Tamron Blog: Don't Think So Big When It Comes To Architecture

When you think of architectural photography, your first thoughts will probably be of huge structures, big bridges and well-known tourist attractions but your building photography doesn't always have to be so grand to impress. Take the shot above as an example, it's the corner of a chimney pot and thanks to the angle Rick's chosen, the chimney's strong lines and the lovely use of bokeh, it's just as interesting as any full building capture. 

If the detail you're trying to capture is out of reach, such as at the top of a church, then you're going to need a longer focal length to be able to crop in tight. You can use a prime lens or indeed a camera with a built-in lens so long as the zoom is 20x plus, but you'll be better off packing a zoom. Why? Well, you can use the longer end of one to reach the fantastic repetitive detail found around a clock tower but still have smaller focal lengths to hand when interesting patterns are closer to the ground. You don't have to worry about changing lenses either so you won't be carrying as much kit and shooting will be quicker which means you shouldn't miss an opportunity. 

The problem you have with using lenses with a longer reach is that they magnify objects, which is of course what you want, but this does mean that even the tiniest of movements can create a large amount of blur in your photograph. This is where Vibration Correction (VC) comes in handy as it'll help minimise shake and when using a lens with it built-in, such as the Tamron 16-300mm Rick captured his chimney shot with, it also means you don't always have to carry a tripod around with you. 

Once you begin to search you'll be surprised at the amount of detail you'll be able to fill your frame with. Of course, there are gargoyles, clocks, windows, spires, sundials and weather vanes, but a little closer to the ground you'll find stone carvings and sometimes intricate detailed wood carvings on the exterior walls around doorways and above windows. You'll also find plenty of interesting brick walls, a subject we'll be touching on next week. 

If you've missed any of our previous blog posts, take the time to catch-up now and do remember to share your photos with us in the Tamron gallery.