Buildings in street photography
How are buildings involved in street photography?
Buildings are not always included in an image but it is a subject to many photographers when shooting for street photography. Houses and architecture encompass many different shooting styles and ideas. Each one can be a project in itself. Depending on where you live, you could have a project photographing different architectural styles throughout history. You could also photograph a house that has a certain characteristic, like an interesting color scheme or some unique windows that are lit up at night.
Just like capturing people and even their expressions that tells a story it is the same as capturing different types of buildings. Each has history and looks different from another, telling a story from the texture, colors, and structure it shows. At night there could be another different perspective the buildings show because of the many more lights you might see.
Tips to remember
- The street light allows the urban photographer to draw these elements into their compositions: Shadows, Textures, Details, Contrast, Highlights – these can help to make your images stand out
- The reflected light can create interesting highlights on a wall, a door, the pavement, the road
- Always focus on details, rather than looking for an urban landscape to shoot
- During the night there are more lights and color display that can catch your viewer’s eye