Canon® EOS-1Ds Mark III Digital Field Guide

Chapter 11. Architectural Photography

In This Chapter

• Initial requirements of architectural photography

• Using the EOS-1Ds Mark III in architectural photography

• Architectural shooting techniques

• Architectural post-processing techniques

Architectural photography, photographing the exteriors and interiors of buildings and other structures as accurately and as creatively as you can, would appear to be a fairly simple craft — that is, until you try to do it yourself. There is a range of requirements for this type of work that is fairly specialized unto itself, and it takes a huge amount of learning and practice to become technically proficient at it. It's possibly the principal area in photography that demands the most optical precision and least distortion. Architectural work normally is about buildings, but also includes bridges, factory structures, and other exterior and interior spaces.

Initial Requirements of Architectural Photography

• Get wide. The huge physical size of large buildings, often without room to back up, as well as the physical limitations of small interiors with the same problem of not being able to get back far enough, often combine to demand a very wide-angle lens, yet come up with an image without the distortion that is typical of wide-angle lenses.

• Aim for optical perfection. Architectural images should be as optically perfect as possible. Some of these areas of perfection include the following:

  • Straight and level. The goal is parallel lines and precise right angles, to ...