While urban settings provide a neverending canvas for excitement in the field of photography, all this action can be quite overwhelming. This article will provide some tips and tricks that should allow you to make the most of the urban environments you explore.
Urban photography is all things to all people. A fairly broad term, it encompasses the environment that exists largely within cities, consisting of tall buildings and interesting characters. Urban photography can consist of landscapes, architectural, or portrait images. While street photography largely focuses on photographing human subjects, urban photography is not limited to this and instead incorporates elements of the world around us.
Consider the Camera
Before heading out to shoot, think about the capabilities of the camera or cameras that you own. A mirrorless camera for instance is smaller, more lightweight, and may be better suited to an active shoot wherein you are moving quickly around the location. A more common choice of a DSLR however will have a longer battery life and a far superior lens selection. It is simply down to the personal discretion of the photographer to decide which camera has the greatest merit.
Think about Lighting and Colour
The natural lighting of the city is largely dominated by weather. An overcast day may be better suited to urban shots as they produce softer evenly spread light. Brighter sunny days can create harsh lighting that could have merits for use in landscape and architectural shots.
The “Golden Hour” is an often discussed trick within photography. Referring to the hour either immediately before sunset or after dawn, the golden hour is favoured by photographers as it provides the greatest levels of warm natural lighting. It may be worth considering the use of this within urban photography.
Colour is absolutely vital to the joy of urban photography. The somewhat cluttered varying environments produced by graffiti, grass patches and clothing provide a sense of vibrancy within images. However, often the use of filters to shoot in black and white can provide a novel approach. This could be advisable when the aesthetic beauty of the image is less important than the story that you wish to tell.
Capturing Motion
In the hustle and bustle of the urban environment, sometimes it can be appealing to try and capture the motion of the world around you. In order to do this, playing around with the settings of the camera is advisable. For instance, capturing motion will rely on the use of a long exposure. This can be achieved through the selection of a slower shutter speed, with the slowest speeds producing a kind of motion blur that can give images life.
Framing and Angles
One way that you can capture images that stand out is to consider the framing and angle that you use when shooting. This is advisable when shooting landmarks or scenes that are well known to viewers. Sometimes an augmented frame or angle can shift the point of view of the viewer and give popular scenes a new edge. Playing with framing and angles adds a playful element into urban photography and provides a fresh sense of direction. Urban photography, and all photography for that matter, should be about creativity and having fun. Take risks and be bold by investigating some alternate frames and angles, thinking outside the box can provide the greatest rewards.
