Tamron Blog: Capturing Castles In A Portrait Orientation

When you picture a castle in your mind, the shot which pops up probably has a landscape orientation which shows the ancient site sat in picturesque surroundings or against a particularly impressive sky. Even though these are great and can produce some excellent results, by turning your camera to a portrait orientation you'll be able to capture a shot that's much more unique and one which can actually exaggerate the overall size of the structure, adding impact and a bit of 'wow' as a result. 

Take a look at Rick's shots of Conisbrough Castle as an example. The first two demonstrate in a way that's not possible with landscapes how tall the structure actually is. It also means you can get closer so stonework and other details become more of a focus. Windows, doors and holes in walls can work well when framed in a portrait orientation as it really focuses the eye on the detail through the other side of the frame within the shot. Rick's shot of the flag is a perfect example of how a portrait orientation works well for this type of shot as if he'd chosen to capture the same shot in a landscape view, the hole in the wall framing the flag would have been lost in more dark, foreground detail and as a result, it'll have lost impact. 

If you're shooting uphill or are closer to the castle walls and are shooting up it can end up looking like the walls are sloping in on your final shot. You can buy lenses specifically designed to stop this, but they're expensive so unless you're going to shoot architecture professionally, or on a more regular basis, you're better off just correcting the shot in Photoshop after. Sometimes, leaving the 'lean' in can work, too so don't dismiss it straight away. 

As with Rick's previous shots captured at the Castle, he used the Tamron 16-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD Macro Lens which you can learn more about in our '5 reasons for choosing the 16-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD macro lens' article.