6 Elements of Architectural Photography
Friday, February 5, 2010 at 9:49AM While there are many technical aspects to producing high quality Architectural Photos, there are a few soft skills that are important to develop in conjunction.
Understanding Architecture is the first key to approaching Architectural Photography and what an Architect looks for in capturing their design intent. Here are 6 Elements I look for on every Architectural project.
1 - Form
Massing and materiality of archtiecture identifies unique opportunities to capture the various qualities that give meaning to how it’s built. How a project reacts to various environmental conditions, and how a user defines approach
2 - FUNCTION
Finding meaning in moments that define your space or place with users engaged in the environment generates a personal relationship to scale and usability that is otherwise less tangible.
3 - CONTEXT
Sometimes what tells the whole story extends beyond the 1 block radius of the site. Other times, it may be defined solely by the form of the land it sits on. Identifying how the project either complements, challenges, or blends with context tells the broader story of how you approach the whole of a project.
4 - SCALE
The combination of all the elements above provide relative relationships to scale. In addition, understanding that sometimes even the most intimate details like hardware and handrails create a complete user experience.
5 - TIME
Architecture is something that is dynamically affected by time of day, season, & weather. Just knowing how light approaching from one side of your project will dramatically change its character from another is just one example.
6 - MOVEMENT
To capture a place or space, one must be able to experience it beyond a single 2 dimensional image. Movement through a space provides a deeper sense of the relationships between form, function, context, and scale.
