# Can anyone please help me out with this architectural shot?



## munirhamdan (Aug 8, 2015)

Hello all! This is my first post in this forum and I wanted to see if anyone could help me out with a shot I just can´t nail. I think this is the right place for this post, I´m sorry if it´s not.

A little background:
So, I have always considered myself an advanced amateur, meaning I have a nice amount of gear, enjoy the hell out of it, use it constantly but up until a week ago I had never earned a dime using it. Being an amateur photographer can be deceiving, you go out, shoot hundreds of pics, choose a couple you like and feel like a pro. But, once you grab an assignment you have to raise the bar by a hell of a lot. It simply makes you respect the craft of photography a lot more.

The Gear:
As I said, I have a nice amount of gear
-Davis and Sanford tripod
-Sony A99
-Sony CZ 24-70mm f2.8
-Sony 20mm f2.8
-Sigma 35mm f1.4 Art
-HVL-43m flash

The Asignment:
Photographing a University Campus for their website and online magazine.

The issue:
Ok, I never told or implied to the client that I was an A class architectural photographer. I just haven´t earned that title yet. Still, he liked my interior & Exterior shots of random buildings I´ve found interesting around Mexico City. So I was hired.

The facilities are simply awesome. It´s an old building adapted to the 21st century and they did a great job with the decor. But, being an old building in Mexico City, the spaces are really reduced.

(Straight out of camera JPEGs)

Picture A: https://goo.gl/photos/nrGniuzQqwD4rT9y9

Ok, so the weather was not helping out that day. It was rainy and I could not get anything interesting in the sky. I don´t find the image appalling just not interesting at all. The big issue is space, I barely managed to squeeze that image into frame with the 20mm on a full frame camera. In all honesty, I love fish eye lenses(even if I just sold mine) but I never thought I´d meet a shot that demanded anything wider than 20mm! But, right behind me there was a huge concrete wall and I just could not get around that limitation.

Picture B: https://goo.gl/photos/kHLFgVQMTWC2bxWdA

I know the pic is a bit slanted, but that´s an easy fix. The big issue is that this building has a bunch of huge trees a few feet away from it, you can see them in the frame at the top of the pic.

To fix the shot I decided to tell the client that due to the weather I would like to retake those images. The reshoot is this Monday at 9:00 AM. I can´t seem to get a hold of any photographer friend that has anything wider, so, I´m guessing there is a way to deal with this that I have just not thought about. The pay wasn´t much, but my priority is not saving time and resources, it´s having a happy customer and pride in my work.

Thank you all for pitching in! I will post the resulting images after the reshoot.


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## Derrel (Aug 8, 2015)

Shoot a three-shot panorama, and join (aka 'stitch') the shots together in software.

Stitching - Luminous Landscape

Shoot and stitch panoramic photos in 8 easy steps Digital Camera World


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## Braineack (Aug 8, 2015)

i want to see them straight on, further back.  no distortion.


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## Didereaux (Aug 8, 2015)

FIRST!  Rent a tilt shift lens  probably 24mm will do the job,  Then do as advised with shooting and stitching.   Search on tilt shift panorama.


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## munirhamdan (Aug 8, 2015)

Derrel said:


> Shoot a three-shot panorama, and join (aka 'stitch') the shots together in software.
> 
> Stitching - Luminous Landscape
> 
> Shoot and stitch panoramic photos in 8 easy steps Digital Camera World



Thanks for this, really helpful article, I´ll probably do some tests over the weekend to nail the technique, I still can´t manage to get the whole building in the same frame though. Do you think it will work if I stitch files from a lower, higher perspective?


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## munirhamdan (Aug 8, 2015)

Braineack said:


> i want to see them straight on, further back.  no distortion.



I can´t, I have my back against a huge concrete wall. I can´t move further back. I can fix the distortion in post, but not as much as these files contain. 



Didereaux said:


> FIRST!  Rent a tilt shift lens  probably 24mm will do the job,  Then do as advised with shooting and stitching.   Search on tilt shift panorama.



I´ve never used a tilt-shift lens, only read about them. The big issue here is that for the life of me I can´t find a single rental house in Mexico that has any A-mount lenses. It kind of makes me reconsider the whole Sony thing. I do love my A99 and 24-70mm 2.8 though, it´s one hell of a combo.

Thanks for pitching in!


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## tirediron (Aug 8, 2015)

Alternatively, bring in a scissor-lift and shoot the whole building square on.


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## Designer (Aug 8, 2015)

Also, you'll get less distortion if the scissor lift is motorized, and can move laterally two meters each shot.


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## Braineack (Aug 8, 2015)

you cant fix the distortion in that first.  in the second it'll crop too much information without doing a pano.


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## ak_ (Aug 8, 2015)

Agree with Derrel - stitch a couple together - what else can you do.



Derrel said:


> Shoot a three-shot panorama, and join (aka 'stitch') the shots together in software.
> 
> Stitching - Luminous Landscape
> 
> Shoot and stitch panoramic photos in 8 easy steps Digital Camera World


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## Didereaux (Aug 8, 2015)

munirhamdan said:


> Thanks for this, really helpful article, I´ll probably do some tests over the weekend to nail the technique, I still can´t manage to get the whole building in the same frame though. Do you think it will work if I stitch files from a lower, higher perspective?




Well, if you try that you will have put yourself into a very small business niche: Halloween Photographer.  Known fro creating Frankenhouses.


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## vintagesnaps (Aug 8, 2015)

The perspective in these is not working, I feel like I'm on the ground looking waaay up. If I'm using a shorter lens I usually use a 40-45 or 50mm. I'd say to move back but apparently you can't get back much further from the building.

You don't need to get the whole building. You need the viewers to see what's important or significant. Frame it so you get for the first one the doorway, the statue to the right and some of the brick wall, and the concrete sign above.

I'd do more than one photo of that - probably framed horizontally and maybe frame it so the top of the photo is just above the lettering. In another I'd probably try vertically to include the statues above the lettering (maybe include the steps, maybe not). You might be able to get something from slightly to one side but you don't need a lot of trees and bushes and you don't need part of a building chopped off to the left. 

With the second one I'd try to get the doorway but not necessarily the windows above or to the left, you don't want them chopped off so I'd probably keep them out of the frame. This one benefitted from some cropping and adjusting but you definitely need to reshoot that first one. To me that isn't usable for a university website/catalog etc.

Move around and try different vantage points. Be aware of the reflections in the glass to get something reflected that looks good in the photos (seems to be trees behind you which could work nicely).


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## The_Traveler (Aug 8, 2015)

Scissor-lift is the best idea but, failing that get on top of a panel truck or a large A-frame ladder that will get you up off the ground a good ways.


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## Tailgunner (Aug 9, 2015)

Scissor lift would be cool or a large


The_Traveler said:


> Scissor-lift is the best idea but, failing that get on top of a panel truck or a large A-frame ladder that will get you up off the ground a good ways.




This ^

Another method would to use a drone. I like to hover my drone about 6-10' off the ground for shots like this one. It gives a more straight looking perspective instead of looking up,...you're looking straight instead of up.


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## Designer (Aug 9, 2015)

Tailgunner said:


> Another method would to use a drone.


If only!


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## Tailgunner (Aug 9, 2015)

Designer said:


> Tailgunner said:
> 
> 
> > Another method would to use a drone.
> ...



Sub-contract it out. I mean pay a Drone operator to take that shot. That or I would try a ladder or a large vehicle.


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## Braineack (Aug 9, 2015)

self timer, toss camera in air.


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## vintagesnaps (Aug 9, 2015)

Didn't sound like he's a working photographer in business to be able to rent equipment. Maybe it's from having done sports and events, sometimes you gotta find a way to make something work with what you have.


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## Designer (Aug 9, 2015)

I got the impression he was going to be paid for the job, so he should be able to charge enough to rent whatever equipment he needs.


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## dennybeall (Aug 9, 2015)

You can try a monopod and a remote trigger or a tripod with the legs held together and a remote trigger. Then shoot 3 across and also 2 up and stitch them together in post. Or maybe stand on that wall that's a problem?
You can probably find someone with a copy of Lightroom or Photoshop to stitch them together.


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## munirhamdan (Aug 9, 2015)

Braineack said:


> you cant fix the distortion in that first.  in the second it'll crop too much information without doing a pano.
> 
> View attachment 106138



Hey, thanks for taking the time to try this out! I tried it in lightroom and got similar results though. But the effort is very much appreciated. I guess the only real way to fix this is to retake the shots.


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## Derrel (Aug 9, 2015)

Braineack said:
			
		

> self timer, toss camera in air.



Paint roller extension pole, plus a jerry-rigged 1/4 x 20 NC threaded bolt on top... this article is talking about this for speedlights, but I've seen one about using it as a camera elevator as well.

The LongArm and MetalHead Taking Your Speedlite To New Heights PixSylated Syl Arena s Photography Blog on Light Imagemaking


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## munirhamdan (Aug 9, 2015)

Thank you all for taking the time to pitch in! I greatly appreciate every single post, so, I´m going to try to sum up all the answers.

So yeah! This was my first paid gig, and I honestly did not charge enough. I was told to meet with them to give them an estimate, I only took the camera with the 20mm to take some test shots. Once I was there, I was asked to do the photo shoot that very day and they seemed happy with the results I showed them in the camera screen. I was also told these would be used for their online blog, so I charged for a simple photo shoot that wouldn't take me more than a few hours. It ended up being really intricate and they will use them for all of their corporate communication. So $300.00 USD simply won't cut it. I guess I made a lot of rookie mistakes there, but I rather have a good recommendation from my first customer and retake those two shots than to get all uppity with the money. All the interior shots came out really good anyway.

To sum everything up, renting equipment is a no go for the money I charged, and I really don't have time to set anything up since the shoot is tomorrow morning. But, I guess I can solve the situation with these posts:



vintagesnaps said:


> The perspective in these is not working, I feel like I'm on the ground looking waaay up. If I'm using a shorter lens I usually use a 40-45 or 50mm. I'd say to move back but apparently you can't get back much further from the building.
> 
> You don't need to get the whole building. You need the viewers to see what's important or significant. Frame it so you get for the first one the doorway, the statue to the right and some of the brick wall, and the concrete sign above.
> 
> ...



Awesome! I can maybe get an interesting perspective only showing parts of the building. Maybe take multiple shots. Thank you Vintagesnaps!



The_Traveler said:


> Scissor-lift is the best idea but, failing that get on top of a panel truck or a large A-frame ladder that will get you up off the ground a good ways.



Sometimes the solution to a problem is so obvious that you feel like an ass when you find it. An A frame ladder from the school's maintenance team would do just fine. Thank you The_Traveler!



Derrel said:


> Shoot a three-shot panorama, and join (aka 'stitch') the shots together in software.
> 
> Stitching - Luminous Landscape
> 
> Shoot and stitch panoramic photos in 8 easy steps Digital Camera World



An awesome skill I will work to acquire before my next assignment. Thank you Derrel!

Aside from this, I asked a friend to lend me his Sony NEX 5N with an 8mm Fisheye lens. I´m hoping I can fix the distortion in post and get some cool perspectives while getting everything in the frame.

I will post my work in the next few days comparing cropped shots with a 35mm, shots from a ladder and the  corrected fish eye shots. Thank you all for your input!


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