Skip to main content
Tech Radar Tech Radar TechRadar The source for Tech Buying Advice
Subscribe
RSS
(opens in new tab) (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab)
Asia
flag of Singapore
Singapore
Europe
flag of Danmark
Danmark
flag of Suomi
Suomi
flag of Norge
Norge
flag of Sverige
Sverige
flag of UK
UK
flag of Italia
Italia
flag of Nederland
Nederland
flag of België (Nederlands)
België (Nederlands)
flag of France
France
flag of Deutschland
Deutschland
flag of España
España
North America
flag of US (English)
US (English)
flag of Canada
Canada
Australasia
flag of Australia
Australia
flag of New Zealand
New Zealand
Technology Magazines
(opens in new tab)
Technology Magazines (opens in new tab)
Why subscribe?
  • The best tech tutorials and in-depth reviews
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12.99
(opens in new tab)
View Deal (opens in new tab)
  • News
  • Best
  • Reviews
  • Opinion
  • How To
  • Versus
  • Deals
  • More
    • Appliances
    • Audiovisual
    • Cameras
    • Car Tech
    • Computing
    • Downloads
    • Entertainment
    • Fitness
    • Laptops
    • Phones
    • Smart Home
    • Tablets
    • TVs
    • Wearables
    • About Us
Tech Radar Pro
Tech Radar Gaming
Trending
  • Samsung Galaxy Unpacked
  • Samsung Galaxy S23
  • Best phones
  • Wordle
  • Best VPN

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

  1. Home
  2. How-to

How to photograph a tall building from up close

By Tom Welsh
published 6 July 2016

Look to the skies

  • (opens in new tab)
  • (opens in new tab)
  • (opens in new tab)
  • (opens in new tab)
Step by step: Shoot from the bottom up

Step by step: Shoot from the bottom up

When we think of architectural photography we tend to imagine crisp, clean images of buildings that show the main façade of a structure front-on. In this tutorial, though, we're going to demonstrate how to add impact to images of tall buildings by shooting straight up at them, and blurring moving clouds as they pass overhead.

Modern architecture, with its blocky shapes and heavy use of glass to create smooth, reflective surfaces, is the perfect subject for shooting from this extreme perspective. Converting images to black and white also suits this technique, with the silvery tones giving images a futuristic look.

The key is to time your shoot for when there are fast-moving clouds passing overhead – the faster the clouds, the easier it will be to get that dramatic, streaky-sky effect.

Once you've got your subject and sky sorted, you'll need to blur the clouds, and to do this you need to set a long exposure. However, in daylight you may not be able to set an exposure long enough without running the risk of over-exposure, which is where neutral density filters come in. Here's how it's done...

  • 77 photography techniques, tips and tricks for taking pictures of anything
Page 1 of 8
Page 1 of 8
1. Find a subject

1. Find a subject

Find a tall tower block or similar building. Look for clean edges, such as the right-angle corners of a skyscraper, as well as clean glass walls which will reflect light, and brighten up parts of the building. Details in the facade will also help to add interest and texture.

Quick tip: Clouds moving straight towards you or away from you tend to look more dramatic than clouds passing from one side of the frame to the other.

  • Outdoor portrait photography made easy: tips for pro-quality results
Page 2 of 8
Page 2 of 8
2. Take a corner

2. Take a corner

Set up close to the base of the building, opposite one of its corners. Place your Nikon on a tripod, and point it straight up at the edge of the structure. Compose your shot so that the frame is filled mostly by the building's edge, with some space around the top for the sky.

Page 3 of 8
Page 3 of 8
3. Set a small aperture

3. Set a small aperture

In manual mode, set an aperture of f/16 at ISO100. Not only will this help to maximise depth of field, and so ensure the entire building is sharp, it will also reduce the amount of light hitting the sensor, enabling you to set slower shutter speeds for a correct exposure.

Page 4 of 8
Page 4 of 8
4. Switch to manual focus

4. Switch to manual focus

To further maximise depth of field, manually select an AF point roughly a third of the way into the frame. In Live View, zoom in on different parts of the image to check for sharpness, then switch your lens to manual to lock the focus, and prevent the AF system from hunting.

Page 5 of 8
Page 5 of 8
5. Dim the lights

5. Dim the lights

Next, attach a strong ND filter to your lens. We used an ND400 filter, which blocks out nine full stops of light. Once the filter is attached, you need to decrease the shutter speed until the exposure level indicator lines up with zero on the exposure scale.

  • Best ND filter: 6 top models tested and rated
Page 6 of 8
Page 6 of 8
6. Check your speed

6. Check your speed

Take a test shot and check the histogram to ensure that none of the highlights are blown. If they are, you'll need to set a faster shutter speed. If your image is too dark, you'll need to set a slower shutter speed. Our speed of 30 secs was plenty long enough to blur the clouds.

  • How to avoid common mistakes at every shutter speed
Page 7 of 8
Page 7 of 8
7. Shooting in monochrome

7. Shooting in monochrome

To add impact to your shot, convert it to monochrome. This can be done in-camera by going into the Retouch menu, selecting Monochrome and applying this to your favourite image. You can also set the camera to shoot in monochrome using the Picture Styles – if you shoot in RAW, you'll still have all the color information if needed.

  • Enhance a bland sky in a photo
Page 8 of 8
Page 8 of 8
  • (opens in new tab)
  • (opens in new tab)
  • (opens in new tab)
  • (opens in new tab)
Tom Welsh
See more Photography & video capture how-to
  1. Dead Space remake
    1
    I'm going to turn on the feature that makes Dead Space run at 30 FPS on PS5
  2. 2
    The vinyl revival is coming to a crashing halt – but don't blame Taylor Swift
  3. 3
    Better than 4K Blu-ray: the new disc that could do movies better… but do we need it?
  4. 4
    Gen Z is the new point-and-shoot generation, and I love it
  5. 5
    Netflix sets deadline for its crackdown on password sharing
  1. 4k Blu-ray players on colored background
    1
    Better than 4K Blu-ray: the new disc that could do movies better… but do we need it?
  2. 2
    You still haven't upgraded to Windows 11 and it's probably Microsoft's fault
  3. 3
    Netflix sets deadline for its crackdown on password sharing
  4. 4
    Vertrauensarbeitszeit ade – so funktioniert die Arbeitszeiterfassung ohne Stechuhr
  5. 5
    Marvel's Avengers is shutting down – so grab these freebies while you can

TechRadar is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab).

  • About Us (opens in new tab)
  • Contact Us (opens in new tab)
  • Terms and conditions (opens in new tab)
  • Privacy policy (opens in new tab)
  • Cookies policy (opens in new tab)
  • Advertise with us (opens in new tab)
  • Web notifications (opens in new tab)
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers (opens in new tab)

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.