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If you were to take a second and third photograph, what would they be? The second photograph
should be a perspective of the rear and other side of
the building" These two perspective photographs
now comprehensively document the exterior of the
structure. The third photograph should document
what architects call the front elevation. An elevation
is a drawing to scale of the side, front, or rear of a
building. Projecting features such as window and
door moldings, window sills, steps, and eves are all
rendered as if they were totally flat An elevation
photograph shows the true proportions of one side
of a building. Because that side is parallel to the
film plane, approximate measurements can be taken
from the photograph. In fact, measured drawings
can be taken from a carefully controlled elevation
photograph shot with a view camera.
What about interiors? First, identify the major
space, room, or area in the building and then determine how other spaces are organized. Interior photographs should yield information about the floor
plan, Some structures, such as hangars, barns, and
some industrial buildings, are architectural shells
enclosing a space. For such a structure, the first
photograph would be taken hom a corner opposite
the main entrance and shot diagonally across the
space. As with exteriors, the second photograph
should be from the opposite corner, or should document an important element of the interior.
Most interiors of residential structures, for example, are laid out in hierarchical order from the most
important, most formal, most elaborate room, to the
plainer more functional rooms" First, determine the
umentation of historic structures such as that undertaken by HABS/HAER, most photographic documentation for the National Register of Historic
Places and other programs is done with smaller, less
elaborate cameras. This primer assumes the use of a
smaller camera that uses 35mm or 120 roll film.
Detail of door
showing weathering, materials, and
history of locks
Clearfield Farm,
Smyrna vicinity,
Delaware,
THE PHOTOGRAPHIC
CONTROLS
PROCESS AND
DO
A
DO
c
FIGURE A
Figure A The effect oj rising front" The rising front
adjustment can be used to alter the position of the image
within the boarders, while keeping the lensboard and
film plane parallel. The drawing shows the image oja
subject repositioned through this lens shift, (A) is unacceptable because the entire building cannot be captured
by the lens" Tilting the camera to show the entire structure creates converging parallel vertical lines (B).. But if
the camera back is kept vertical and the rising front
adjustment used (C), no convergence will occur and perspective is restored, Illustration taken from Lahue et aI,
Petersen's Guide to Architectural Photography, Petersen
Publishing Company, 1972, page 7.
4
Controlling sharpness with focus and depth-offield. An image is made on film by light striking it
as transmitted through the lens from the object
being photographed. The amount of light reaching
the film is controlled by a combination of the shutter speed and the size of the opening in the lens,
called the aperture ..All cameras have a standard
progression of shutter speeds from the slowest to
the fastest. Each successive shutter speed setting is
twice as fast as the previous one and admits half as
much light The sequence, defined, in seconds is: 1,
1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/15, 1/25, and 1/60, continuing up to
the fastest setting, which is frequently 1/500 or
1/1000 ..In photography, the unit of measurement of
light, or the doubling or halving of the amount of
light reaching the film, is called a stop.
The light transmitted through the lens is also regulated by varying the size of the lens opening which
is controlled by expanding or contracting the ring of
thin metal blades ..Lens openings also follow a standard progression from the largest to the smallest,
with each smaller opening allowing half as much
light--one stop. The settings on the lens barrel from
the largest opening to the smallest are in a sequence
of f/1.0, f/l.4, f/2.0, f/3.5 and upward to f/22 or f/32
and sometimes higher depending on the lens. The
apparently odd progression of numbers is based on
the formula for the area of a circle. Reducing the
size of the aperture or increasing the shutter speed
is called stopping down.
In addition to its effect on the amount of light
entering the camera, the size of the aperture helps to
determine how much of the image in the photograph is in sharp focus ..Measured from near to far
between foreground and background, the area or
zone which is in sharp focus is called the depth-offield. The smaller the aperture, (remember that the
larger number means smaller aperture) the more of
the foreground and background will be in focus, or
the greater the depth of field. In fact, each time you
THINKING PHOTOGRAPHICALLY
To conclude, automatic cameras are not appropriate for photographic documentation of architecture"
For starters, when you use an automatic camera you
tend to turn off your brain" Good architectural photography and photographic documentation melds a
knowledge of architecture with an understanding of
the significant features of a building and the photographic process" You must think about light, depthof-field, and about what will photographically capture the architectural and historical significance of
the building. Not only do you lose control of your
materials with an automatic camera, you lose your
opportunity to think through the relationship
between the film and the building" Ok, it's time to
hit the field!
David L. Ames is the Director of the Center for Historic
Architecture and Design and Professor in Urban Affairs and
Public Policy and Geography, University of Delaware,
SITY
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OF
EIAWARE
GLOSSARY
Aperture: The amount of light reaching the film is
controlled by a combination of the shutter speed and
the size of the opening of the lens.
Depth of Field: The range around a particular point of
focus that is rendered as acceptably sharp in a photograph, Depth of field varies with the f/stop.
F/stop: The number that expresses the size of the lens
openmg relative to focal length,
Large Format: Any camera that is intended to use
with film 4 x 5 inches or larger..
Medium Format: Any camera that uses 120 size roll
film, The format is between 35 mm and 4 x 5 in size,
Perspective Control (PC) lens: A specifically
designed lens that mimics view camera perspective
control movements, and is intended to be used with
single lens reflex cameras.
Single Lens Reflex: A camera design, incorporating a
mirror and a pnsm, that allows the photographer to see
in the viewfinder whatever the taking lens sees"
Telephoto Lens: A lens of a longer-than-normal focal
length with a relatively short physical length Not all
long lenses are of tele design,
View Camera: A camera design that allows the photographer to manipulate various optical parameters by
altering the relative orientation of a film back and a
lens linked together by flexible light-tight bellows.
The image, is viewed on a ground glass screen in the
film back
Zoom Lens: A lens in which the focal length can be
changes, effectively providing several lenses in one"
This publication was funded by the Legacy Program of the
United States Air Force, the National Park Service, and the
National Council for Preservation Education
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The activity that is the subject of this document has been financed in
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the Interior However, the contents and opinions do not necessarily
reflect the views and policies of the Department of the Interior, nor
does the mention of trade names or commercial products constitute
endorsement or recommendations by the Department of the Interior
This program received federal financial assistance for identification
and protection of historic properties, Under Title VI of the Civil Rights
Act of 1965 and Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the
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