I am currently an architecture student that enjoys photography as a hobby. I decided to combine these two interests and visited the United States Olympic & Paralympic Museum in Colorado Springs, Colorado. I was able to take a handful of photographs and wanted to get some feedback of some of my shots. Please be honest as I wish to improve my skill in both photography as a whole and architectural photography as a subject.
Thank you in advance!
Hi Christopher,
Just as you are studying the masters in architecture, you can speed up your learning by seeking out the best architectural photographers and try to emulate their best shots. Don't worry about copying… you'll most likely be shooting a different building in your own style.
I'd also highly recommend going to the Architectural Photography Almanac and search for the Featured Projects of the Week by Lexi Taciak. She does an amazing job of finding the trend-setting photographers out there.
https://apalmanac.com
I'll leave most of the image critique to others in the group but I will say that you should always ask yourself as you are shooting… "What am I trying to convey here?" Find something in your view that excites you and make it the hero of your shot. Then shoot it in such a way that your viewer can't look away.
Good luck with your studies.
Daniel L Miller Thank you for the great resource. I have already found myself spending plenty of time looking at different projects and articles.
A great point regarding finding the item within each view to make the hero. I tried to do that on some photographs, yet I can agree that I could go even further and focus even more on the hero of the shot.
I will continue to practice and enjoy the art of photography and architectural photography.
In aggregate, nice photos. That said, I'd do a different and more balanced crop of your first photo to get the verticals truly vertical, get rid of distracting elements and keep the viewer's eyes on the real subject of the essay. Good luck in your career!
OK here goes:
#1. Get closer and lose the bollards. Also watch the light standard at the left that touches the building. You may need a wider angle lens to get the structure in. Also, explore the possibility of a higher camera position. Not always possible with the gear we have but one to consider. I would also explore the low glass structure going out to the right. It invites exploration of an alternate angle that also describes the structure differently. This is also one of those buildings with a heroic glass front that can look brilliant at dusk.
#2. The structure is not understandable. This is a formal study of lines and planes. The architect will not like it. We may love some of the shapes but the person sitting on the ground and the large black structure does not give us clarity. The key forms here are the railings and the arc at the end. Find a better place to stand. Sometimes there is no good view of a detail.
#3. Not bad but you are indecisive. Move your camera to the left and maybe shoot vertical and get more of the large window and the great texture of the building. Emphasize the triangular shape of the window and the echoing form. You can get a second image of the surface detail on the right.
#4. Reflections are fine if that is the intent of the architect. In this case it is the intention of the janitor. Choose a center to the image. The large graphic to the left could be shown in context with the walls. I would lighten the wall a lot in post as it seems the intent of the architect is to make the environment light and bright.
#5. A balcony is an important feature. I would move to the right to to see more of it. I would also try to choose a vantage point where the balcony is more dramatic. There is too much blank wall.
#6. This is a photo of the display case. The drawback here is the various forms in the scene that move our eyes around in a chaotic and tiring walk through the image. Glass cases are very hard to photograph. If the client wants a shot of it then you need to devote a lot of time selecting the right angle and then eliminating distracting elements in the background and reflections on the glass. If you wish to show the whole space find a good spot and use the right lens. This is too narrow a view.
#7. Too wide a view. This exaggerates the perspective. It is a natural tendency to include too much. However this can defeat us as much as a view that is too tight.
As an architectural student it is clear you like the things you see. Photography is not about liking the stuff but solving how to make the stuff look great. The architect (client) will want dramatic images that is free from distractions. They do like people in shots but a public space has a chaotic grab bag of people dressed randomly and moving randomly.
A good exercise is to walk entirely around the structure. I also walk away and then turn around to look at the building. So often we fall in love with the first angle we see. We are often wrong.
As Daniel L Miller notes, looking at a lot of images is huge help. Also the website is massively helpful.
Keep practicing and keep watching the light. I would also work on post processing to get the look you want. That alone is worth more than $5000 worth of camera gear.