Architectural Photography Almanac
A resource for working professional photographers and design industry professionals featuring news, commentary, equipment resources, and original articles
You might remember Alex Nye from his stellar commended entry in Architizer’s photo challenge, or the videos on Instagram of him climbing precarious objects to get incredible perspectives of what he is shooting.
Today Alex is back with another gem for the architectural photography community.
There’s a reason Canon’s 17mm TS-E tilt-shift lens has a dedicated spot in so many of our bags. When space is limited, it can be a lifesaver for us architectural photographers. Whether it’s photographing a bathroom in a tight space, or a high-rise building in a dense urban city center, this lens has proven invaluable to me on many occasions.
One of the most overlooked features of RAW processing software is the ability to create masks based on color values. Lightroom has recently introduced Range Masks, a feature that I constantly use on my edits. As a response, Capture One has come up with a new feature in the latest software update: the Magic Brush.
This edition of Story of an Image is not necessarily a showcase of how you should go about creating a beautiful image, but rather an exercise in being resourceful if you ever find yourself unprepared and without the proper tools. This is the story of a somewhat random outing in Shanghai which led to the creation of one of my favorite images I have ever taken.
Lurking in the shadows of the photography world, retouchers are the hidden muscle behind so much imagery produced nowadays.
Hiring a retoucher is ultimately a personal choice. It’s an approach that many photographers take, but just like outsourcing any part of your business, there are pros and cons.
When it comes to Photoshop tutorials and luminosity masking software I have two clear favorites: Unmesh Dinda and Lumenzia. It was a no-brainer to share this PiXimperfect video featuring an extensive review of Lumenzia.
Unmesh’s teachings are extensive and clear. This allows you to easily transport the techniques learned into your architectural photography workflow.
I really don’t know how I could do my post-processing job without luminosity masking. When I mentioned this in my article The Architectural Photographer’s Digital Toolbox, many asked me to show my workflow with luminosity masking. While it is impossible to sum up in one single article, because I really use this tool for everything, I can make a start and give you a look into my process!
One of the biggest steps I made in speeding up my editing workflow was learning Photoshop’s shortcuts and keyboard commands inside and out. It took me a while to get to the level of muscle memory I’m at today, but once I did, the time savings were quite significant (which means less time in front of your computer and potentially more time relaxing by a pool somewhere.)
While it maybe wasn’t as great for backing up photos as it was for compressing them, Google Photos was a perfect platform to use as an easy-to-access online portfolio that was always in your pocket. I was using it extensively, not just for sharing the photos from photography trips with my friends, but also to send images to my clients for fast reviews before the final delivery.
The second installment of my recently created Story of an Image series takes us to the western Chinese city of Chongqing – a massive, uninhibited metropolis that most people outside China may not have even heard of. While my previous article took you through my thought process for a non-commissioned portfolio capture, this time we’re on the clock working for global design firm, Woods Bagot, tasked with photographing both the exterior as well as the interior public areas of their Guohua International Financial Center project.
It’s no news that we’ve all been subjected to various levels of lockdown thanks to COVID-19. Restrictions on routine activities have given many of us plenty of time to learn new skills and techniques.
APA reader Roy Engelbrecht used his spare time in the pandemic to try out exposure stacking to satisfy a particular client request.
How do I start this? The question has been haunting me for weeks now. First, I want to thank you for the many great responses to the previous chapter of this series. In my last article, you saw my process for achieving a large number of images for at least four different clients — taken care of all in the same shoot.
Are you having trouble finding consistency in color in a photo series? You are not alone! With the method explained in this blog post, you can overcome many difficulties that come when matching colors.
I love watching good Photoshop tutorials. It’s a bonus if it is targeted at us, architectural photographers, but often that is not the case.
Lately, I have been shooting corporate interiors. The projects are usually well lit common spaces or executive offices next to a window. The rest of the spaces are mostly lit with artificial light. Although I typically like shooting with natural light only, on these projects, I must turn on and feature the practical lighting as a design element.
Adobe has just announced a new feature called “Super Resolution” which is now available in Camera Raw 13.2 (that includes the Camera Raw filter in Photoshop) and will be coming soon to Lightroom and Lightroom Classic.
According to this blog post by Adobe, “The term ‘Super Resolution’ refers to the process of improving the quality of a photo by boosting its apparent resolution.
When I wrote the first part of this series, I intended to only talk about post-production, but the way I tend to photograph projects affects a lot of my post-production techniques. I’m the guy who likes to shoot as many angels as I found interesting enough to photograph, which ends up being a selection nightmare as I sit in front of the computer.
Ever since interviewing Peter Molick on APA, I have become very enamored with his work — specifically his workplace interiors projects and the post-production steps he takes to create very visually striking images. Even in Australia, I don’t think I have come across photographers photographing workplace interiors projects as Peter does.
As I continue to mature as a photographer, I am finding that I learn most from fellow peers who share a more in-depth analysis about a single image – taking us through their thought process in how they constructed the image and why they chose a certain composition or a particular way to light the scene.
Remember that time on Sex and the City when Carrie went to boot up her laptop and got Sad Mac? If you’ve never blown on a Nintendo cartridge or used a pencil to wind a tape cassette, you’re probably too young to remember Sad Mac (actually, you might also be too young to remember Sex and the City, in which case, thanks for making me feel ancient).
Let’s be honest. Many of us spend more computer time than we would like to admit. Having an efficient workflow in the office allows us to free up more time for sessions — plus your eyes and back will thank you for it! In this post, I share three apps that are essential in my in-office workflow.
Lexi Taciak
Justin Szeremeta
Dane Alonso
Ramon Portelli
Rob van Esch
Zvonimir Stamenov
György Palkó
Veeral Patel
Brandon Vogts