Dear reader.. i am haveing a project to take a building picture uising sinar 4x5 in night.. if you could give me the specific.. details. adn techniques that i should follow to get a perfect picture. thank you ! i have for lenses.. 90 150 and 210 mm tahnk you

-- ongan mordeniz (digitalghost@lemel.fr), December 09, 1999

Answers

setup and lens selection are arbitrary, depending upon the type of picture you need for your client, but normally the 90mm is going to be your best bet for a "best general view" of a building. perspective control is the norm for architecture, but sometimes the client wants to exaggerate some aspect of his building, in which case you can use perspective distortion to your advantage. if you are shooting in b/w, the color temperature of the lighting is not an issue, but if you are shooting color, you must determine what type of lighting souce is illuminating the structure. often, commercial lighting is halide or sodium, and you will need to filter accordingly. your local photo dealer should be able to assist you with filter selection. in order to meter accurately in this situation, you should use a spot meter and select an appropriate middle tone somewhere on the building, or take your handheld meter up to a middle tone area and tight meter that. then, as in all questionable lighting situations, bracket, bracket, bracket. film is cheap compared to having to go back and reshoot.

-- jnorman (jnorman@teleport.com), December 09, 1999.

general rules: for a more normal perspective, get as far back from the structure as you can and still have an unobstructed view of the vital (as defined by your client's needs) aspect ofthe building. this could be just the front or it could be an overall. Then choose your lens based on making that view ofthe building as large as possible on the negative.

Use polaroid to test and to get client's approval.Try to do a test shoot (with both Polaroid and real film) at least two nights ahead of time so that you can identify areas that may need help. Certain lights may need to be turned on or off, likewise windows curtains or blinds may need to be left open or closed, garbage cans hidden, trash picked up, etc. Most importantly; pay attention to the play of skylight and other ambient light on the building. Most buildings are photographed best at either dusk or dawn when there is enough light in the sky to both make your building be seen and also be seen in the best light and for the internal lighting to show. Sometimes it is also necessary to make a double exposure to balance the color of the lighting sources.

-- Ellis Vener (evphoto@insync.net), December 10, 1999.