Photographing Buildings

[BBenson]

Composition includes lighting, which you can't really fix in post. Buildings don't fit in normal light boxes. So get there when the light is on the building front instead of the left side, probably mid-morning if I remember the trees across the street. Then you can play with shadows instead of the flat late afternoon shade (the golden hour is only golden when you're using that light). Fill the frame. Look for architectural details and emphasize them, most folks out here probably don't understand those stars on the wall for example. Control backgrounds. Control the sky. You can get blue skies with a P&S by not shooting a shade shot into a late afternoon sky - the shade is mainly 18% gray and the sky is much brighter. Check some of the shots in my 2009 Fort Worth Stockyards gallery for how to let the sun light the buildings and work with it, all mid- to late-afternoon(s) because that's when light is on what I wanted then.

Bob

[cynalan]

When photographing buildings, convergence of vertical lines is an important element. Try searching this term to help improve your shots.

[Raoul Isidro]

Originally Posted by BigScott

Thank you all for the help. I appreciate all of your input and I am looking forward to trying out these tips. I am doing all of this with a P&S camera right now but I hope to get a DSLR soon. (That way I can take bad pictures with a nice camera) Thank you also for sharing your shots. Seeing the examples helps me a lot.

Once you get a DSLR, your horizon will broaden!
Keep up that artistic streak!
Cheers!