Choosethebestanglebyplanningtheimages
youwanttoshootbeforeyougoonlocation
Select a location
Professional-levelcityscapephotographyis
aboutmorethansimplychoosinga cityin
whichtotakepictures;it requiresextensive
planningandresearchtofindthebest
possibleimageopportunities.Insucha
busyenvironmenttherearea fewpotential
challenges,bothpracticalandcreative,that
mightdisrupttheflowofyourshoot.Startby
spendingtimedeciding
whichkindofimages
youwanttotake,and
thestyleyouwould
liketoapply,before
headingoutonyour
shoot.Thiswillallow
youtomentallyprepare
yourcompositions
andthegearrequired.
Understandingyourintentandadheringto
anorderedphotographicprocessfromstart
tofinishiskeytominimisingthetimespent
settingupyourshotswhenyouarrive.
Duetothecomplextopographyand
environmentalfeaturesofa city,giving
considerationtothetimeyouchoosetoshoot
yourimagesbecomesevenmoreimportant.
Tallbuildingscanblockoutthesuna lot
earlierthana flatlandscape,socorrectly
positioningyourcameraattheoptimal
timewillhelpyoutoachievethebestshots.
Aligningyourcameraatsunset,sothatthe
lightshinesdowna citystreet,forexample,
orthroughtherailingsofa bridge,canresult
ina highlyattractiveglow.Thiswilladd
vibrancyandcontrasttoyourimages,which
wouldotherwisebemissingif thesunwas
completelyhiddenbya tallbuilding.
Practicallyspeaking,
it isalsoa goodideato
checkforhumanfactors
thatmayinterruptyour
shoot.Streetorbeauty
spotclosuresatcertain
timesofdayhavethe
potentialtoscupper
planstocapturea view,
sofindingalternatives
aheadoftimewillgiveyoua greaterchance
ofcomingawaywithsuccessfulcompositions.
Also,makeyourselfawareofsurrounding
landuse.If youintendtoshoota landmark
inthelateafternoon,forexample,a school
immediatelyadjacenttoyourchosenposition
maybecomeproblematicif it producesan
exodusofchildrenattheendoftheschool
day.Theknowledgethatthiswillhappenmay
encourageyoutorethinkyourapproachand
setupinanalternativespot.Mentally prepare
yourcompositions
andthegear
required
Sergesays:I lovethisangleofNotreDame,
asit istheeasiestspottogettheperfect
photo.TheSeineriverisa greatleadingline.
Thethingthatmadethisphotostandoutis
thetimeofday– it wassunset,soit produced
greatlightingandthelongexposure.It wasa
spontaneousshot.I wasdrivingaroundand
thenI sawthisincrediblesunset– I putan
NDfilteronandtooktheshot.EverytimeI
seeanincrediblesunsetmythoughtprocess
iswhereI canfindaninterestingsubjectand
startcomposingmyphotoonceI findit.NotreDameatsunset
Toensurethatyouarepreparedfora shoot
inanunfamiliarcityyoucanuseonline
toolstosearchforlocations,viewthe
environmentbeforeyouarrive,andselect
thebestpositionsfordesiredlighting.500px
andInstagrambothactashugedatabases
ofreferenceimages,whileGoogleStreet
Viewallowsinteractiveexplorationofa
neighbourhood.Thisreducessetuptime
whenyouarriveonlocation,aspreselectingUse onlineresources
potentialshotsstreamlinesyourworkflow.© Serge RamelliTECHNIQUES