DIGITAL ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY 421

USC SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE Instructor, Michael Arden

[email protected]

COURSE DESCRIPTION
2 units
No prerequisites
Fall Semester / Spring Semester
Thursday’s

Introduction & Purpose

All architecture students can prosper by learning to see light and how light alters the
visual impact of architectural forms. Just as drawing allows students to refine their
vision and perspective teaches how we see, the camera allows for yet another
discipline to organically create with architecture and light.

This course will teach students to create successful images of exterior architecture,
interior architectural design, as well as architectural models. The student will
become a highly competent creative digital photographic image creator with
accurate exposure, proper color correction, and excellent printing output. They will
successfully use specific digital tools for the architectural image (free-
transform/HDR) to correct distortion and capture mixed lighting with multiple
exposures. Students will be able to utilize light, structures and Adobe Photoshop in
new ways.
DIGITAL ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY 421
USC SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE Instructor, Michael Arden
[email protected]

Upon completion of this course each student will possess the following skills:
• Comprehensive understanding of architectural lighting.
• Heightened sensitivity to light and how it strengthens architectural design
• Ability to use High Dynamic Range (HDR): multiple exposures to create
dramatic architecture/interior images without additional professional lighting.
• Control of Parallax (Free Transform Procedure) to correct distortion and
perspective so buildings do not look like they are leaning to one side or
falling back.
• Intermediate ability to photograph architectural models and small products,
including a studio set up with studio lighting and possibly strobe lighting.
• Creation of exceptional images with light and architecture, including dusk
imagery.
• Advanced amateur use of most Single Lens Reflex (SLR) digital camera
functions, including: shooting raw, processing in Adobe Bridge and
Photoshop CS5, batch processing, organization, color temperature,
exposure/histograms, color management (curves/levels).
• Advanced use and knowledge of Adobe Lightroom 3.
• Knowledge of how to do a monitor calibration.
• Advanced nine color profiled printing.

Text and Reading Materials

Required:
Seth Resnick and Jamie Spritzer, D-65’s Lightroom Workbook,
Workflow, Not Workslow in Lightroom 3 (2010) ISBN: 9780615378442
or 0615378447.
Joseph Rosa and Esther McCoy, A Constructed View: The Architectural
Photography of Julius Shulman,(2008, Rizzoli International Publications).
ISBN: 0847817776
Jim Lowe, Architectural Photography Inside and Out (2006 Photographers
Institute Press) ISBN:1861084471
Film vs. Digital by Ken Rockwell
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/filmdig.htm

Reading Recommended:
Richard Ross (Photographer), Architecture of Authority (2007, Aperture).
ISBN: 1597110523
Gerry Kopelow, Architectural Photography: The Digital Way (2007, Princeton
Architectural Press).
ISBN: 1568986971.
Michael Harris, Professional Architectural Photography, Third Edition (2002, Focal
Press).
ISBN: 0240516729
William Flusser, Towards a Philosophy of Photography (2007, Reaktion Books),
ISBN 1-861890-76-1
DIGITAL ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY 421
USC SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE Instructor, Michael Arden
[email protected]

Items of Importance and Requirements

• You need a 35mm Single Lens Reflex digital camera.
• You must have Adobe Lightroom 3. Student version $99
• Mandatory Text: D-65’s Lightroom Workbook, Workflow, Not Workslow
in Lightroom 3 (2010) ISBN: 9780615378442 or 0615378447.
by Seth Resnick and Jamie Spritzer.
Order on d65.com or Amazon $34.95
• You need access to Adobe Photoshop CS4 or CS5, Compact flash card
(min. 2 gigs.) and a laptop computer.
• You need to purchase Photomatix Pro, available at [email protected] for
60% off (net $39). You can also use test version but will add a lot of time.
• Assignments are to be turned in on the due date. If you are a week late
your grade will drop one letter.
• Purchase 8.5x11 Epson premium glossy or luster ink jet printing paper.
• It will be extremely wise to purchase a tripod (from $30 - $250.)
• Film & Equipment Supplies: SAMY’S 431 S. Fairfax Ave.
323-938-2420
• THE TWO “ALWAYS”
1. Always bring your cameras to class
2. Always bring your flash drive or disc and computer.
DIGITAL ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY 421
USC SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE Instructor, Michael Arden
[email protected]

CALENDAR

WEEK DATE TOPIC

1 1/12 INTRODUCTION
Light and Architecture, Basic Digital Camera Functions
Settings, file types and sizes - Resolution
2 1/19 Architectural Light/Advanced Digital Camera Functions
Lighting concepts pertaining to structures
Color balance, histograms, white balance, workflow and Bridge.
Assignment one due.
3 1/26 Creativity Shooting/Interior Lighting /Processing Raw Files
File size, resolution, color space, levels and curves
Assignment two due Class shoot.
4 2/2 Free Transform Tools/Architecture and Parallax
Lightroom Introduction: Computer preferences and basic set up.
Assignment three due
5 2/9 No class – Photo Exhibition
6 2/16 Digital Printing/ Midterm 1 due
Monitor settings, calibration, professional printing output techniques
7 2/23 Lightroom Continued/Free Transform Continued – Parallax
Midterm 2 due.
8 3/1 Advanced Lightroom/Advanced Printing
9 3/8 Present HDR – Digital Tool for Architecture
10 3/15 Spring Break
11 3/22 Photo Exhibition Written paper Due
12 3/29 QUIZ and 5+5 assignment due
13 4/5 FINAL PROJECT/ REVIEW
14 4/12 FINAL PROJECT/ REVIEW
15 4/19 FINAL PROJECT/ REVIEW
16 4/26 FINAL PROJECT/ REVIEW
DIGITAL ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY 421
USC SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE Instructor, Michael Arden
[email protected]

STUDENT RESPONSIBILTIES & GRADING

Assignments & Active Participation – 20%

Assignments must be turned in on time. Most assignments are graded in
many categories (See sample grade slips). Any assignment can be
redone for a higher point value. All redo’s are graded with a higher
expectation. Some assignments will be pass/no pass. These are not
graded on quality. These assignments are for your learning and practice
of basic principles. However, all assignments will be down graded if they
are not turned in on time or they are missing. You are expected to backup
all your files and deliver me your assignments via upload or disc.

This is a small class and your presence is necessary. Attendance will be

marked. Ten minutes past our start time you will be marked absent for
this day. If you do miss class it is your responsibility to obtain any
information (from another student.) If for some reason you find that you
must be absent or late it is essential that you notify me in advance by
email. Active participation includes weekly-prepared questions.
Please see USC School of Architecture’s attendance and grading
policy on the following page.

Midterm –20%
You will have two different creative shooting assignments and deliver two
excellent quality printed images.

Paper – 10%

Quiz – 10%

Final Project – 40%

You will select a building or structure of your choice and present 20 of
your best images capturing your subject in the morning, afternoon and
evening light as well as dusk and interior images. You should anticipate
having to visit your selected location three to four times. Here you will
be graded on the quality of your images and specific use of the many
digital enhancement techniques learned such as Free Transform, High
Dynamic Range, color channels, layer mask, gradation filters and more.
You will present the before and after images.
DIGITAL ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY 421
USC SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE Instructor, Michael Arden
[email protected]

USC GENERAL POLICIES

Students with Disabilities

Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required
to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of
verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be
sure the letter is delivered to me (or toTA) as early in the semester as possible.
DSP is located in STU 301 and is open 8:30 a.m.–5:00p.m., Monday through
Friday. The phone number for DSP is (213) 740-0776.

Academic Integrity
USC seeks to maintain an optimal learning environment. General principles of
academic honesty include the concept of respect for the intellectual property of
others, the expectation that individual work will be submitted unless otherwise
allowed by an instructor, and the obligations both to protect one’s own academic
work from misuse by others as well as to avoid using another’s work as one’s own.
All students are expected to understand and abide by these principles. Scampus,
the Student Guidebook, contains the Student Conduct Code in Section 11.00, while
the recommended sanctions are located in Appendix A:
http://www.usc.edu/dept/publications/SCAMPUS/gov/
Students will be referred to the Office of Student Judicial Affairs and Community
Standards for further review, should there be any suspicion of academic
dishonesty. The Review process can be found at: http://www.usc.edu/student-
affairs/SJACS/

School of Architecture Attendance Policy

The School of Architecture’s general attendance policy is to allow a student to miss
the equivalent of one week of class sessions (three classes if the course meets
three times/week, etc) without directly affecting the student’s grade and ability to
complete the course (this is for excused absences for any confirmed personal
illness/family emergency/religious observance or for any unexcused absences). For
each absence over that allowed number, the student’s letter grade can be lowered
up to one full letter grade. This course will lower a letter grade by ½ for any
absences over the allowed amount (for this class that is 1 class missed).

It is your responsibility to read all class policies. Any concerns or

clarification will be gladly discussed.
DIGITAL ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY 421
USC SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE Instructor, Michael Arden
[email protected]

LECTURE 1
Light and Architecture
- What is light in relation to architecture
-Seeing what most people cannot see
-Time of day and year, dusk or dawn
-Color temperatures
Pixels
A pixel is a contraction of the term PIcture ELement
Each pixel in the image has a numerical value between 0 and 255 and is made up
of three different color channels; red, blue and green for a total of 16.7 million
different colors (256x256x256).

Mega Pixel is = 1,000,000 pixels

My older Canon 5 is 12.9 mega pixels and the image size for most of my images is
4372x2906=12.7. My new Canon 5D II is 23mp
Total pixels count every pixel on the sensor surface. Usually the very edge pixels
aren't used in the final image. Effective pixels are the number of pixels actually used
in the image after the edge pixels have been dropped.

Sensor size chart:

Point and shoot 1/1.8 ratio
Most SLR 15x22mm (2:3)
Professional SLR 24x35 (2:3)

Sensor size affect: Image Quality

Depth of Field
Focal Length

Resolution:
Lets look at resolution in terms of image quality and capture.
Camera RAW has no compression and is the largest file with the most information.
There is also Large Fine and low, Medium Fine and Low, Small Fine and low. If we
use Raw, we are capturing the greatest amount of Pixels and have the biggest file
to work with. All other files sizes use “Lossy” compression, which compresses the
file size. There is an inherent loss of information and thus a loss of overall quality.
JPEG’s are “lossy” type compression and can very in quality.
DIGITAL ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY 421
USC SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE Instructor, Michael Arden
[email protected]

In Photoshop we can compress images in a “lossless” compression mode. Here we

can make a smaller file size for storage but when we reopen the file every pixel has
the exact same value as it did before.

Homework Assignment 1
Read and peruse all images in A Constructed View: The Architectural
Photography of Julius Shulman (you can purchase this book or peruse in the library or lab).
File maintenance: students are responsible for maintaining their own digital files and keeping back
ups. Always bring your flash drive to class. Always Bring your CAMERAS to class.
Information pages on Presentation Guidelines, Upload information and homework submittals will be
created.

1. First read your camera’s manual and familiarize yourself with your camera’s
settings.
2. Fill out a log sheet for all images.
3. Shoot a gray card or grey object (sweatshirt) at 2 stops open, 1 stop open, normal,
1 stop closed, 2 stops closed. (This should come back as a gray image from light
gray to dark gray). This will test our understanding of manual camera operations,
exposure knowledge and if you have your settings off of “auto”.
4. Select a location where you can shoot the same image many times during full
sunlight. This image should be an interesting piece of architecture or a detail.
5. Resolution: shoot your image with the maximum resolution, medium and minimum.
6. Compression: Shoot your image again in high, medium and low.
7. ASA: Experiment with at least 4 different ISO settings of the same image from low
to high (100-3200 or some cameras go as high as 128,000)
8. Color temperature: experiment with all the color balance modes.
a. (Tungsten, daylight, fluorescence, flash, cloudy, etc.)
9. Exposure: bracket your exposure one stop over, normal and one stop under. Use a
gray card and Macbeth color chart & white balance if you have one.
10. Do not use Photoshop. Place these on a disk with appropriate labeling
11. Bring in 3 written questions and 3 interesting images form magazines.
12. Purchase Lightroom D65 workbook
13. Purchase Lightroom 3
14. Purchase Photomatix pro

Please fill out the provided log sheet by hand for the first few assignments so you can make
certain you know what you did for each frame. To assist you, consider leaving a blank
frame in between each part of this assignment.
If you do not have your owner’s manual check on line. Most are available to download from
your camera’s manufacture.
DIGITAL ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY 421
USC SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE Instructor, Michael Arden
[email protected]

LECTURE 2
Lighting Concepts
- How light and architecture influence each other
- Illumination reveals essential charter of architecture
- Exposure alters architectural forms
- Creating movement with light

Histograms: This is the graph that is available to view when you shoot an image. It
identifies both contrast and dynamic range of an image. The scale of a histogram is
from 0 to 255 and together they hold all the values of all the pixels. The graph reads
from left (0) to right (255).
We are looking for the distribution of pixels. There is no right or wrong histogram.
However if heavy on the left then the blacks might be clogged up or underexposed.
If heavy on the right the whites might have no detail and overexposure. The vertical
axis determines the number of pixels at each value of brightness.

White Balance: 18% gray cards. A grey card is a card that determines the average
values for any scene. If you shoot a white wall our camera will try to make is gray. If
you shoot a black wall your camera will try to make it gray. By using a gray card we
can help our camera determine the most accurate white balance or the truest white.
In auto mode our cameras do an excellent job but may not be as perfect as we can
get by using a gray card. Put yourself in the drivers seat. An advantage to digital is
that we can easily adjust white balance in Photoshop.

Color Balance: Macbeth color checker. This is a color chart to help us match our
image to a test strip and then our monitors and then our printers. Much more will be
discussed later.
DIGITAL ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY 421
USC SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE Instructor, Michael Arden
[email protected]

Creative Image Capture

-Determining your architectural subject
-Supporting forms/characters in your scene
-Positioning and movement
-Vertical and horizontal lines

Camera RAW Processing: Below is the first window you will see when opening a
RAW image in Photoshop. The menu on the right has multiple menus: Basic, Tone
Curves, Detail, Split Toning, Lens Corrections, Calibrations and Presets.
DIGITAL ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY 421
USC SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE Instructor, Michael Arden
[email protected]

At the bottom in the middle is an important processing procedure. Click on this

highlighted blue bar and make your selection for File Size, Resolution, Color Space
and Depth.

File Size: How many pixels are in your processed file. Your camera raw may shoot
say 12 MP max. If you upsize you create a larger number of pixels in your file and
some believe this improves printing. The quality is not affected for viewing on your
computer. It may help in printing for we need a certain number of pixels to print a
successful 11x14 print versus an 8x10 print.

Resolution: Changing the PPI (Pixels Per Inch) changes the size of your pixels.
This does not increase or decrease the number of pixels. You can always change
this at any point in Photoshop. I use 300 as my default.

Color Space: Adobe RGB had been the standard. ProPhoto is my new standard.
This has more colors accessible.

Depth: This refers to the tonal range in your pixels. The more bits in each pixel the
greater the color range. 8 bit provides 256 shades of color and 16 bit provides
65,536 shades. 16 bit will slow your computer down. We now have 32 and 64 bit.
Lightroom 3 is 64 bit.
* Currently only a few printers are capable of printing these extra colors and
monitors also have their limitations. Everyday the quality of these products
increases and soon 16 bit will be a norm.
DIGITAL ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY 421
USC SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE Instructor, Michael Arden
[email protected]

Click “Open” once you have finished processing your Raw image form the opening
screen.
Now you can create layers, background copies and adjustment layers to your
image and make over a million different types of changes. For this week we are
concerned with color corrections. The two most common are Curves and Levels.

Using Levels:
To lighten or darken an image, slide the midpoint slider to the left or right. To
darken shadows use the black point slider and move it to the right. This will actually
change the value of your black point. If you moved this to a value of 25 you will be
resetting your black point at 25. Any shadow detail below this will be lost. The same
will apply for the white point.
In the channel bar you can select from RGB for overall exposure, Red for the reds
and cyan, Blue for the blues and yellows and Green for the green and magenta.
Use the sliders in the same way as above.
Output can be used to decrease contrast and Input to increase contrast.
Using Curves:
The advantage of curves is the ability to adjust any value from 0-255. In levels you
can adjust the midtones, shadows and highlights. The menu is similar to levels
except you can click any points on and off the line and alter the shape of the line to
have curves. The curve represents many different values. To change a point you
clicked on you need to click and hold on the point and drag it off the curve menu.
DIGITAL ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY 421
USC SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE Instructor, Michael Arden
[email protected]

Homework Assignment 2:
You will need to determine the best system for your own type of workflow. A
photographer who shoots architecture, portraits, and landscapes may have many
different systems or just one. You may choose to only shoot RAW or shoot both
Jpegs and RAW. Here is a system that works for me. That said we will be working
with Lightroom in two weeks and it will most likely convert you to a new system.
Until then it is wise to use one of the standards for organizing.

This system uses Photoshop’s Bridge. You will first import your images from your
compact flash card or SD card.

Part 1: Shoot 36 images of a subject you wish to document. Shoot at least 12

images at Dusk/Night.
1. Create a job folder – usually by date such as 09042008_name of project.
2. In this folder create 3 subfolders named: Best, Good and Other
3. Download your shoot from your flash cards to your desktop and into the
“Good” folder.
4. Open Bridge (file Browser/Bridge)
5. Rename your raw files: In Bridge go to Tools/Batch Rename.
6. Organize your images into Best, Good and Other files.

Part 2: Open a minimum of 3 raw files in Photoshop. When you open a raw file the
window on the Lecture 3 page from our syllabus will appear (read all of lecture 3).
DIGITAL ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY 421
USC SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE Instructor, Michael Arden
[email protected]

Spend a fare amount of time looking at all the options on this page and test a few
of these menu items. Then save your open/processed Raw file as a Tiff file
and add these to your assignment 2 upload.

Part 3: Read and complete the following. (On Reserve)

1.Joseph Rosa and Esther McCoy, A Constructed View: The Architectural
Photography of Julius Shulman,(2008, Rizzoli International Publications).
ISBN: 0847817776
2.Jim Lowe, Architectural Photography Inside and Out (2006
Photographers Institute Press) ISBN:1861084471
3.Film vs. Digital by Ken Rockwell
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/filmdig.htm
4.Read pages 1-43 in D-65’s Lightroom Workbook.

Homework Assignment 3
Read pages 43-101 in D-65’s Lightroom Workbook.
Download Adobe Lightroom 3 and peruse this program

Part one: Shoot any subject you find exciting. This is completely up to you. Shoot
at least 15 images. Try some dusk images or lighting at different times of day or
night.
Process 2-3 images and make color corrections using levels and curves. Please
experiment with making a selection of a certain area of your image and making
separate adjustments to this specific area. (I will explain in class).

Part two: I will provide 3 images for you to color correct. Make sure you download
them before you leave class. One is an image of a tire shot with tungsten film in
daylight. Correct this image to look daylight balanced. There is another daylight tire
image of the same shot. Use curves or levels to adjust this image to look tungsten
balanced. The last image is really off. Use curves or levels to correct this.

*Very important. Make sure you keep the adjustment layer accessible by
saving it with the file. Do not merge the layers. This means you must save this
file as a Photoshop file not a jpeg.
DIGITAL ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY 421
USC SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE Instructor, Michael Arden
[email protected]

LECTURE 4
Photography means light writing in ancient Greek. Photographers learn to interpret
light and express light through their created image while others might describe the
same scene with words.

Many students study photography to experience light in whole new ways while out
in the world. Others study photography to play with light in the darkroom. Still others
study photography to create new technologies or play with existing ones to help the
photographer get a desired outcome post image capture. This was the experience
for most of the past 100 years.

The Digital Revolution

After the continuous use of film systems for 150 years, our world inventors came up
with digital sensors and many new computer programs such as Photoshop. This
basically took the essentials of photography and applied them to 0’s and 1’s for an
infinite number of possibilities. Adobe CS5 has over one million commands. So
many that I believe the single biggest issue today stopping the flow of exciting
images is the vast amount of choice we have for post image capture. Solid creative
photography principles will place you in command of your own potential in a way
that is conducive to learning. If you believe you can make a great image in
Photoshop, you are not wrong, merely missing out on discovering light in nature.
Photoshop is essentially a graphic tool and a support system for the photographer. I
believe in keeping it simple. It is important to know many of the procedures
available in Photoshop. It is important to be able to organize and file your images. It
is important to process images as with film. And it is important to output images with
enhancements that can add to your vision.
Soon we will be checking out Adobe Lightroom. This is a program that is a Digital
Darkroom. Lightroom was designed by photographers for photographers. Thus, I
believe it is a very expansive program that has been simplified to suite the most
important needs for the photographer. Many photographers will not need to use
Photoshop any more. Those that continue to use Photoshop will find Lightroom fully
supporting Photoshop with ease of use. I would not need to use Photoshop too
often if it were not for the fact that architectural photography requires perspective
control, which can be accessed through the Transforming menu in Photoshop.

Last week you learned one way of organizing your images and then processing
them and played with Curves and Levels for enhanced contrast and color control.
Here are a few more items to be able to access in Photoshop and Bridge: Batch
rename, batch processing, actions for batch processing, sharpening and
dust/scratch removal, and noise removal. For architecture specifically, we will be
discussing how to use Free Transform in the Edit Menu of Photoshop.
DIGITAL ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY 421
USC SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE Instructor, Michael Arden
[email protected]

Homework assignment 4
Read pages 103-194 in D-65’s Lightroom Workbook.
DIGITAL ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY 421
USC SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE Instructor, Michael Arden
[email protected]

Midterm Part 1: Opposites Due 2/16

Compile a list of opposite words representing something interesting to you or in the
architectural realm. Sit with your list for a day and then reread your list and see
which pair of opposites speaks to you. Then, go out and find your subjects, see the
light in your scene and use any tools to assist you with image capture such as light
temperature, time of day/night, ISO, long exposure, depth of field, etc. You may
also use processing tools to assist you after you have strived for your best possible
capture.
Be ready to present your images in class. Please print these images as well. Print
them on any ink jet printer using glossy photo paper.

Midterm Part 2: Free Transform & Printing Due 2/23

Shoot buildings at Dusk. Create 3 perfect dusk images and one will need to be an
image you will transform to correct parallax. Print the corrected image to the highest
standards. Print both your before and after.
This will be printed on the Espon printer in the lab using professional profiled paper.

Visiting a Photo Exhibition and Written Paper Due 3/22

Your paper on a photo exhibition is due on due 3/22. Please submit a two-page
double spaced paper including what your saw and where. Information about the
exhibition and what you felt in your own words. Then be sure to bring some of your
learned photographic knowledge to your discussion of the body of work you
perused. You may also include an insert of an image from this exhibition if possible
(This can be on a third page).
Important: please submit your paper on paper to me and also download it on the
lab computer as well in the desktop folder labeled “Paper”.

Final Project: Final exam timeslot

Create a dynamic photographic documentation of an architectural setting, a
commercial building, residence or complex. You will turn in a maximum of 20
images. These are to be of the highest quality. Print two images 11x14 of the
highest quality; one as a Color print and one as a Black & White print.
The following must be included:
2 Dusk Images
5 Free Transform Images
3 HDR Images
1 Tungsten Balanced
1 Daylight Balanced
1 Panorama (including at least 3 merged images)