Photography

Photography is the art, science, and practice of capturing and preserving images by recording light, either electronically with an image sensor or chemically with a light-sensitive material like photographic film. It has a wide range of applications in science, manufacturing (e.g., photolithography), and business, in addition to its more direct applications in art, film and video production, recreational activities, hobbies, and mass communication. What is architectural photography? Architectural photography is a sub-branch of photography where the focus is on photographing buildings and similar structures that are both aesthetically pleasing and descriptively accurate to their subject. Architectural photographers are often skilled in using specialized techniques and cameras to create such specialized photographs.The first permanent photograph, View from the Le Gras window by Nicéphore Niépce, is also the first architectural photograph because it shows buildings. Likewise, photographs taken by the first photographer William Henry Fox Talbot are of architecture, including this 1835 photograph of the lattice windows at Lacock Abbey. Img 1: View from the Window at Le Gras, 1827 by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce (manually enhanced version) Img 2: Restored albumen print of the Suez Canal at Ismailia, c. 1860 by photographer Francis FrithThroughout the history of photography, architectural structures, including buildings, have been important subjects of photography, reflecting society's perceptions and cultural significance of architecture. By the 1860s, architectural photography had become an established visual medium. While modernist architecture glorified industrial smoothness, modernist photography explored an increasing interest in the world's surface. Photography is most often used when hired to turn the constructed world of integrated design into promotional images. Julius Shulman was the most skilled photographer in the modernist environment. It is thanks to the images he commissioned that we learned about the work of Richard Neutra, Charles and Ray Eames, Pierre Koenig, John Lautner, Rudolf Schindler, Raphael Soriano, Frank Lloyd Wright and many others. A form of architecture and design that has already embraced the appearance and cultural value of photography, Shulman transforms into a media icon. Building designs changed and morphed with traditional forms, architectural photography also evolved with time. Photographers like Hélène Binet, Sergio Castiglione, Ezra Stoller, Iwao Yamawaki, Duccio Malagamba and many more have been influencing the world of architectural photography. Img 3: Julius Shulman, Case Study House No. 20, Altadena, CA. 1958, Architect Buff, Straub and Hensman Types of architecture photography Real Estate Real estate photography is a sub-genre of architectural photography, but it differs in many ways. Real estate photography and architectural photography are both ways to take pictures inside and outside, but the way they are taken and used is very different. Real estate photography is used at the center of marketing and sales, as opposed to more artistic and expressive architectural photography.Exterior/Urban Urban photography is a broad term for photography that describes all aspects of the urban environment and combines many other types of photographic elements such as portraits, fine arts, landscape and architectural photography, and photojournalism. Get Img 4: Rut Blees Luxemburg, From the series London Dust, 2012InteriorInterior photography is the practice of taking photos of indoor spaces—from rooms to pieces of furniture. A feature of architectural photography is that the principal subjects almost always remain stationary. It is therefore possible to use post-processing editing to achieve a balanced lighting scheme, even in the absence of additional lighting.DetailThe architectural details of the building take a closer look at the textures and materials they are built on. This type of narrower framing provides additional information about the importance, ease of use, and equipment of a building or asset. Img 5: Set of Bowls (1930-2) Iwa Yamawaki Architecture CompetitionsArchitecture competitions have been a big part of historic construction innovation. For centuries, architecture competitions have helped source the best and most unique designs for projects, spurred community development (think: urban planning), and created huge publicity around new projects. Today, with technological advances, we live in a world where all sources of knowledge are in our pockets and multiple cameras are integrated into one device. Photography has found a new meaning, and anyone can take a picture. Architectural photography is less explored in developing countries, but the field is growing and work is open in this field. To document architecture in all its forms and typologies quick competitions in architecture photography provide platforms to experiment and display talents. Competitions are a great way to try out new things, make mistakes and learn from them. They're also a great opportunity for portfolio building because everything you submit gets contextualized based on where it ranks against everyone else's work. And perhaps most importantly, they give you extra insight into what the judges see in your submitted work as well as how they don't see it - which is yet another fantastic way to improve your designs in unexpected ways!Some of the competitions for photography being hosted all over the world are: Picturing: Humans and Nature, Picturing: Eco Ruin, Bright, Divide, Hues, The White Taj, Picturing: Streets, Divide. Explore projects of photography published on UNI website:UNI Design CompetitionsUNI is a global network of architects and designers who are solving some of the most challenging problems around the globe. UNI brings together the world's largest pool of design challenges that are curated by the finest architecture academicians and professionals globally. With over 200,000+ registered members, UNI brings academia and the professional spheres of architecture together through a unique knowledge-sharing web platform. Since 2017, UNI has hosted more than 200+ architecture competitions for various idea level to realization level briefs. In the past, UNI has helped 50+ organizations, universities, and government bodies to use our platform to generate architecture and design solutions through competitions. Discover other competitions: https://uni.xyz/competitions