Perfect your modern architectural photography with unique angles, Help with making good building Photos

Perfect Your Modern Architectural Photography With Unique Angles

4 June 2025

Xuecheng Liu’s superwide aerial view of Times Square recently won the Architecture category in the 2025 Sony World Photography Awards. “The Center of the Cosmos” presents the iconic New York City landmark from a fresh vantage point, and shows how different angles can transform even familiar scenes. This power of perspective is also something you can experiment with in your own architectural photography. It can help highlight building details, form, or scale that may have previously gone unnoticed. Whether you want to take a close-up, aerial, or low-angle shot, unique angles can create amazing photos that show off modern buildings in a whole new light.

Experiment with aerial shots

An aerial perspective can showcase a building from a birds-eye view people don’t usually get to see. Aerial photography actually dates back to the mid-nineteenth century when Gaspard-Félix Tournachon took shots of Paris from a hot air balloon at an altitude of sixteen hundred feet. Now, we’re lucky to have a much easier and safer way to do it — with drones that take stunning aerial shots without you having to leave the ground. When done well, drone photography can highlight a building’s shape and symmetry, as well as show how it integrates with the wider environment. It does, however, require some trial and error to get right, and it’s useful to do an initial test flight where you can take shots and adjust angle and altitude as needed. Aim for a good mix of different flight paths, heights, and angles, so you get numerous pictures that show off the building from every perspective.

Zoom in on details

If a specific architectural detail catches your eye, why not take a close-up of it rather than photographing the building as a whole. Look out for more obvious details like bricks, windows, staircases, columns, and arches, but also pay attention to how natural elements may interact with the architecture. For example, look for interesting shadows cast by the sun on a textured wall. Patterns, textures, and shapes of any kind can make for unique close-ups. It’s also useful to keep a telephoto lens on you. This lens can take close-up shots from a distance, which makes it easier to capture these details.

Use low-angle shots

Low-angle shots taken with the camera at or near ground-level lend modern building’s a real sense of grandeur. This perspective will make your subject look more imposing in every sense — taller, bigger, wider, and closer. To take a great low-angle shot, you do need to use a wide lens under 50mm. Wide-angle lenses exaggerate perspective, which helps buildings look taller and more impressive. Be prepared to get down on the ground to capture the perfect shot. Kneel and hold the camera on your lap or lay down completely. Use your camera’s tilt or LCD screen, so you don’t have to look at the viewfinder to frame your composition.

A unique angle can help you take amazing photos that capture modern buildings in a unique or unexpected way. So, take time to experiment with perspective, and you’ll be rewarded with photos that standout and showcase architecture through a fresh lens.

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