Identifythereasonsmanycityscapesfailtohave
impact,andlearnhowtheprosovercomethem
Solve common
urban problems
Manyofthedifficultiesofcityscape
photographyarebecauseofitsvariability.
Fromonestreettothenext,orevenfromone
frametoanother,therecanbesignificant
shiftsinexposure,colourbalanceanddetail
frequency.Inoldercitiesinparticular,where
therehasbeencontinuousdevelopment
forcenturies,you’llfindbuildingsofmany
differentstylesnexttoeachotherona street,
fromancienttexturedstonestructuresto
contemporaryglassskyscrapers.Thisplaces
a pressureonyoutomanagetheextremesof
reflectivity,colourtemperatureandphysical
heightallatonce.Meanwhile,youstillhave
tofinda successfulcomposition,withan
engagingnarrativeandcleanalignment.
Asourprosdescribehere,addressing
thesehurdlesisbasedaroundchoosingthe
righttimetoshoot,selectingyourangleand
exposuretocomplimentthesubject,and
shootingwithprocessinginmind.ShootingRAWenablesyoutoblendexposuresfora
customiseddynamicrange,andtomerge
multiplewhitebalancesettings.Meanwhile,
shootinginBurstmodewillcapture
sequencesofimagesthatcanbeblendedto
removedistractingmovingelements,suchas
otherpeople.
A compositiontricktoremovepeopleis
topositionthecameratoexcludemuchof
theforeground,creatingtheimpressionof
shootinginanemptyenvironment.
Thesecondbiggestdifficultyisactually
findinga uniqueangle.Theworld’smost
popularlandmarkshavebeenphotographed
countlesstimes,soit canfeellikean
impossibilitytodevisenewwaystostudy
theseiconicsights.However,sometimesthis
canbeassimpleasusinga widerframing
toplacethesubjectina largercontext,orto
exploreotherfaçadesthatmaybestudied
lessfrequently.View of Paris by night
Serge says: I just love this view of Paris by
night, with the city lights and some details in
the sky. This view is priceless – the leading
lines created by the streetlights that lead
to the Eiffel Tower are beautiful. I travel a
lot, and I can say this is one of my favourite
views on the planet! This was shot with a
Canon EOS 5D Mark II with a 24-70mm lens
at 27mm. It was taken at 8secs f/7.1, ISO- Even in a low-light situation I try to be at
ISO 100 because it is vital for me to get the
best-quality file, and it helps tremendously
during the editing stage. I try to zoom in on
some part of the city to be able to get lots
of different angles on some monuments, but
from up there, there are not a lot of options
besides a panorama, zooming in on different
elements, or a cool overview on Paris.
© Serge RamelliTECHNIQUES