Basic Equipment for Architectural Photography

Randolph County Courthouse, Cuthbert, Georgia

Photographed with Canon 6D, 17-35mm f2.8L lens

Vertical lines corrected in post-processing 

 

Blog Note: This series of posts is adapted from my article Architectural Photography the Digital Way, which appeared in  Rangefinder Magazine in 2010. 

Digital architectural photography is mostly a full-frame, wide-angle-lens proposition. Ordinary wide-angle lenses can be used -- I completed my first few assignments with only a 17-35mm zoom – but a perspective control lens will make for more efficient work in the field, will save time in post-processing, and will result in better final files.

Briefly, the primary purpose of a perspective control lens is to make it possible to photograph a building or other object in such a way that parallel vertical lines in the subject remain parallel in the photograph. With a non-PC lens, it may be necessary to tilt the camera to take in the top of a tall building. Tilting the camera will cause parallel lines to appear to converge, an effect which makes the building appear to be falling backwards. Below is what you get when you point your camera up at a tall building.

Entrance to Finley Stadium, Chattanooga, Tennessee

Showing the effect of pointing the camera up at a tall building

Canon 5D, 17-35mm f2.8L lens

 

A PC lens, however, is designed to allow the front of the lens to be moved independently of the rear of the lens and the camera body. The camera remains stationary, with the sensor plane parallel with the building, while the front of the lens is raised by turning a knob until the top of the building comes into the frame. In addition to rising/falling front elements, current perspective control lenses also have a tilt feature which allows the photographer to either increase or reduce the depth of field. For this reason, they are often referred to as tilt/shift lenses. The basic focal length for architectural photography is 24mm.

 Finley Stadium Entrance, Chattanooga

Showing the effect of photographing with a Perspective Control lens 

 

 Canon has had a complete range of perspective control lenses for several years, their TS-E series in 17, 24, 45, and 90mm focal lengths. After deciding that architectural photography was something I wanted to pursue aggressively, a 24mm TS-E lens was my first purchase. 

Making the Work Flow

I shoot everything in RAW mode for the greater flexibility of the digital negative. The RAW vs. jpeg capture debate has been going on for years, but according to a poll conducted by Alan Blakely, founder and director of the Association of Independent Architectural Photographers, every architectural photographer who responded shoots RAW. 

 First Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Chattanooga

  Canon 5D, 24mm TS-E (Perspective Control) lens

 

After downloading my cards, I open and sort the files in a nifty, inexpensive, little  program called Pixort (pixort.com) and tag the keepers. These are opened in Capture One, adjusted for color and density, and converted to Tiffs. Any remaining work is done in Photoshop. To be continued.

Photographs and text copyright 2021, David B.Jenkins.

I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday each week unless life gets in the way.

Soli Gloria Deo

For the glory of God alone

 

Tags: Dave Jenkins, architectural photography, Canon 5D Classic camera, Canon

6D camera, Canon 24mm f2,8 TS-E lens, Canon EF 17-35 f2.8L lens, Capture One,

Perspective Control lenses