The Process of Photographing Architecture, with Jim Stephenson of clickclickjim – how to better photograph Architecture and Interiors.

Saturday, 03rd March, 2012 10:30am ’till 5:30pm (ish). £88 for the day (tea and biscuits included…). For booking, please email me at jim@clickclickjim.com

A full day workshop on the how’s and why’s of photographing buildings, inside and out.

After some introductions, the day will start with a brief look at some of the most important architectural photographers throughout history and specifically how they approached their work and what techniques they used to make their images so special.

After this, we’ll go through some basic techniques as well as some handy hints, tips and tricks focusing both on exteriors and interiors. Bringing along your camera will be essential, whether it be a setup worth more than your house, or a simple point-and-shoot, we’ll go through how to get the best out of it as we head out to a location in town and try out some of what we’ve covered so far. If you have a favourite building in Brighton, let me know and I’ll choose one from the list to photograph. Again, we’ll do some interiors and exteriors practical work.

Somewhere around there, we’ll grab some lunch, and once we’ve done photographing it’s back to the venue (which will be in central Brighton) where we’ll go through some post-production trickery that will add the extra edge to your images and finish them off nicely. I’ll show you my typical workflow, and we’ll try and cover a range of common techniques in photoshop. There’ll be a chance now to look through everyone’s images and do some (friendly) critique, highlighting things to think about next time.

Finally, we’ll finish up with some question and answer time, followed by a round of backpatting and congratulating each other on the amazing photos we’ve all taken.

The day will will start at 10:30am and finish around 5:30pm. Please bring along a camera and a tripod (if you have one – if you don’t, let me know and I’ll try and organise a spare for you). A wide-angle lens will prove useful, but is by no means essential. We’ll be indoors for much of the day, but we will be heading out for a bit, so bring some warm and waterproof clothes, just in case. To allow me to help everyone as much as possible, class sizes will be limited to 10 people – I will add an extra date, if needed. If you have any questions at all, drop me a line on jim@clickclickjim.com and I’ll try and answer them. You can check out more of my architectural photography on my website, clickclickjim.

Please note; this course will not be covering the business side of being an architectural photographer (winning clients, running a business, etc etc), unless you ask some pretty specific questions in the Q&A. Jim Stephenson / clickclickjim can accept no responsibility for lost, damaged or stolen equipment before, during, or after the workshop.

Here’s what some previous attendees have said about the workshop…

“I just wanted to say what a fantastic time I had on your architectural photography workshop, it was just the right mix of classroom theory and practical application. I came away with an even greater appreciation for this area of photography and feel really inspired to shoot in a much more informed way in the future. Your workshop is as far as I know unique in the UK, so keep up the good work” Ian Rudgewick Brown

“I would like to thank Jim Stephenson for a well presented architectural photography workshop. The course has given me some useful techniques and new ideas I hope to utilise not only for future architecture shoots in my photography, but also in general going forwards. Thank you.” Ashley Burt

“It was a great day… and I certainly feel inspired to get out and shoot more buildings!” Steve Mileham

“Thanks for a great workshop – learnt loads and a good base from which to stretch my photographer legs!” David Callin

This is the photography blog of clickclickjim, Jim Stephenson Architectural Photographer. Please head to my website at www.clickclickjim.com if you’d like to see more of my work.

I recently posted some work I did in Tokyo at Roppongi Hills for Conran & Partners on my blog. Well, whilst there they also commissioned me to shoot their retail project at Futako Tamagawa (also in Tokyo). This project is the first phase of what will eventually become a very large mixed use scheme and by all accounts has proved to be very popular in the city with architects visiting it quite regularly to check it out. As soon as I arrived, the very polite security guard saw my tripod and camera bag and whisked me off into the depths of the complex to issue me with the press pass I needed for the day. I cannot possibly explain how cold I was when shooting this – Tokyo had gone from being pretty balmy (I shot the Roppongi project in just a t-shirt) to arctic in a few days. That said, cracking project to shoot.

This is the photography blog of clickclickjim, Jim Stephenson Architectural Photographer. Please head to my website at www.clickclickjim.com if you’d like to see more of my work.

This is the photography blog of clickclickjim, Jim Stephenson Architectural Photographer. Please head to my website at www.clickclickjim.com if you’d like to see more of my work.

Back in November I headed off to Japan (you may have seen me rattling on about it once or twice, or maybe three times). Whilst there I had a couple of shoots to do for Conran & Partners, who have worked quite extensively in and around Tokyo. One of their largest projects out there is at Roppongi Hills; a mixed use site incorporated housing, managed apartments, offices, retail and leisure facilities. C&P briefed me in the UK and put me in touch with Yohjiro Gotoh, from Design Index, who was to be my “fixer” out there. Gotoh-San helped me out with permissions and some of the equipment hire I had to do as C&P had asked me to shoot some video of the site whilst there to. I really enjoy working abroad. It’s full of new challenges, but is very exciting. Plus it’s almost like a holiday… Below are some of the images from the final edit of the Roppongi shoot, as well as the video I shot for them. Click here to see the other project I shot for C&P in Tokyo, at Futako Tamagawa.

This is the photography blog of clickclickjim, Jim Stephenson Architectural Photographer. Please head to my website at www.clickclickjim.com if you’d like to see my work.

This is the photography blog of clickclickjim, Jim Stephenson, Architectural Photographer. Please head to my website at www.clickclickjim.com if you’d like to see my work. If you’re looking for info on the miniclick photography talks, please click here.

Whilst in Japan, between commissions and arranging camera hires, we did actually get time to have a nice holiday. Generally when I’m on holiday I don’t tend to photograph the traditional tourist spots and sights. I can just buy a postcard pack for that. I stick to photographing architecture, details and little bits and bobs that I know will remind me of the place I’m in. You can get an idea of this on this blog post, of my holiday snaps of Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto. Anyways, it’s a good job I wasn’t looking to photograph the traditional sights as I soon realised I wouldn’t be able to get anywhere near them – it seemed like everyone had a camera and everyone wanted their photo in front of this spot or that sight. So, I decided to roll with a small project called “People shooting People”. Here’s some of the results…

This is the photography blog of clickclickjim, Jim Stephenson Architectural Photographer. Please head to my website at www.clickclickjim.com if you’d like to see my work. If you’re looking for info on the miniclick photography talks, please click here.

This is the photography blog of clickclickjim, Jim Stephenson Architectural Photographer. Please head to my website at www.clickclickjim.com if you’d like to see my work. If you’re looking for info on the miniclick photography talks, please click here.

In November, I headed off to Japan for a couple of weeks, partly as a holiday but also incorporating a couple of nice commissions for Conran & Partners. Japan, for a long time now, has been a place I’ve been eager to visit. I can now say it’s a place I’m eager to return to (so if anyone wants to send me their on commission – give me a shout). Surprisingly to me, and I’m sure to those who knows me, I didn’t shoot that much architecture out there with the exception of the buildings I was sent to photograph. To be honest, I found that side of it a bit overwhelming and could easily have turned the entire trip into a grand architectural tour. I did try to get to Ando’s Church of the Light outside of Osaka, with photographic intentions, but it was closed the day I had free. Anyways, I concentrated on shooting handheld with my new Lumix GF1 and all the shots here were on that camera.

This post is all about the stills I shot, but I also did a lot of video work to. That’s to follow. In the meantime, this is what Japan looked like to me…

This is the photography blog of clickclickjim, Jim Stephenson Architectural Photographer. Please head to my website at www.clickclickjim.com if you’d like to see my work. If you’re looking for info on the miniclick photography talks, please click here.

This is the photography blog of clickclickjim, Jim Stephenson Architectural Photographer. Please head to my website at www.clickclickjim.com if you’d like to see my work.

Early on in the summer, which seems like a while ago now, I photographed a small project initiated by RIBA London where a group of Part 1 and 2 architecture students were commissioned to design (and build) a temporary bandstand in front of Royal Festival Hall on the Southbank, London.

It’s fairly rare in architecture for students in their early twenties to get the chance to see a design process all the way from inception to production information, construction and completion, so this was a great opportunity for those involved to get this experience. When completed, the bandstand proved incredibly popular with the public, with events hosted on and around it for the whole summer. These images, and the accompanying video, were commissioned by the students involved.

This is the photography blog of clickclickjim, Jim Stephenson Architectural Photographer. Please head to my website at www.clickclickjim.com if you’d like to see my work.

This is the photography blog of clickclickjim, Jim Stephenson Architectural Photographer. Please head to my website at www.clickclickjim.com if you’d like to see my work.

Back in August, when everyone else was seemingly on their holidays, I had a free day so I decided to pop over to Bexhill to have a wander around the De La Warr Pavilion and check out Duggan Morris Architect’s new wind-shelters which had recently been finished off, in conjunction with Millimetre. Naturally, I took along my kit and took a few photographs of the wind-shelters, after some quick fish and chips and whilst contemplating if wind shelters was two words, one word or in need of a hyphen.

This is the photography blog of clickclickjim, Jim Stephenson Architectural Photographer. Please head to my website at www.clickclickjim.com if you’d like to see my work.

The Process of Photographing Architecture, with Jim Stephenson of clickclickjim – how to better photograph Architecture and Interiors.

Saturday, 03rd March, 2012 10:30am ’till 5:30pm (ish). £88 for the day (tea and biscuits included…). For booking, please email me at jim@clickclickjim.com

A full day workshop on the how’s and why’s of photographing buildings, inside and out.

After some introductions, the day will start with a brief look at some of the most important architectural photographers throughout history and specifically how they approached their work and what techniques they used to make their images so special.

After this, we’ll go through some basic techniques as well as some handy hints, tips and tricks focusing both on exteriors and interiors. Bringing along your camera will be essential, whether it be a setup worth more than your house, or a simple point-and-shoot, we’ll go through how to get the best out of it as we head out to a location in town and try out some of what we’ve covered so far. If you have a favourite building in Brighton, let me know and I’ll choose one from the list to photograph. Again, we’ll do some interiors and exteriors practical work.

Somewhere around there, we’ll grab some lunch, and once we’ve done photographing it’s back to the venue (which will be in central Brighton) where we’ll go through some post-production trickery that will add the extra edge to your images and finish them off nicely. I’ll show you my typical workflow, and we’ll try and cover a range of common techniques in photoshop. There’ll be a chance now to look through everyone’s images and do some (friendly) critique, highlighting things to think about next time.

Finally, we’ll finish up with some question and answer time, followed by a round of backpatting and congratulating each other on the amazing photos we’ve all taken.

The day will will start at 10:30am and finish around 5:30pm. Please bring along a camera and a tripod (if you have one – if you don’t, let me know and I’ll try and organise a spare for you). A wide-angle lens will prove useful, but is by no means essential. We’ll be indoors for much of the day, but we will be heading out for a bit, so bring some warm ad waterproof clothes, just in case. To allow me to help everyone as much as possible, class sizes will be limited to 10 people – I will add an extra date, if needed. If you have any questions at all, drop me a line on jim@clickclickjim.com and I’ll try and answer them. You can check out more of my architectural photography on my website, clickclickjim.

Please note; this course will not be covering the business side of being an architectural photographer (winning clients, running a business, etc etc), unless you ask some pretty specific questions in the Q&A. clickclickjim can accept no responsibility for lost, damaged or stolen equipment before, during, or after the workshop.

Here’s what some previous attendees have said about the workshop…

“I just wanted to say what a fantastic time I had on your architectural photography workshop, it was just the right mix of classroom theory and practical application. I came away with an even greater appreciation for this area of photography and feel really inspired to shoot in a much more informed way in the future. Your workshop is as far as I know unique in the UK, so keep up the good work” Ian Rudgewick Brown

“I would like to thank Jim Stephenson for a well presented architectural photography workshop. The course has given me some useful techniques and new ideas I hope to utilise not only for future architecture shoots in my photography, but also in general going forwards. Thank you.” Ashley Burt

“It was a great day… and I certainly feel inspired to get out and shoot more buildings!” Steve Mileham

“Thanks for a great workshop – learnt loads and a good base from which to stretch my photographer legs!” David Callin

This is the photography blog of clickclickjim, Jim Stephenson Architectural Photographer. Please head to my website at www.clickclickjim.com if you’d like to see my work.

For the upcoming Festival of Architecture, Norwich and Norfolk (FANNXI) I spent a few days in the countryside photographing the post-war and mid-century housing by architects Tayler & Green. Working almost exclusively in one area of Norfolk and Suffolk, the work of T&G is often criminally overlooked (largely because they didn’t do a great deal of work in London). The housing they built in the 50’s and 60’s is extremely regionally distinctive, in that nothing else in the area looks like it, and it bucked the popular European Modernism trend at the time. It was a pleasure to photograph the work and the short talk that architect Matt Wood gave for residents of one of the estates at Davy Place. As well as forming part of my ongoing personal project, documenting this era of housing all over the country (see posts on Span and Rowley Way), these images will be used throughout the festival and by Professor Alan Powers for a lecture he will be giving on the architects.

This is the photography blog of clickclickjim, Jim Stephenson Architectural Photographer. Please head to my website at www.clickclickjim.com if you’d like to see my work.

This is the photography blog of clickclickjim, Jim Stephenson Architectural Photographer. Please head to my website at www.clickclickjim.com if you’d like to see my work.

Yesterday (Saturday, if you’re reading this on a Sunday), I went to the Alexandra and Ainsworth Estate in Camden, London with Paula Knee, Simon Kennedy and Aleks Krotoski. The estate, frequently called the Rowley Way estate, is about as good as it gets for me. Loads of concrete, utopian ideals, trees and plants, a community-minded spirit and designed by borough architects (Neave Brown of Camden Council’s Architects Department). I appreciate I’m viewing this estate, and many others of the same era, with slightly rose-tinted glasses and without the knowledge gained from living there, so whilst photographing estates I always try to chat to some of the residents. Ron had been there for 25yrs and was kind enough to show me his home. Although he had some misgiving about the design and, in particular the way the services worked, he loves living there and praised the community spirit. He was proud of his home and to say he lived on the estate. It was a bloody lovely day, ended with a nice chat in a nearby cafe with my fellow photographers and a wander along the canal to Kings Cross in the sunshine, before joining a couple of mates for a few drinks back in Camden. Lovely stuff. Here’s some of my images from the day…

This is the photography blog of clickclickjim, Jim Stephenson Architectural Photographer. Please head to my website at www.clickclickjim.com if you’d like to see my work.