Usman Dawood (Page 2) | Architectural Photography Almanac

Why the Rumored 150mp Canon EOS R Camera Would Be Perfect for Architecture

by Usman Dawood

As you may know, I’m not shy about megapixels. For architectural photography, I prefer more resolution over less. There are several reasons for this and it’s mostly down to flexibility; with a higher resolution camera you have more flexibility when it comes to post production, printing, cropping, and scaling.

A Simple Fix That Will Help You Switch From Lightroom to Capture One

by Usman Dawood

For the first few years of my career as an architectural photographer, I swore by Adobe Lightroom. In my experience, Lightroom has been incredibly useful for going through a large batch of images, but it doesn’t quite keep up with Capture One’s refined controls, so I started looking at Capture One as an alternative.

Lightroom Just Received a Huge Workflow Update: Are You Switching Back?

by Usman Dawood

Adobe has recently updated Lightroom and some of the new features are pretty useful. As architectural photographers, I’m sure most of us are pretty familiar with having huge numbers of layers in Photoshop. Light painting and compositing can cost a lot of storage and many of us have become accustomed to using PSB files, especially with the advent of higher-megapixel cameras where only a few layers will put you over the size limit.

Five Gimbal Movements to Help Create Beautiful Interior and Architecture Films

by Usman Dawood

I could be wrong here, but the way I see it, the market for filming real estate and architecture is possibly more lucrative than its photographic counterpart. For this reason, I think it’s probably a good idea for us photographers to develop our skills related to filming.

Canon 5DS R: Still the Best Camera You Can Buy for Architectural Photography

by Usman Dawood

In February 2015, Canon released what I think is the best architectural camera made so far. Almost 5 years on and this camera is a little long in the tooth but in my view still the best camera you can buy for this specific type of photography. I’m aware some of you may want to point out the Sony options or Fujifilm medium format cameras, but, nothing comes close to how good the Canon 5DS R is.

Three Biggest Mistakes I’ve Made as a Professional Architectural Photographer

by Usman Dawood

In a previous article, I discussed five mistakes that beginner architectural photographers tend to make. Since then I thought about how I’ve obviously made mistakes since then and although they may not be relatable to beginners there are still lessons one can draw from them.

BAAM Podcast: Mike Kelley Offers Deep Insights Into the Architectural Photography Industry

by Usman Dawood

A recent article by Lexi Taciak discussed how we finally have the perfect podcast for architectural photographers, and the latest guest on the BAAM podcast was none other than APA’s founder Mike Kelley himself – and the insights he provides are invaluable.

Why Are Some of the Best Photographers the Least Successful?

by Usman Dawood

I can comfortably say that I’m not the most talented photographer that I know. I know plenty of photographers that are extremely talented. The kind of work they produce is simply astounding and I’m consistently impressed by them. The issue is that many of these photographers tend not to be as successful than many other photographers I know who may not be as capable.

How to Prevent Camera Shake When Photographing Architecture

by Usman Dawood

Have you ever spent the day on location only to return home to go through the day’s work and realize that some of the images have motion blur? This is probably one of the most annoying little things you may encounter when starting to work as an architecture or interiors photographer.

iPhone 11 Pro vs Professional Photography: Real Estate Photography Might Be in for a Huge Change

by Usman Dawood

Every year now, Apple releases a new iPhone with a slightly better camera and slightly better features. From a year on year perspective, the differences aren’t significant. However, if you compare what the first few iPhone cameras were capable of versus now, the difference is huge.

Has the Fujifilm GFX Redefined Medium Format?

by Usman Dawood

Fujifilm is currently my favorite camera company within the photography industry. I find that they’re one of the very few companies that properly pushing the boundaries and delivering feature-filled cameras at very reasonable prices. The Fujifilm X-T3, for example, is incredible value for money.

The 60mp Sensor in the Sony a7R IV Is Still Not Enough for Architecture

by Usman Dawood

I can appreciate that many of you may assume I’m simply trying to trigger photographers with this article and its “clickbait” title. That is honestly not my intention because I firmly believe in what I’m about to discuss and I’m going to explain why I think what I do.

How To Negotiate Better Prices with Prospective Clients

by Usman Dawood

When I first started as an architectural photographer, one of the things I really struggled with was pricing. This seems to be a common thread for many creatives as it can be very difficult to objectively self-assess your talent, experience, and therefore, value.

Loupedeck: Is it Helpful for Architectural Photographers? Maybe…

by Usman Dawood

For me, one of the more boring and monotonous things I have to do is post production. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy producing the results, it’s just the basic things I need to do for almost every image before it’s ready to be properly edited in Photoshop that drag me down.

What Tripod Head Should You Buy for Real Estate and Architectural Photography?

by Usman Dawood

Geared tripod heads are some of the best heads you can buy for almost any kind of photography. Although ball heads are useful for particular types of photography and do offer certain advantages, there’s nothing quite like having the precision that geared tripod heads offer.

Pro vs Amateur Architectural Photographer: And the Winner is…

by Usman Dawood

A little over a year ago Mike Kelley, the head honcho, and big cheese at AP Almanac lost against Lee Morris in an architectural photography challenge. This was a huge surprise and an upsetting result for many who are fans of Kelley. This year they decided on doing a similar contest to see who is, in fact, the best architectural photographer between the two.

Is Medium Format the Best Option for Architectural Photography?

by Usman Dawood

Cameras like the Phase One XF system and the Hasselblad H6D offer some the largest commercially available digital sensors currently on the market. Generally speaking, larger sensors tend to offer better image quality; this isn’t explicitly true but for the most part, it’s what most people experience.

This Cheaper Lens could be a Better Alternative to the Canon 17mm Tilt-Shift

by Usman Dawood

As architectural photographers, the main types of lenses we use are tilt-shift lenses. They’re simply incredible for the kind of work we do and the control they offer make them indispensable. The main issue with these lenses, however, is the fact they cost quite a lot of money especially if you’re aiming to have the full set.

Tilt-Shift Lenses vs Fixing it in Photoshop: Which is better?

by Usman Dawood

Tilt-shift lenses are by far my favorite types of lenses; they offer so much versatility, especially when you’re shooting architecture… I wouldn’t shoot with any other type of lens! However, up until recently I had never actually compared the results you can produce with a dedicated tilt-shift lens vs correcting distortion from a conventional lens in post.

Four Quick Tips to Help You Improve Your Composition

by Usman Dawood

Although I do enjoy speaking about cameras, lenses, and technology, they don’t necessarily help with improving your photography. There are only three things that really matter in an image and they are, composition, lighting and, use of color. of the three, composition is king.