Memorize These Shapes for your Architectural Photography

[@mikepenney5726]

I have been doing and studying architectural photography for 40 years... read every book studied all the other photographers.... NOBODY else explains what needs to happen in composition as clearly as you. Thank you.

[@stevenbrookephotography]

Mike. Thank you very much for your kind words. I'm glad to know that these videos are proving helpful to you in your work.

[@RewDowns]

Agreed! Buy the book support this guy!

[@lena191]

Mr Brooke, thank you so much for sharing this content. If I could give more than one like, I would. A copy of the book will be considered.

[@ArminHirmer]

Awesome. And once you see it, you cannot unseen it. Just perfect Steven. Thank you for your work!

[@michaelthecanadian1785]

These videos are SO much more informative that all those youtuber camera bros. Here we are actually learning and not just being told clickbait bullshit

[@stevenbrookephotography]

Thank you, Michael. I'm pleased that you are finding the videos helpful.

[@edwuano7]

so tired of that and i’ve been moving toward books for info.

[@liz2959]

Fantastique ! This helps a lot!

[@KD-rn3je]

A great lecture with abundant examples from classic painitngs to modern architecture. Those photographic 'basic chords' will make you get the sense of what architecture photographs are.

[@donaldcox9530]

Don Cox. Pure excellence. Steven your book is priceless. Written by a true professional.

[@stevenbrookephotography]

Thank you, Don.

[@kapurar]

Your series is exceptional and an outstanding tutorial. Just purchased your book. Thank you!

[@blbreptiles4126]

What a fantadtic video, I've learned a ton and it gives me a great base from which to start!

[@stevenbrookephotography]

Thanks for your note. I'm glad this will be of help to you.

[@9DIACONO9]

Ohhhh this is awesome!!! thanks, now a have a better comprehension of the basics... :3

[@stupidspacebar]

Amazing video ! I'm a newbie to photography and really trying to get into the architecture photography space. This was super helpful :)

[@derHörer]

I learn something with every video I watch - thank you

[@mikenicholls5843]

Wonderful, a simplified common sense guide, thank you for your generosity and teachings

[@stevenbrookephotography]

You are very welcome, Mike. Thanks for watching.

[@andrieslucian]

Best in it's class! Thank you sir!

[@vache.shoots]

I just came across your channel and after watching only 3 videos went immediately to buy your ebook. Your knowledge and teaching style is next level 🙌

[@stevenbrookephotography]

Thank you for your note. Much appreciated.

[@jerold5654]

This was informative to visualize purposeful composition. I often use these compositional rules, but unaware of why my eye was drawn to them. Your video clarifies why some compositions work better than others. Thanks.

[@KT-ei4sh]

Thank you for the very useful content. Keep it up!

[@bernhardvisuals]

Love it. LIke going back to art school. Great insight

[@JPStaats]

One of the best resources in this genre of photography - thank you for sharing your knowledge with passion and rigour.

[@anthonygeorge5604]

Great presentation. I love your style of teaching

[@gonnaloveyoumore]

Thank you so much! I learnt a lot from this video

[@SamirYasif1]

beyond perfect, fall in love with this resource

[@rosarosa8440]

Hello Steven, thank you very much for your lecture and for sharing your knowledge with us. These are really great tips that you impart

[@DenisBTV]

Great tutorial!

[@training7574]

Very insightful and theoretically sound. I never realized why some of my city photographs were good, others not. Btw, Ernst Gombrich's art books argue for a similar view on simple composition Gestalts.

[@stevenbrookephotography]

Thanks for your notes.

[@brucevincentiis5680]

The absolute best resource for architecture photography. Every video is so informative and always come away with something new. Thanks Steve. 🙏

[@BenoSaradzic]

These are solid gold Steven. Please don't stop making them. Hope all is well.

[@dsam3]

Good find for me to learn AP.

[@thedarkslide]

I bookmarked this video, watching this from time to time. Great overview, this is a must see.

[@stevenbrookephotography]

Thank you. This approach to basic shapes is the favorite of my students.

[@robcoates4394]

Just discovered your channel, Steven and found this video very interesting. I'm a retiree amateur photographer and one of my main interests is architecture. Looking forward to working through your video collection. Thanks and cheers from DownUnder 🦘

[@stevenbrookephotography]

Thank you for checking in. You are joining many in our community from DownUnder!

[@friedhelf]

Very good idea to break it down to a few simple shapes. But I guess it's also good to be able to let go of them any time. Thank you very much!

[@henrique82611]

great tips! I highly recommend your ebook! thank you to share with us.

[@stevenbrookephotography]

You are very welcome.

[@jackiebuys6508]

Fascinating. I need to watch this again.

[@mikehirak4311]

Absolutely brilliant information. This is very informative and helps in the set up of basic images. Great work! Please keep it up.

[@timryan6395]

Good content, thank you

[@karolmysliwiec7774]

Great video, thank you

[@ΣπύροςΧατζησταυράκης]

great work!! thank you!!

[@zakey9662]

Thank you very much sir!!

[@lindelholden5465]

Eye opening! Thank you for sharing!

[@stevenbrookephotography]

Thanks, Lindel. Glad you enjoyed the video.

[@canalmarcelolobo]

I am so glad I found these presentations and your channel, Steven, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. One frustrating situation that occasionally I face is when I get back to the computer to only realize that my composition was excellent, symmetrical, but the place itself wasn't.

[@stevenbrookephotography]

Thanks for your note, Marcelo. For asymmetrical buildings that I still wish to center in the view, I simply use the sides of the building as a guide. When I do that, I make certain that I have sufficient space on either side of the building so it is not too close to the sides of the actual frame. (Give it 'breathing room'.) Another approach is to simply center the entrance and forego trying to place the building symmetrically in the composition.

[@ced777sleep2die]

Love the videos, thank you so much for this generous information

[@stevenbrookephotography]

You’re welcome, Cedric. I hope the videos help you with your work. S.

[@darrylroberts5235]

Your teachings are awesome. E-book asap. Thank you.

[@stevenbrookephotography]

Thank you, Darryl.

[@viniciusvmrx2845]

Fantastic vídeo! Composition principles never felt so clear!

[@stevenbrookephotography]

I am very pleased to hear that this was helpful to you.

[@DavidHarrisGRI]

I have used these compositions for years but never had a name or definition for any of them. I suppose I just picked them up from trial and error and viewing the work of others. It is helpful to see the concepts laid out this way. Thank you.

[@stevenbrookephotography]

You’re very welcome. Glad the video was clarifying. Thanks for watching.

[@JimiCanRead]

What an amazing video

[@christiancottafavi722]

what a fantastic video Sir.

[@stevenbrookephotography]

Thank you.

[@TonySkraba]

Being new to photography in general, not specifically architecture, this channel has been an amazing resource. I have been trying to conceptualize how to apply info here to amateur tourist travels and landscapes, so it was nice to see them mentioned here. Thanks again, Mr. Brooke!

[@stevenbrookephotography]

You’re very welcome. Glad to know the videos are helping. I am planning a video on photographing architecture while touring.

[@iskiiwizz536]

Thank you Monsieur 🇫🇷

[@jean-denishippolyte5392]

Thank you Steven

[@Architekturfoto]

Thank you for the good video. Great work! As an interior designer and architectural photographer, I also prefer the corner perspective, which favors one side. In the western world, the eye is used to looking from left to right. That's why I try (if possible) to let the building approach me from left to right, as shown in most of your depictions. The other way around, the upper line falls straight down and does not rise. I see it the same way in the interior shots. Do you see it the same way? It sounds a bit philosophical, but I think it's important...

[@stevenbrookephotography]

If I do photograph off-axis, the direction of the image is dictated by the structures, themselves, and what I need to convey. I don’t try to force the subject matter into a preconceived compositional framework.

[@rodneymichael6164]

Very informative. Well done.

[@prburley]

Thank you so much for another video. This answers a lot of problems in my head about photographing these individual buildings within a dense urban environment, clearly the axial/symmetrical is technically impossible.

[@stevenbrookephotography]

In my work in Jerusalem, Rome, Venice, New York, and now in my ever more dense Miami, I am battling the same issues. My first (even second) choice for a compositional scheme is not always available. It helps to have an arsenal of alternative frameworks into which you can successfully place your subject matter.

[@prburley]

@@stevenbrookephotography Which I really need. I went out on Saturday and tried to recreate the shapes in the videos--interesting challenge.

[@danielcocan4145]

thank you for sharing the knowledge and your wisdom !

[@samglafreniere1030]

Steven, this brings so much value to our work. As a slow shooter, this will help me so much to take the time to read the scene so my compositions are much more stronger rather than shooting without even really be aware of the way i frame the subject. I am super grateful to have discovered your your videos and will definitely buy your e-book. Thank you and keep spreading this pure knowledge.

[@stevenbrookephotography]

Thank you for your note, Sam. I’m grateful that the videos will help significantly with your work. And thanks for purchasing the book. I think there is a lot in there that you will also find useful.

[@hosseindarvishi7015]

Thanks man, l learned a lot ❤

[@stevenbrookephotography]

You are very welcome. Thank you for watching these videos.

[@shmuelaryehkoltov241]

Steven, your channel is a treasure of knowledge and helps me getting to understand architectural photography on a whole different level. And I have of course bought your book, as well as a couple of your other books 🙂

[@stevenbrookephotography]

Thank you, Shmuel. I am pleased to know that the videos and the book will be helping you with your work.

[@abagasi]

معلومات مفيدة جداً علمية وعملية شكرا لك

[@stevenbrookephotography]

أنت مرحب بك جدا sorry wrong word

[@andrewstorey4991]

Wonderful video, thank you. I love your metaphors drawn from music and other arts.

[@stevenbrookephotography]

Thanks, Andrew. The parallels are definitely there. Music, painting, even my jiu jitsu training informs everything I try to do with my photography. I'm trying my best to pass that on.

[@kareemtejumola5443]

Thanks for this nice helpful tutorial. However I need your assistance in the following areas: How do I capture completely skyscraper with foreground and background, that is position of the camera, lens type, where to focus, for clarity and sharpness I may have to use F11, extended shutter speed like 3 to 5 secs. I will surely use a tripod and a remote wireless shutter or at least the camera timer. anxiously waiting for your response. thanking you in anticipation

[@stevenbrookephotography]

Kareem, Photographing a skyscraper can be challenging. Here are a few suggestions. • As suggested in my video Back Up-Zoom In, use your widest lens and try to get as far back as you can so that you can capture the entire building without having to introduce much (or any) vertical distortion. If you do have parallax distortion, you can fix that in photoshop, keeping in mind that you might have to do an additional correction to restore the proper proportion of the building if the parallax correction was extreme. Clearly, you will have more foreground and information on the sides to deal with compositionally. Crop out what you don't want or need. • f/11 or f/16 will give you sufficient depth of field. I would still keep my ISO at 100 and, of course, use a tripod. • If you can’t back up enough and circumstances force you to tilt your camera, my recommendation would be to keep the horizontals parallel to the picture plane so that you have compositional stability in at least one direction. That will make the parallax correction easier to accomplish. • If at all possible, find a higher vantage point (another building, a parking garage). Half-way up is ideal, and the people and traffic at ground level are no longer an issue. • If you can’t photograph the main façade on axis, remember to avoid putting the corner of the building in the very center of the composition.

[@DualPeaksPhotography]

This is really excellent information. I appreciate your connection to the history of composition and it’s timelessness in drawing the eye through the image. I just bought your book because of this. Keep up the phenomenal content! I’d love to see a video on photographing architecture in overcast conditions. Here in Toronto, half the year is overcast and it definitely makes it hard to feel inspired to make great work. Cheers!

[@stevenbrookephotography]

Thank you for your note, Adrian. I hope the videos and the book will help you with your work. I grew up in Detroit, similar to Toronto it its predominance of overcast weather. A very good idea: I will definitely produce a video on just this subject. In the meantime, here are some thoughts. You can overcome some of the issues with overcast days (1) strategically (picking appropriate times of day to shoot - rarely during mid-day); (2) compositionally (try to include very little of the sky, or none at all); (3) digitally (correcting color, contrast and sky tonality in post-production). I have a video on the latter technique that works very well. And for genuine inspiration, by all means study the Dutch landscape painters who regularly dealt with such overcast conditions with compositional and technical brilliance. Jan van Goyen and Pieter di Molijn are great painters with whom to start your study.

[@TerjeAsphaug]

Thanks. Will help ma a lot :)

[@ДенисЮжаков-ф7ы]

Dear Steve, do you ever use infrared filters in your work? Some of your B&W images shown here are very similar to what I have in my IR photography. I'm talking specifically about the darker (almost black) gradient skies of IR comparing to the ligher (light gray) skies of usual B&W pics. Is my guess right?

[@stevenbrookephotography]

I do know the effect of using IR. (Besides blackening the skies and making the clouds jump off the page, I remember that it always made the greens very light - almost white.) And I recall that it was a bit tricky to handle - very easily fogged, I think. In the days of film, to get those deep skies in b/w, I used a red or deep orange filter and a film like Plus X, at the cost of several stops of light. Now, with digital imaging, I always shoot in color and do the b/w conversions in post-production. When I want that effect in the sky, I simply decrease the blue and cyan channels. Admittedly, It's not always appropriate; but when it is (as with some of my art deco and modern-era Rome photographs), this is a very easy way to achieve that powerfully dramatic effect.

[@ДенисЮжаков-ф7ы]

@@stevenbrookephotography , thank you!

[@wearechangecthartford]

Do you think you'll ever release your book via hardcover/paperback? I'm old school and enjoy an actual book in my hands. Great videos BTW ❤‍🔥

[@stevenbrookephotography]

We determined that a print copy of a 360-page would be prohibitively expensive, especially for students. That said, any part of the book may be printed. If we find a workable print-on-demand solution, I will certainly let our community know about it.

[@drpentecost]

Hi Steven, thanks for all of this great information that you are providing us with. I'm really enjoying watching your videos. I have a question. On the third 'On Axis' image there is a vertical, but unlike the 'Off Axis' image, there is a space between it and the edge of the frame. Is there a reason for the space ? Thanks for your help.

[@stevenbrookephotography]

Thanks for your note. That vertical can either be free-standing or right on the border, depending on the overall composition. Often, with landscape photographs that include some architecture, the vertical is free-standing.

[@drpentecost]

@@stevenbrookephotography Thank You.

[@unusual-channel]

How are these for free? taught me more than hours of courses!

[@stevenbrookephotography]

Thanks for your note, Anton. It was always my aim with these videos to make the information available to as wide an audience as possible: students, amateurs, even professionals from other fields thinking about adding architectural photography to their business. My ebook, which is a complete course in architectural photography and which may be found here stevenbrookephotography.com, serves to support the site. It is my intention to keep these videos available free of charge. I am pleased that you have found this one helpful, and that you'll have a look at some of the others. Good luck with your work. S

[@thierryrussodelattre]

The best of the best!

[@stevenbrookephotography]

Thank you for that.