Architectural Photography

Prof. Dr. Reha Günay, who first brought together the concepts of "architecture and photography" in Turkey and continuously taught "Architectural Photography" courses for 33 years, has had his new book Analog and Digital Architectural Photography published by YEM Yayın.

Reha Günay explains the technical and detailed aspects of the subject for those with basic photography knowledge and an interest in photography, as well as for architects, interior designers, urban planners, archaeologists, landscape architects, those managing industrial products, visual communicators, and professional photographers.

Günay, who has a large share in the widespread adoption of architectural photography as a field in Turkey and can be classified as the teacher of today's well-known architectural photographers, is an expert and authority in his field. Here are the details of his work in preparing the book:

"In the years when I was still a recent graduate of the faculty of architecture and was interested in photography and archaeology, I was directed towards architectural photography. Starting with distinguished architects like Turgut Cansever, Doğan Tekeli, Sami Sisa, Aydın Boysan; architects like Sedat Gürel, Hayati Tabanlıoğlu, Emin Necip Uzman, Behruz Çinici, Birleşik Mimarlar, Mehmet Konuralp, and construction companies like Gama, AEA, Gök, Koray entrusted me with their buildings to document them.

While dealing with the technical problems of photography, I also began to become more aware of building and space issues. The blend that developed in me was evaluated by the Aga Khan Award for Architecture Foundation, and I had the opportunity to document some important buildings in the Islamic world between 1983 and 2004. Furthermore, the State Academy of Fine Arts Photography Institute, of which I was one of the founders, began photography education in 1979 and continues today as the Photography Department. The "Architectural Photography" courses, which continued for 33 years without interruption, prepared me to better understand and explain the technical and visual recording of the subject...

Despite all this accumulated knowledge, when it came to preparing a book on this subject, I had to re-examine everything I knew and learn new things. When digital photography emerged, as I learned this new information, I felt as if my photography was starting over. The possibilities brought by this new technology, although still very early, herald a great future for architectural photography.

The information in this book appeals to those with basic photography knowledge and an interest in photography, as well as to architects, interior designers, urban planners, archaeologists, landscape architects, those who direct industrial products, visual communicators, and professional photographers. Architectural systems are present, and architectural photography is also in short supply, not widespread, and desired by a few architects or producers... There are very few cameras working in the field of architectural photography. To be a good architectural photographer, one needs to see many structures, test their records, define functional-formal-structural features, classify locations, and differentiate them internally by architectural history or movement. This accumulated knowledge develops over time. In my work, I tried to address these issues without boring the reader..."