Composition opinions please

[tct70]

This is a large residential project that I'm currently doing an birds-eye view of. I'd also like to do some more interesting close-up views and would appreciate your comment on the enclosed for its composition.

Thanks.

[nvanherpt]

keep your verticals vertical, and try not to have the main wall in your image in shadow. can you shift the sun?

[tct70]

Hi Nic,

Yes the sun can be moved, but I wanted some dramatic shadows. As for the verticals, I would normally adjust but a photo would be as this........does it look that bad?

Trev

[nvanherpt]

no, not that bad although it's usually details of buildings represented this dramatic, not major elevations (imo). check out any architectural magazine and you will see the majority of photos showing this much of a building that the verticals are vertical. if you are going for something this dramatic get right in close.

typically architectural photographers use a shift lens to get their verts vert.

[glorybound]

Camera Correct

The main reason I stuck with v-ray sun/sky is the camera correction (parallax). Every time I reverted back to a direct light being able to do a camera correct directed me back to the physical camera. I think I saw a script that works with max's camera, but I am used to the physical camera now.

[Morne]

Yes as above. When I started out doing exteriors I also use to have non vertical lines since at the time my opinion, actually still my opinion a normal handheld will take the photo in this way. It is just my architectural clients are always fussy and they INSIST on vertical lines and say there are other ways to make it dramatic.

As for having shadows on your front walls which is mainly the focus point of your pic, I once did something for a job in Abu-Dhabi and same story for me, I worked out where is north and put my model on site in the correct place and the sun bla bla bla so I ended up with more or less the effect you have in the image above. The architect told me like so "It's Dubai, the sun can be anywhere, please move it to the other side". At 1st I was a bit shocked and tried to explain the technical side of the story, but after a few months I got use to this kind of comment.

So now as a rule (not that I like it that way, but the client pays the bills) I always put front walls in full sun and verticals all vertical. For animation you can get away with non verticals. For stills only if you tilt the camera on purpose say 15 or 20 degrees sideways in very RARE instances.

Good model and I'm sure with some plants and stuff in the foreground you'll do just fine.

Remember most of the times you need a foreground (plants, cars smaller buildings), middle point (your main focus), background (stuff "fading" into the back)

I'm myself still learning and growing so please anybody correct me or add onto what I've said.

Kind Regards,
Morne

[dlparisi]

Lately I've been pressing the "Guess Vertical Shift" on the physical camera and rather than accepting the default I've been setting it to about half the guessed value. Works basically the same for the standard camera modifier. No real world reason why I'm doing this other than it gets away from the obvious three point perspective and also avoids the unnatural (to me anyways) perfectly vertical verticals. The buildings get a little bit more prominence in the images but doesn't jump out as overly corrected.

[paulison]

sometimes i use the camera correct modifier on the camera and then move the target point up slightly to reintroduce a slight bit of perspective so that the verticals aren't perfectly vertical. I think for this kind of building though that it may look better with camera correction as others have suggested.

I spoke to a photographer once who said that taking photo's on the shadow side of buildings can be good to pick up detail such as on an old church so i think its true that photographers don't always have the sun front on. Maybe you can try to have the shadow slightly on the smaller elevation instead?

I don't know what else to say, maybe your target is a bit too high?

[werticus]

guess vertical works most of the time except for extreme angels where your better off with a manual adjustment.

trying to visualise large buildings without it looking flat and boring is difficult, it really depends on the clients needs - does it need to be accurate or interesting? ie is it for sales or for government approval?