Modern and historic architectural photography workshop
Some fun photography of buildings old and new
Saturday 26th September 2026. Topsham and Exmouth, Devon
Course location: Topsham and Exmouth, two riverside towns on the estuary of the River Exe, Devon
Course times: 1pm to sunset (approx 7pm)
Price: £100 per person
What the modern and historic architectural photography workshop entails
This modern and historic architectural photography workshop will be an afternoon and evening of photography in two lovely but very different towns on the shores of the estuary of the River Exe, in Devon, southwest England. One town – Topsham – will provide the historic architectural photography, while the other – Exmouth – will be all about modern architecture.
We’ll start the day in the old harbour town of Topsham, on the southern edge of the city of Exeter. Here we’ll be concentrating on the historic aspect of this workshop, shooting some of the town’s 17th and 18th century buildings. These will include an entire street of classically Dutch houses, complete with curving gables, built along the southern shore, as well as some more traditionally British buildings.
As an addition, we will also be able to shoot some attractive river and estuary views from around the town’s old harbour.
The latter half of the day will be spent further down the estuary, in Exmouth, right at the river’s mouth. Here we’ll concentrate on the modern architecture that has been created in a housing development around the old port. We’ll be using the evening light to catch reflections, to make the best use of angles, and thereby create graphic images. It’ll be a huge contrast, and a far cry from, photography of the older buildings in Topsham. There may also be some opportunities for sunset photography of views across the estuary. The day will close with dusk photography of the modern buildings around the harbour, focussing on how the artificial lighting both works with and contrasts with the evening light in the sky.
What I’ll be teaching
During this historic and modern architectural photography workshop I’ll be aiming to cover some of the following aspects:
- How to spot those vignettes and subjects in the chaos of the world around us that have the potential to make great photographic subjects;
- Find ways to convert those potentially great subjects into genuinely great photographic compositions through the use of perspective, the right background, choice of lens, photographer positioning, and light;
- Ensure the the best exposure for the subject relative to the camera’s shutter speed, lens aperture, depth of field, and the strength and angle of the light;
- Explore techniques for photographing entire buildings, sections and details, using angles, light and architectural features;
- Use of a tripod in order to ensure sharp images and a good depth of field, especially when light levels are low;
- Make the best use of your camera’s important functions: don’t be intimidated by your camera, and make sure which handful of functions you need to be able to use during each and every photo shoot.
Participants on this workshop should have at least a reasonable grasp of how to use their camera’s main functions to capture images. Beyond that, they need only enthusiasm and a willingness to learn new skills!
Note: Since this course is outdoors we will be highly weather-dependent. As a result, if conditions dictate we may need to be flexible about timings and the order in which we do things.