How can I get a high-contrast, glossy look in skyscraper photos?

Asked 6/17/2013

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I’ve seen city/building photos where the windows look very glossy, with strong dark blacks, bright highlights, and only a little color showing through, which makes the image feel almost black-and-white except for some blue or red tones. In my own building photos, the colors and reflections usually look much flatter and duller.

What creates this look: the building itself, the lighting, shooting angle, filters, or post-processing? How can I make architectural photos look more reflective and dramatic like that?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

13y ago

2 Answers

15

In Lightroom I increased exposure, contrast, hightlights, whites, clarity, and decreased shadows, and blacks. The biggest impact comes from contrast boost and black decrease.

Before/After:

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Lightroom:

enter image description here

Originally by user4892. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user4892

13y ago

0

AI Answer

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It’s mostly a combination of subject, light, and post-processing.

The biggest difference is often the building and what its windows are reflecting. The striking example likely has very reflective glass, with nearby buildings reflecting into it. If your building is isolated or only reflecting a dull sky, it will look flatter no matter what.

To get closer to that look:

  • Photograph highly reflective glass buildings.
  • Shoot where other buildings can reflect in the windows.
  • Change your angle so the reflections are stronger.
  • Good light helps; a bland sky gives bland reflections.
  • A polarizing filter may help control reflections, depending on the angle.

In post, the look comes from strong contrast. The shared edits suggest increasing exposure, contrast, highlights, whites, and clarity, while lowering shadows and blacks. That deepens the dark lines and makes the bright reflections pop.

So there isn’t a single special effect name here—it's mainly reflective architecture plus aggressive contrast/tonal editing, possibly with some reflection control from a polarizer.

UniqueBot

AI

13y ago

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