advice for a personal project to document my school

[hueyyy]

hi all,

my old school Cedar Girls is relocating to a different campus for upgrading purposes..i am currently considering going back to do a black and white photo album of it..like.. the school building and other aspects of the school/school life..(more for memory keepsake) but i just took up photography last year and i have NO idea how i can go about taking architecture photos and/or those of school life.. i dont want it to be just snapshot quality though..so if u guys have interesting links that you think are related then it'd be great if u cld leave them here..

and can i rely solely on my D70 and kit lens (18-70)? or would a wide angle/fisheye give a nice touch to the photos?

ANY advice is greatly appreciated..thanks!!

 

[zac08]

Your set up is good enough. Get a decent solid tripod and a release cable and you should be set.

You may also want to get a flash.

 

[happyepower]

Your set up is good enough. Get a decent solid tripod and a release cable and you should be set.

You may also want to get a flash.

agree^^ but flash not reali important to me lah, having to do something like you b4

ur setup that u currently have is gd man:thumbsup: i did it with jus kit so nt reli gd 1...

 

[ihub88]

hi all,

my old school Cedar Girls is relocating to a different campus for upgrading purposes..i am currently considering going back to do a black and white photo album of it..like.. the school building and other aspects of the school/school life..(more for memory keepsake) but i just took up photography last year and i have NO idea how i can go about taking architecture photos and/or those of school life.. i dont want it to be just snapshot quality though..so if u guys have interesting links that you think are related then it'd be great if u cld leave them here..

and can i rely solely on my D70 and kit lens (18-70)? or would a wide angle/fisheye give a nice touch to the photos?

ANY advice is greatly appreciated..thanks!!

well, your setup is fine already. But you will need a solid tripod.

Get this one

Most of the time you will shoot with very high f-stop as you will want max DOF, WA lens is not really important, but a prime lens is better.

I have a copy of photovideoi that teach some basic stuff on shoot architectural. If you need just PM me.

 

[hueyyy]

thanks all!.. ihub88, thanks! do check your pm! =)
and any links to portfolios of architecture photographers that you guys know of? hope i cen learn from there.. thanks again!

 

[Kit]

Go back to the time you were studying. One approach of documentation is to re-trace your footsteps and map your movement. Imagine you step into the school for class early in the morning...... which is the place you go first? Where is the place you meet your friends? Is there a place which you spent most of your free time with your friends? You not only document the architecture of the school, you document its feel. Try to capture not a lifeless building but a scene that you've experienced before.

You could also try to isolate interesting architectural details which you never laid your eyes on before. Its a great opportunity to get know your school again. Things(often taken for granted) like windows, staircases, railings, etc are all materials that you can work with. They provide potential opportunities for still life and abstract shots. Sometimes, you don't have to photograph an building's entirely to appreciate its presence, little details do wonder as well.

Technicalities...... a good part of architectural photography depends on good ambient lighting. Typically, good light occurs early in the morning and evening. So plan your timing to get the best out of the lighting to enhance your photographs. Take your time to figure out each shot.

Don't run back with your camera just yet. Make a trip down and try to "see" the place again. Get a feel of it again and decide what you want to document, be it something you are familiar with ot something you've never seen before. Hope to see your photos.

 

[hueyyy]

wow Kit, thanks a million!! =D i'll certainly go about it that way! thanks again! hope i'll be able to start soon, and i'll post updates..

 

[xray]

thanks all!.. ihub88, thanks! do check your pm! =)
and any links to portfolios of architecture photographers that you guys know of? hope i cen learn from there.. thanks again!

You can check out the National Library, especially the Lee Kong Chien reference library (Lvl 8). There's a huge collection of portfolios there, and at least 10 specialise on architectures and interiors. Looking at interior design magazines will also give you a good idea on what you can try to do.

 

[Kit]

I had a few work related visits to various schools today and here's 2 examples of isolating the interesting bits......

 

[hueyyy]

hmm..looks interesting..part of a wall mural? yeah..i think im getting what you mean..thanks again! im still waiting for permission from the school..

xray: thanks! =) i'll do that once i've gotten everything planned out..

 

[Kit]

Yes, 3D mural.

 

[franky]

Looks like a great project. Once complete shooting the photos do share with me!

I suggest a combination of B&W and colours... and perhaps some model (your friends) in school uniform.

Spend a few days... get shots of various time of the day... and the sun ray... plan and research before u do

 

[lastboltnut]

Hi hueyyy......OT abit, is Cedar Pri relocating too??? I was from Cedar Pri....Thanks!

hi all,

my old school Cedar Girls is relocating to a different campus for upgrading purposes..i am currently considering going back to do a black and white photo album of it..like.. the school building and other aspects of the school/school life..(more for memory keepsake) but i just took up photography last year and i have NO idea how i can go about taking architecture photos and/or those of school life.. i dont want it to be just snapshot quality though..so if u guys have interesting links that you think are related then it'd be great if u cld leave them here..

and can i rely solely on my D70 and kit lens (18-70)? or would a wide angle/fisheye give a nice touch to the photos?

ANY advice is greatly appreciated..thanks!!

 

[hueyyy]

Hi hueyyy......OT abit, is Cedar Pri relocating too??? I was from Cedar Pri....Thanks!

haha. nope.. they've renovated though.. really nice. haha. =)

 

[hueyyy]

Looks like a great project. Once complete shooting the photos do share with me!

I suggest a combination of B&W and colours... and perhaps some model (your friends) in school uniform.

Spend a few days... get shots of various time of the day... and the sun ray... plan and research before u do

yeap..thanks! the combi thing sounds different.. might try that out. haha. i do intend to try getting shots at different times... but i'm facing trouble finding time to go to Cedar during school hours..so until i sort that out (i dont wanna get in trouble for ponning lessons..hahah), i'm not really getting anywhere with the project. lol.

 

[wainism]

cedar is renovating? thought the school shd be quite new.

was pretty nice when i was a student at mshs about 10 yrs back

 

[lastboltnut]

Oic, renovated liao.....thanks for the info.

haha. nope.. they've renovated though.. really nice. haha. =)

 

[happyepower]

another idea but not sure if useful. use the milestones of your school as your assistant, bringing in major events and special places

 

[hueyyy]

another idea but not sure if useful. use the milestones of your school as your assistant, bringing in major events and special places

erm.. dont really think that'll work cuz it'll end up like a yearbook.. but i went down to school today. and.. (i'd never thought i'd say this) but my school is SO PLAIN, i find it hard to find interesting shots. looks like i got to get some 'models'.

any ideas on exploiting the "PLAIN" look? thanks!

 

[Kit]

erm.. dont really think that'll work cuz it'll end up like a yearbook.. but i went down to school today. and.. (i'd never thought i'd say this) but my school is SO PLAIN, i find it hard to find interesting shots. looks like i got to get some 'models'.

any ideas on exploiting the "PLAIN" look? thanks!

I've never been to your school so I have no idea how it looks like but if you treat it as being "plain", then it will appear "plain" in your photos. Every building (no matter how they look like) will provide opportunities for you to train your eye. To search for the interesting bits out of the ordinary. This is what differentiates photographers from passer-bys and on-lookers.

Take a look at other people's work and draw inspiration from them. Have you tried looking at plain stuffs from a different angle other than eye level? How does it look like if you kneel down to look at it?

If you can't change what you look at, change the way you look at it.