Several years ago I was invited to teach a couple of classes in commercial photography at Nossi College of Art and Design in Nashville. This semester I was asked to teach a couple of classes in architectural photography. One of which is an evening class that starts at 6:00 pm.  Which as you can imagine creates some unique challenges. With this in mind, I decided to turn this into an opportunity for our students. 

When evening sets in the shadows get much much deeper and the highlights much much higher. Often, we had to rely on existing lighting which has different kelvin ratings and color temperatures with times these were all mixed together. This gave me a chance to teach and reinforce multiple photographic principles and edit techniques to overcome the dilemma successfully.

Parthenon

This also presented a great opening to show how to add light to enhance architecture and environmental settings. A technique I’ve often demonstrated in the studio that can be used in this situation just on a much larger scale.

While I don’t consider myself an architectural photographer it is something that clients have requested me to do as part of projects. Teaching has pressed me to experiment where I might not have otherwise.  I’m thankful for this experience and the students I’ve been able to help along the way.