Architectural Fine Art Photography: How to create your own fine art shot (Part 2)
Architectural fine art photography is about finding something interesting in an ordinary place. We can take pictures of something rare or something that is normally hard to capture and transform them into a piece of art.
In essence, we have the ability to mirror the world around us. If you have a creative vision where you want to express an idea that you wish to share, a story you want to tell or an emotion that you want to evoke, then consider yourself delving into the world of architectural fine art photography.
Today I am going to be showing you exactly how I begin this journey through a series of steps. These steps will fall under the topics of planning your day, capturing the moment and how to edit your photograph for the final result.
If you are new to the blog then you may want to have a quick look over Step 1 Preparation-Behind the shot.
Step 1 involved the first part of the preparation stage in how to create your own fine art shot.
But be sure to come back as today we will be looking at the next step.
So, let’s talk about how you can create your own fine art shot.
PART 2: Preparation - Making our way to the venue
Today is the day!
As you know our focus or subject that we have chosen to capture is the Amsterdam Central Station. The building is situated at the heart of the city and serves as the largest railway station in North Holland.
I finally have some time to head out and begin physically planning out my shot. How will I capture the Amsterdam central station? The first thing to do is to go outside and check the local temperature. This is essential when planning your day as any unforeseen weather conditions could ruin your strategy.
The weather app: Buienrader, is one of my top mobile app recommendations for anyone who prefers to plan their day the night before. Accuracy is key to keeping on track, especially when it comes to ever-changing weather.
Your batteries and any other camera equipment should have been charging overnight. I suggest that you do a final check to make sure everything is running smoothly. The last thing you need is to get to the location and discover that your camera won’t turn on.
Basic checklist:
Is your bag packed?
Did you test your camera?
Are the batteries fully charged?
Did you pack in memory cards?
Have you packed all your lenses and filters?
All set? Let’s get on the bike and cycle to the location.
Always expect the unexpected
Upon arrival, it is immediately clear that when it comes to photography, you always need to be flexible and adjust to the current situation. The first thing to note is that Google maps aren’t always up to date. In fact, when I arrived at the scene, I noticed that the right part of the building was under construction, but on google maps, it’s actually the left side that seems to be under construction.
This was untrue to the actual scene. The complete right side of the central station was being cleaned and re-constructed which also affected the street and facade. The construction or renovation was due to the fact that they were working on a new metro line underneath the station.
But if this ever happens to you, don’t panic!
During my editing stage, I will explain how I managed to resolve this. For now, let’s make sure that we focus on capturing the left side of the building. There is enough material to work with in order to balance out the right side for the final shot. We will retouch this in the editing process.
The reason why I will be focussing on the left side of the building is that I want the outcome image to be as pristine and clean as possible. This means no bulldozers, sand-heaps and fences should be in the frame or could ruin the overall shot.
Never let any unexpected situation put you off from creating your fine art image. By focussing on the good side of the building, you don’t have to wait another two years (give or take) for all the construction work to be finished.
You planned your day perfectly so far so let’s get this architectural fine art shot!
Observe your surroundings thoroughly
With my backpack still on, my first impression is as expected. It’s still very, very busy even with the current COVID-19 pandemic (The Netherlands at this point was NOT in lockdown just yet).
Besides all the construction workers walking around there is always a lot of commuters, travellers and even some police that pass by or stand in front of the Amsterdam central station.
But remember, this shouldn’t be an issue for the type of shot that we are making here today. The only thing you really need to pay attention to is the static objects and/or people that are seated somewhere. This is because they could be there for a long time.
I always take a few minutes to observe what people or groups of people are probably going to do.
You should be asking yourself:
Are they waiting on someone and then will go explore the city?
Is it looking like someone is going to be in the shot for a long time?
Are people handing out flyers or free newspapers?
These are the types of people that we need to take note of when we are shooting the actual images. Through observation, we can double-check to see if they move enough so that we can potentially remove them in the retouching editing phase.
Don't stand in one place, you need to move around
Then I proceed to walk around the scene a bit, go back and forth, closer and further away, move to the side.
This will give you a better sense of the depth you want to portray in your shot and it will give you an opportunity to double-check/verify that the initial angle is actually the angle you want to shoot.
By walking the scene for example backwards and forwards, you can also mentally project what type of crop/composition you can get from the subject.
So for example, do I want to move further away and get everything in one shot or is something obstructing my view? Should I get closer and use a tilt-shift lens or simply pan the camera on the tripod for a panorama?
Finally, before getting your camera and all your gear out, check your safety and surroundings. In my case, I’m very close to a very busy tram line so I’ll first let one pass to see where I can safely stand with my tripod. The same goes for cars, busses and bicycles.
Your safety always comes first, make sure you are in a safe spot!
Now Its time to take out your camera
Now the only thing I take out of my bag at this stage is my camera. With my backpack on and my camera in hand, I start to look out for where the exact centre of the building I want to shoot is.
A tip I would suggest is to use the tiles in the street to form an imaginary line running towards you. If you don’t have one then use a marker around you.
From there I draw an imaginary line towards my feet, whilst observing my shot through the camera view piece. In my case, I will shoot in portrait orientation (since I will be using the tilt-shift lens).
It doesn’t have to be 100% perfect but as long as you are close enough, it should be fine. This is also the perfect moment to check the height and angle you want to take the shot from.
Once the tripod is set up it will be more of a hassle to position it lower, so tilt your camera down, bend your knees, get close to the ground and see/feel what you think works best as an angle for the composition you want.
Set up the tripod and make sure it’s sturdy
When I’m confident that I’m in, approximately, the right spot and have the correct height I want to shoot, it’s time to put up the tripod.
When your tripod is set up you can put your bag on the ground in-between your legs or your feet. This just ensures that no one can accidentally stumble over your bag or even worse, try to snatch it.
If you have a hook on your tripod and it’s a bit windy it can also be a very good idea to hang your bag on the tripod hook, weighing it down and making it more sturdy. There is little to no wind in my case though.
Now it’s finally time to mount your camera on the tripod.
For portrait orientation, I use an L-bracket, especially when using a heavy (DSLR) camera and a ball head tripod. An L-bracket is great to use if you want your camera to sit firmly straight and not dangle on the side.
If your camera is hanging on the side of the rotational point of the tripod head you risk being further away from the nodal point. It could result in distortion errors when you merge your shots together to create your panorama image in the editing phase.
Always make sure the camera is sitting on the tripod tight so that if you have to suddenly move out of the way, you can simply pick up your tripod and carry both your camera and tripod away. You don’t want to spend more time adjusting the angle after getting it close to perfect the first time.
It’s time to switch on the camera and begin creating your vision.
Stay tuned for my next blog post which will cover exactly how I take the shot, as I stand facing the great architectural sensation of the Amsterdam Central Station.
