Urban landscapes are great places to capture dramatic and interesting photographs within cities and towns. Mostly urban landscape photographs have a wide focus and are taken outdoors. You probably already have experience capturing urban landscape photography without realising, when you visit a new place and take images on your phone of buildings, skylines and busy streets, that’s capturing your environment and is urban photography!
With the right equipment and some helpful tips and tricks from us, you'll be able to capture stunning urban landscape photography in no time. First of all, if you’re a beginner photographer you'll have to grab yourself a DSLR camera, or if you’re stick with using your iPhone then there's a few ways you can still take amazing urban shots:
Panorama mode – You are able to capture wide-angle shots by using panorama mode, minimise your movement when shooting in this mode to avoid a distorted photograph.
Grid tool - Use the grid tool to improve a photograph, as it utilises the rule of thirds. Turn it on in the Settings app under Camera.
Night mode - Night mode is available on iPhone 11 and later, you should definitely be using it as it is perfect for landscapes in the dark.
Live Photos -You can turn a Live Photo into a long-exposure image. To do this, take a Live Photo and then use the long-exposure effect which can be found by clicking on the photo effects section:
Wide angle lenses are a must for this style of photography as they offer a naturally wider view and a greater depth of field. A tripod is essential too as it will keep your camera still and keeps it in the same place meaning you will capture great long exposure photographs.
In terms of camera settings within this genre of photography, manual mode can be ideal at night to have more control over your images. Shooting at 100 ISO in the dark is best, however, it means you will have to increase your shutter speed to allow more time for light. If you are shooting with a tripod, this won't be an issue.
Shoot in raw to gives your images more flexibility, as you can then edit them in post-production by adjusting shadows, highlights and tones to improve your image quality. Using neutral density filters within this style of photography are also a great help. This is because they cause less light to be allowed through the lens meaning there is longer exposures. ND filters can be placed / screwed into the lens itself and are especially helpful in bright weather during the day - to capture a long exposure with a short depth of field.
During the night-time the atmospheric scenes along the Liverpool waterfront are a great location for photographers. When capturing architecture photography, you should look out for things that tell a story, more variety adds interest to your work. Such as here, the iconic Beatles statue appears life like and adds a sense of interest to the viewer, with the darkness making it ever more atmospheric.
It is also important to make use of your available light sources when shooting urban photographs, such as within these images the use of lampposts and signs create ambience:
Another important aspect of shooting urban photography is to choose the right camera and lens that best suits you - these photographs were taken on a Canon EOS, 450D. Do your research if you're looking to purchase a DSLR, remember you don't have to go for the most modern or expensive camera and like we've mentioned, phones can do a pretty good job at capturing high quality photographs too!
Within this style of photography, it’s important to know that high-quality photographs are not only the result of technology but also the creativity and skill of the photographer. Here's a few tips to help you:
Explore your surroundings and environment
Learn to read light
Pay attention to detail
Photograph interesting architecture and objects
Experiment to find your own style, what is it you like to photograph?
If you have any questions about urban photography or want to share your own images then give us a shout on our socials we'd love to help @funkeddigital.