CAPTURE TRUE PERSPECTIVE

Jason Parnell-Brookes shows you how to shoot distortion-free architecture images with the aid of a tilt-shift lens and a tripod

- Jason Parnell-Brookes

1 HOUR When you’re photographing a tall building from close up by pointing the camera upwards, the top of the building will look as if it’s leaning away from you, with the vertical lines converging. This is called perspective distortion or keystoning, and we can use a tilt-shift lens to counter it.

Tilt-shift lenses are fantastic for perspective correction, making them the lenses of choice for architectural photography. Tilt-shift lenses enable you to tilt the angle of the optical path relative to the image sensor, and shift the optical axis so that it’s off-centre but still parallel to the imaging plane. In this case we use the shift adjustment to correct the perspective and straighten the converging vertical lines.

As well as using a tilt-shift lens you’ll also need a tripod. Large and imposing buildings are often dark inside, which means you’ll need to use either a high ISO or a long shutter speed – the latter is generally the preferred option, as it helps to keep noise to a minimum.

We went to Wells Cathedral in Somerset, which has huge columns, ornate stonework, and intricate pipes in the organ chest, all of which means a lot of vertical lines. Using a tilt-shift lens, a tripod and our DSLR, we’ll show how to take the perfect architectural shot.