Including 5 Pro Tips to Consider When Adding People to Architectural Photography
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Our brains are hardwired to focus on human faces. Placing people in architectural photography can easily distract the viewer of the image from the architecture and design. (source)
On the other hand, including people in architectural photography adds meaning, purpose, and scale. Strategically placing the right people attracts more views, likes, shares, mentions, and follows.
5 Pro Tips to Consider When Adding People to Architectural Photography
1. When in doubt, leave them out. Adding people to every image distracts from the true heroes of the photos - the architecture, design, and construction.
2. Less is more. The fewer the people, the less distractions. One perfectly placed model is better than a handful of randomly placed people.
3. Look natural. Most people are nervous and self-conscious when posing for the camera. Actors and models have experience looking natural, but when your budget includes anyone available willing to be in the shot for free -- choose wisely.
4. Include signed model release forms. When an employee included in a shot becomes a former employee, they may ask or insist their likeness not be included in the images.
5. Be patient. Architectural photography is a lot of hurry and wait. Each scene is thoughtfully composed and curated for magazine quality images. People on-call to be in shots will only spend about 5% of the their time posing for shots. Professional actors and models get paid for 100% of their time.
Michael Firsich is an architectural photographer, videographer, and creator of visual marketing content for online and print media. Click here to learn more.
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