As an architectural photographer in Edinburgh I’m often asked to photograph housing association developments such as these ones in Granton and South Queensferry.
When photographing developments like these, one thing which is always key is the light.
If you don’t get good light the buildings are just going to look flat. I therefore always check the forecast carefully before heading out.
I always use a shift lens to correct verticals on buildings.
Another aspect of architectural photography which many people don’t always appreciate, is the need to correct verticals on buildings. To the naked eye you might not see the need for this but when you tilt a lens upwards the lens makes any vertical lines such as the sides of a building appear to converge, which gives a distorted view of the building.
In order to avoid this, I always shoot with a shift lens which allows you to see the top of the building whilst keeping the plane of focus parallel to the building.
I was keen to highlight the raised beds which are a feature of the shared community space.
As well as the technical aspects, I’m always on the look out for interesting angles which can help tell the story of the building. One particular feature of the flats at Merlin Crescent was the central courtyard which served as a shared community space with seats and raised beds.
Another feature was the underground car park which was cleverly hidden from view beneath the courtyard. I was therefore keen to get angles which helped convey these aspects.
This detail shows the underground car park.