11 Best Gear and Lenses for Architectural Photography in 2024

If you’re into architectural photography, you know that the right gear and lens can make all the difference. In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the best gear for architectural photography. We’ll help you find the perfect setup for your needs, whether you’re looking for something simple or more complex. So read on to find out more about these amazing products!

What Is the Best Gear for Architectural Photography?

We’ve chosen a range of accessories, including lenses, tripods, and remote shutter releases. All of them give you what you need to take your architectural photography to the next level.

Choose a Stable Tripod or Clamp

Image stabilization in your camera and/or lens can do amazing things to prevent camera shake. But sometimes there’s no substitute for a solid support for your camera. 

A tripod is useful for any form of photography, but it’s especially useful for architectural photography. That’s because it often requires long exposures in poor light. And using a tripod gives you more control over your camera settings in these situations.

Some people might even say that you should use a tripod for every architectural photo you take. But what exactly makes a tripod so useful for architecture photos?

• • Sharpness—In architecture photography, you want your photo to be tack-sharp. Placing your camera on a tripod removes any chance that it will move during the exposure. Make sure your camera is in a steady location. Having your camera on a tripod will also allow you to manually focus through Live View. This is a better way to achieve sharp results.
  • Bracketing—Using bracketing in architecture photography is a must in many scenarios. A tripod ensures the photos are lined up throughout your multiple exposures.
  • Creativity—A tripod allows you to use long exposure in your photography. This gives you more creative control over your photo. If clouds are moving across the sky, you can use a tripod to capture that motion.
  • Low light—There will be times when it’s too dark to use your camera handheld. This could be an evening photo or when you’re photographing indoors. In this scenario, a tripod is a must-have.

We’ve picked a couple of tripods as well as a couple of alternative ways to keep your camera steady. 

The Vanguard Alta Pro 2+ is one of the most versatile tripods for architectural photographers. It offers a wide range of mounting options. We also like its build quality and durability.

It’s not the lightest tripod and wouldn’t count as a piece of travel kit. But that weight does help provide stability. And it is decently compact for its weight.

We love the removable central column. It is this tripod’s unique selling point. You can mount it vertically like a standard tripod. Or you can remove the column and remount it at diagonal angles. This gives you incredible versatility.

It’s easy to lock the legs at any height and the ball head allows easy adjustment. There’s also a separate panning plane for quick alterations.

The Vanguard Alta Pro 2+ isn’t cheap, but it’s worth every penny.

The Manfrotto Befree Advanced Travel Tripod is another very handy and stable tripod. It has twist-lock legs that allow you to lock them at any length. And you can adjust the leg angle with either hand. They also fold up over the head for easy transportation.

The ball head allows for precise positioning, no matter the terrain. And the separate pan adjustment makes changing angles easy. The carbon fiber construction means that the Manfrotto Befree Advanced Travel Tripod is light and strong. And that’s exactly what you need for architectural photography.

The Slow Dolphin Tripod Clip Mount isn’t, of course, a tripod. It has a 1/4-inch screw for attaching a camera or accessory. And it looks like a giant bulldog clip. Although you could use it for a lighter camera, it’s probably more likely to be used to attach a lighting accessory. This clip is the type of accessory you might not use every day, but it will occasionally be worth its weight in gold.

The LimoStudio Camera Bracket is an unusual beast. It is reminiscent of an old-school flash bracket. But it is more versatile than that. Its main purpose is to mount a flash or video light and microphone away from the body of the camera. And all while keeping it as part of one unit.

In architectural photography, this is useful for illuminating near detail. In this case, you can fit two different flashes on the bracket. But it also allows you to slightly offset your camera on a tripod. This can be useful when shooting in awkward places.

Picking the Right Lens for Architecture Photography

Wide-angle lenses are the most obvious choice for most architectural photography. Zoom or prime lenses are also very common. And you can add the specialist tilt-shift lens for even more shooting options.

A super-wide or ultra-wide lens will offer striking views of most interiors. And if they produce distortion, almost any editing software will have lens profiles to correct it. We’ve picked some fantastic lenses for you to consider.

You’ll need an ultra-wide lens for your camera for many interior shots. And if that camera is a Canon DSLR, then the Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM is a great choice. The wide 17mm is great for smaller spaces. It can also make large spaces seem huge. And its distortions can be easily corrected with the right lens profile.

The maximum aperture of f/4.0 isn’t that fast. But for architectural photography photo shoots, you’ll mainly use smaller apertures. And it really helps to have a constant maximum aperture. As you zoom in or out to frame the shot, your exposure won’t change.

Canon L-series lenses are renowned for their quality. Both in terms of build and image quality. And the Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM is no exception.

Some say the Nikon AF-S 14-24mm f/2.8G ED is the best ultra-wide zoom you can buy. It certainly impresses with its edge-to-edge and corner-to-corner sharpness. Its performance is especially impressive wide open. Although, of course, this is less likely to be so important in architectural photography.

Even though the widest focal length is 14mm, this lens keeps straight lines straight. And any distortion is easily corrected with lens profiles. This lens gives a field of view similar to a GoPro but without the stylized distortion those cameras bring.

There’s no doubt that the Nikon AF-S 14-24mm f/2.8G ED makes an excellent choice for architectural photography.

Sigma prides itself on the fact that all of its products are made in Japan. And there’s no doubting the quality of their products. This lens impresses with the quality of construction, the very effective multicoating, and the extremely low distortion levels.

If you are a Canon user, this Sigma lens has an adapter to let you use filters between the lens and the body. It’s about the only way of using a filter with such a wide-angle lens. I love Sigma Art lenses, and the Sigma 14mm f/1.8 Art DG HSM would be an excellent choice for your architecture photos.

The Canon TS-E 17mm f/4.0 is a highly specialized lens ideal for architectural photography. A tilt-shift lens allows you to alter the plane of focus. For example, you can get close to the ground and use the tilt mechanism to make the ground, from near to infinity, in focus.

Its best feature in architectural shooting is to prevent parallel lines from converging. So you can look up at a tall building and prevent it from tapering into the sky. Another creative use is to avoid appearing in a mirror in a photo. Place the camera out of view of the mirror, and use the shift feature. The photo will appear to have been taken in front of the mirror, but the camera isn’t visible!

It’s not a lens for most uses. But for the specialist architectural photographer, it’s a wonderful piece of gear. And the Canon TS-E 17mm f/4.0 is widely regarded as the best there is.

The Best Accessories for Architecture Photography

There are several accessories that will make a world of difference to your architectural photography. Some of them add tremendous help for very little money. And we know how rare that can be in photography!

The JJC Intervalamoter & Shutter Remote is very handy. It’s good practice to use a remote trigger when using a tripod and long exposures. That’s because when you press the shutter on the camera body, it’s easy to shake the camera slightly. Another tip is to lock up your mirror on a DSLR to reduce vibration.

This remote has the added bonus of being an intervalometer. You can program it to take a series of photos at set intervals and for a set period of time. This is vital if you want to take time-lapse sequences.

The YONGNUO Wireless Remote Flash Trigger allows you to place a flash away from the camera. This can be very handy in architectural photography. A distant nook or cranny can be subtly illuminated without overexposing brighter areas.

You can buy more than one pair to trigger multiple flash units. And as an added bonus, they come with a cable remote to fire the shutter remotely.

A circular polarizing filter (CPL) is a great accessory to keep handy. And the K&F Concept is a great choice. K&F’s filters have a deservedly high reputation.

This filter is ideal for making the sky look better for outdoor architectural shots. You can also use it to enhance or remove reflections in glass or water. It can make all the difference between a good shot and a great one.

Conclusion: The Best Gear For Architectural Photography

There are many accessories you’ll add to your kit as you develop your architectural photography portfolio. This selection is just a start. The most important piece of kit, of course, is the camera. So you should read our review of the best cameras for architectural photography.

After that, you will probably find yourself adding gear as you need it. A tripod is great for any type of photography and a good first accessory. The other items will suggest themselves as you go along.