail that’s around them. Be careful when taking photos around moving trains, though, and always keep well back from the platform edge.
Push up the ISO
Shooting interiors, especially underground stations is not the easiest task. With a lack of light and, in most cases, being unable to use a tripod, it’s hard to achieve a fast enough shutter speed. Sometimes the only way to get the image you want is by shooting with a high ISO. Modern cameras handle noise very well, but I find the more megapixels your Nikon has, the harder it is to deal with ISO noise in post.
For this reason I’ll often opt to use my Nikon Df for interior shots as it handles noise so well, the images also tidy up nicely in post-production. Cleaning up noisy photos in post isn’t ideal, it can make the image messier than it would have been if the noise had been left in, so be careful.
But while it’s generally not ideal to use a higher ISO, that doesn’t mean you can’t ever do this. In fact, noise can sometimes add a gritty feeling to the shot, in street scenes, for example.
PEOPLE & BUILDINGS
Now more than ever, I’m increasingly including people in my images. It isn’t always possible, and it’s not something I always look to do, but it can add another dimension to your work. Having the architecture, or the surroundings, as the main
Cleaning up noisy photos in post isn’t ideal, it can make the image messier than it would have been if the noise had been left in