Usman Dawood

Staff Writer

For the last 6 years, I've been working as an architectural photographer; these years have been the best of my life so far and I'm enjoying it so much. I also have a YouTube channel which is steadily growing.

My personal life includes my wonderful wife, my beautiful daughter Amelia, and my cuddly cat Mew. My favourite sport is boxing, Spotify is life, and if I'm not taking a picture, I'm probably smoking a cigar.

The Best Budget Set-Up For Beginner Architectural Photographers

Architectural photography is one of those genres that tends to have quite a high entry cost. Although there are inexpensive gear options available, wide-angle and tilt-shift lenses generally come with a hefty price tag. For someone just starting out, a $1,900 lens might be a little out of reach.

These Videographers Risked Their Lives to Film 1920s New York Skyscrapers

It’s incredible to think about what people in the 1920s went through to put food on the table. The title of this video describes how the men in the film risked their lives to build iconic skyscrapers in New York. The likely truth is that they risked their lives for their families and futures and not for New York itself.

Hey New Photographers, Please Avoid Asking These Questions

When you’re first starting out in the industry, you have a million and two questions racing through your mind. This is great because it shows that you’re interested and looking to learn more! Most teachers will probably tell you that there are no stupid questions.

Convert Your Manfrotto 405/410 Geared Heads to an Arca Mount: F63 Clamp Review

When it comes to geared tripod heads, the more popular options on the market are from Manfrotto. The Manfrotto 410 and 405 heads are go-to options for many architectural photographers, mostly due to them being great value for their price. Even I started with the 410 and then moved onto the 405 head, and personally love the heads I currently have.

How to Straighten Your Images in Photoshop and Lightroom

One of the cardinal rules for architectural photography is that vertical lines must remain vertical. It’s considered bad form in many instances to photograph a building and have it look like it’s falling backwards, or heavily distorted. Unfortunately, there may be times when it just isn’t possible to achieve this in camera and some post production is required.

APALMANAC Reviews the Sunwayfoto GH-PRO II (Versus the Manfrotto 405 Geared Head)

One of the key bits of equipment an architectural photographer is pretty much required to have, is a good geared tripod head. I would say it’s pretty difficult to photograph architecture without having one of these. For many architectural photographers, including myself, our first geared tripod heads are probably one of the two options available from Manfrotto.

The MacBook Air: Possibly The Best Laptop For Location Shooting

Most architectural photographers prefer to shoot while tethered to a laptop or tablet device. The main reason for this is because the screens on the backs of almost all cameras tend to be pretty poor, and pretty small. This is true even for more expensive medium format cameras; although their screens are better, they’re still not that great.

Gear Advice for Those Just Starting out in Architectural Photography

For those of you that are just starting out in architectural photography, or thinking about joining the industry, you may have a lot of questions. Hopefully, the majority of those questions are about learning how to shoot as opposed to what to shoot with; however, the gear you use does still matter.

How To Remove Yourself From a Mirror In a Photograph With an “Invisible” Camera

Many of us architectural photographers are no strangers to a good tilt-shift lens. We probably even have a favorite that we use regularly for most of our shoots. My personal favorite is the Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5 II. Although I don’t shoot with it as much as I do the 45mm, I still prefer the 24mm over the other tilt-shift lenses.

Three Things I Hate About Tripods

In my view, the most tedious and frustrating bit of equipment that I need to take with me to any meaningful shoot is a tripod. Most tripods are cumbersome, heavy and, unwieldy. They’re a pain to carry around and I absolutely hate them. Don’t get me wrong, I love the results I’m able to produce with a tripod, I just hate everything else about them.

Here’s Why the Highly Underrated Canon EOS RP Is a Brilliant Option for Architectural Photographers

Most of my reviews and articles tend to be about the “best” cameras and gear; I’m all about high-resolution and super sharp lenses. Honestly, for many of us including myself, the “best” doesn’t really matter that much anymore. In more recent times I’ve been more conscious about my expenses and as a result, the camera that keeps coming up on my radar is the Canon EOS RP.

Ten Ways to Get the Most out of Your Tripod

Tripods are not the most glamorous bits of gear that many photographers own. In fact, I generally hate using a tripod. Not because it doesn’t produce the results I want, it’s just such a pain to carry around; especially the heavier ones which are also, unfortunately, the more useful ones.

How to Respond If a Client Can’t Afford You

My guess is that almost every photographer and creative has probably come across a client that’s either tried to lowball them or just couldn’t afford them. These situations can be tough, especially if you’re just starting out in the industry. In my experience I’ve made a mess of a few negotiations but, these things come with time and experience.

Large Format Is Still Completely Unrivaled: 8×10 vs Fuji GFX 100 (5DS R & X1D II)

In my last article, I talked about why a 150mp EOS R type camera would be incredible for architecture. I prefer high resolution cameras because as I’ve mentioned in past articles, they offer tons of flexibility when it comes to cropping and editing. In our latest video, we look at a camera that has the potential to produce images with resolutions far greater than any digital camera currently on the market.
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