Wednesday, April 21, 2010
How To-Architectural Photograhy Books.....
I like the Norman McGrath book, "Photographing Buildings Inside and Out" and Julius Shulman's book "Photographing Architecture and Interiors". They are probably the best out there for view cameras and film. They have allot of good tips and insights. But speaking as someone who has taught this since the mid 80s, There is no book out there that can even begin to serve as a introductory textbook. The subject is just too complicated. IMO one first needs basic VC (or digital skills with T/S lenses and Photoshop) skills and then lots of practice on exteriors before attempting interiors and the complexities of lighting. IE get competent with the camera on exteriors and then tackle interior lighting. There is no book out there, that I have seen, that logically approaches the subject in a structured manner. I have been asked to review a few new books on my blog, but have yet to see a new one that deserves the effort. Maybe I should write it, but frankly I don't have the time. Any suggestions for books I may not have seen?
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I picked up the following books recently. I haven't dug through them all, and having zero background in AP I can't really recommend one as the right subject for your review. So far (again I haven't dug through them all) the Adrian Schulz book approaches the subject well from a technical and composition point of view (although it's focused mainly on exteriors). The Jim Lowe book looks promising, from a brief scan. You might want to thumb through any of these to see if they suit your interest for a review:
ReplyDeleteAdrian Schulz, Architectural Photography: Composition, Capture, and Digital Image Processing
Jim Lowe, Architectural Photography: Inside and Out
Gerry Kopelow, Architectural Photography the Digital Way
Norman McGrath, Architectural Photography: Professional Techniques for Shooting Interior and Exterior Spaces
I would like to suggest the following as a format for an introductory book: 1) Interviews with a variety of top architectural and/or interior photographers, in which they describe the type of clientele they typically work for, their current equipment and what they started out with, a couple of case studies showing the lighting set-up for some subjects they have shot, and any business practices that may be more specific to architectural/interior photography. 2) an overview of the range of standard equipment and accessories for this genre.
ReplyDeleteWhile visual and problem-solving skills take time and experience to develop, and there are really no formulas for lighting, as in some other genres of photography, I think there are some things that can be done to give aspiring architectural/interior photographers some basic tools and examples to work off of.
Good ideas David, I have thought along those lines myself......now I just need some serious $ and time to work on such a book! I have two theme books in progress now, one art commission, my class to teach in Chicago, a big show coming up in Santa Fe next year and of course all the commercial work that pays the bills.......and that folks effectively eats up about all the spare time I have for a couple of years to come.
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