Photography, space and architecture

What is the course about?

This fascinating course will introduce you to the fine art of architectural photography, giving you hands-on experience on location and in the studio of the equipment and processing involved, as well as an understanding of the history and development of the genre and its impact on our perceptions of the built environment. Exploring nearby London (involving walking up to 5km) we will develop your ability to recognise architectural styles, identify the optimum angles to capture and the best time of day to do it, then guide you through the editing and processing of your images in the studio.

What will we cover?

- History and styles of architecture and architectural photography
- Specialist lenses, equipment requirements
- Composition
- Optimum time of day for architectural photography
- Working safely on the street and your rights to shoot in public.

What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...

- identify differing architectural styles of building in London
- recognise the optimum time to photograph a particular aspect of a building
- select the right choice of lens for the type of structure you are photographing
- download and process images using suitable imaging software
- understand usage of colour balance and perspective correction tools
- demonstrate safe and considerate working practice in a public space
- understand your legal right to photograph buildings from a public place.

What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?

Ideal for those who have completed our 'Beginners Photography course, or for anyone with a basic understanding of ISO, aperture, shutter speed, white balance and how to change these on your digital SLR or bridge camera (i.e. not a point-and-shoot camera). You must have manual functions on your camera (i.e. be able to
change the aperture and shutter speed settings).
Students should be computer-literate at a basic level. Please note that you will be using Apple Mac computers, although all the software used on this course is cross-platform. If you have never used a computer before, you might benefit from our course ‘An introduction to Apple computers’ that runs each term.
You will need to be able to follow simple written and verbal instructions to support demonstrations, hand-outs and for health and safety information, and be prepared to take part in group discussions. You should be happy using numbers and able to do simple measurements and calculations.

How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?

A structured programme of lectures, demonstrations, and practical exercises at locations in London. The photography studio uses a computer projector for presentations and viewing of images. Each student will have their own Apple Mac computer to work on. Students may want to continue working outside of class to build a portfolio of images. The course also uses Google Classroom (an online teaching resource) for you to share comments with your class, download course material and upload images for group crits. See below for the instructions on how to log on. Google classroom log in help.

Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?

Please bring your camera (if you have one) to the classes and you may wish to bring a notebook and pen. City Lit has a range of digital SLR cameras, tripods and lenses which you are welcome to use during the hours of the class. We are unable to lend out equipment between the taught sessions of the course. It would be useful to bring a memory stick (or portable hard drive – please note PC-formatted hard drives can be read by Apple Mac computers, but not written to).

When I've finished, what course can I do next?

City Lit runs over 70 different photography courses, from wedding and wildlife photography to darkroom processing and using software packages. Browse the website to get inspired.