06
Taking photos of buildings and large areas
by Lilian ·
One of the trickiest subject to capture on a photo (well, at least to me) is huge structures. I am never satisfied with my shots because whatever I snapped does not justify the magnificent structure.
Eventhough I have a wide-angle lense and can capture large areas, somehow, the shots just don’t give the oomph, the kind of feelings I had for the place/building when I was actually standing there.
For e.g., this scene was taken during Christmas at The Curve. It looks so dull and just another shot. I had more fun capturing macro shots of the baubles than this photo.
This is the St. Anne’s church in Bukit Mertajam. I took this with a wide-angle lense. I was so in awe of the white building shining in the dark when I was standing at the foot hill last year. But oh well, the photo looks ok.
Well, this is an accidental shot. I was walking back to my apartment and found the sky so blue. So, I took out the camera and snapped this photo of my son’s school. Somehow, the photo looks rather unique to me. The dinghy school building against the vast blue skies seem so awesome to me (at least).
And the only few good shots that I am rather proud of. My hubby actually semi-lie on the ground of KLCC to take this photo. Oops, then, I can’t claim credit to this.
However, this pic is by me. I like the moon but just can’t get that Maxis building out of my frame. Hrrmmpphhh…who allowed Maxis to building a structure that obstructs the beauty of the Twin Towers?
In short, from what I had learnt on taking nice photos of buildings:
- Use a tripod
- Use a wide-angle lense, if you have one
- Use your zoom
- Be prepared to do some contortionist act just to get the right angle
- Be a gymnast and perch dangerously, anywhere, just to get a good shot
- Remember to watch out for obstructing things like lampost, signboard or any modern features that can spoil the picture
- If you can’t manage a decent shot, don’t bother about taking the photo of the whole building. Take bits and pieces of interesting structures
- Photos taken during different time of the day can gives the building a magical touch. Dusk is best when the lights aren’t too dark and the sky cast a reddish canvas.
Good thing is buildings and structures don’t run away like little puppies or wilt like flowers. So, you can always try and try again. Just don’t zoom and crouch around someone’s bungalow and get caught by the police for suspicious, criminal acts! Hahaha.
