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Home  Houses of Worship and Photography |
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Churches,Temples, Photography Tips
In addition to reflecting their deepest spiritual beliefs, the places where people worship are often sign posts of architectural and social progress. Pictures of them, both inside and out, can make an excellent running theme in your travel album. One common frustration travelers encounter in photographing such buildings is getting a clear shot at them. Often nearby vantage points are obscured by other buildings or the clutter of a busy city.
A more basic problem is fitting the entire structure into the frame. You can sometimes squeeze things in with a very wide angle lens (24 mm or wider), but you must often tip the camera up to include the tallest parts, which produces an effect called keystoning, in which the buildings appear to be falling backward. The simplest cure for both problems is to move farther away and shoot with a normal or medium telephoto lens. Don't be afraid to include some of the building's surroundings if you must, even if they conflict with it philosophically. A modern shopping mall next to an ancient temple gives viewers a realistic perspective. Surroundings can even add to the beauty of the scene: Notre-Dame is frequently photographed reflecting in the Seine from far down the river. As flash is fairly useless in very large spaces (and is prohibited in many religious buildings), you'll need to resort to a fast film (ISO 1000 or 1600) to photograph interiors, and even then a tripod will be necessary for exposures longer than about 1/30 second. Shoot from the ground up using a wide-angle lens to exaggerate the height of a massive nave; or climb to a balcony or choir loft to get a bird's-eye view of altars or stained glass windows . A medium telephoto will enable you to isolate architectural details. Remember that these are houses of worship. Ask whether photography is permitted; if you're allowed to photograph, be discreet and always defer to those worshiping.
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