IN the latest monthly contribution from Thurrock Camera Club, Nub News readers are given advice about photography by experts from the club, which has just begun celebrations, which will continue through to next year, to celebrate its centenary.

For October we will be offering tips on 'Architecture Photography'.

AS people start to move around a bit more and are likely to visit new places, this month we take a look at how you might improve you images of the buildings that you come across on your travels.

There are quite a few things to consider that can impact your image when photographing architecture, such as difficult lighting, the size of your subjects, and changeable conditions. The comments below are just a few ideas, just to provide a few things to consider.

Therefore as a first step, when considering what to capture in your image it is worthwhile taking a little time to try and identify unique features of the building or structure that you wish to display and look at the structure from different angles to help you find these features. For example, you may want to capture any strong geometric outlines of a building.

Also, where possible, try to look at the structure from different distances and from different heights as well if you're able to do so safely.

In addition, think about capturing any patterns and/or the colour or texture of different building materials such as bricks which may be in different shades of red, cream or brown; with wood, look for variety of patterns, textures and colour or if the building has smooth rendered walls consider whether there are any striking effects due to them being painted in different colours.

This approach will allow you to consider how you want to present the photograph. If unsure about what to capture in your image, why not experiment by trying to take photos at different or interesting angles to see what this approach produces.

If you're taking photographs of a building, make sure to wander around both the interior and exterior. Just like in exterior photography, keep an eye out for interesting angles and also consider colours on the inside.

To present the most interesting image to your viewers, think about what you want the overall composition of the photo to present and consider whether including background scenery adds something to the image or whether it's more appropriate to only photograph the structure.( see our previous composition tips relating to background distractions)

If you have them, consider utilising different lenses or focal lengths for you image and if possible try to use a wide angle lens for at least some of the shots. Using a wide-angle lens means you can capture more of the structure without having to physically move back as far as if only using a standard lens.

Ideally it may be best to try to use a use a small aperture to maximize your depth of field (the maximum distance at which everything in the shot appears in-focus). In order to get a decent depth of field an aperture of between f8- f11 is considered ideal, but if you need more depth of field consider reducing the aperture down to F16.

However a word of caution , this is likely to slow down the shutter speed, so consider mounting your camera on a tripod if possible, resting it on a wall or similar support or if necessary increasing your ISO, but remember this will introduce noise to your image.

An ISO of 100 or the lowest available on your camera is recommended to get the best image quality. Again if the camera is mounted on a tripod or other stable structure, this will prevent possible camera shake which might cause blurring your image.

When photographing buildings, one of the most common issues with the images captured is what is referred to as converging verticals from walls in your image i.e. the building leans inwards. This effect is usually caused by tilting the camera but can be overcome in a few ways. One option is to take the photograph from farther away using a telephoto lens or cameras zoom feature to make the subject appear closer. This will decrease the angle at which you need to hold the camera.

Another strategy is to find a position that allows you to get more parallel to the building and/or to take the shot from higher a position. For example, if there's another building or steps opposite the one you are photographing you might want to explore if there's an accessible point a few floors up where you can take your shot from.

Alternatively if you are unable to change the perspective that you are shooting from and just end up with converging lines in your shots another option is to do some post production editing. Most photo editing software will have some way of doing this.

Hopefully the foregoing will provide some guidance for your next opportunity to capture some architectural images.

In the pictured example, "Little Boxes", the photographer has taken his image from an angle that utilises the converging geometric lines of the building to produce an interesting composition and something a little different from the run of the mill perspective of this building.

In the image, "Come eat at Jamies" the photographer has chosen a depth of field that keeps most of the scene in focus and the edges of the image formed by the shop windows draw the viewer into the scene and capture the long corridor of the arcade.

In the final image this month, "St John's the Baptist" the photographer has used the pillar in the centre of the image to help capture and emphasise the arches in the ceiling. The choice of aperture also limits the brightness of the scene, thereby ensuring that the colours of the stained glass windows are also well evidenced.