We all shoot the places we visit, whether we are photographers or not. And, sometimes, we may get lucky to find ourselves in the right place at the right time and get our shares of likes on Facebook and Instagram.
But great cityscape photographers are going far further than simply snapping around, mid-day, on their way to a random museum.
What makes you a cityscape photographer, you may ask? The answer is simple: consistency. Just as helping your child get rid of a wobbly milk tooth doesn’t make you a dentist, so snapping a great cityscape once a year won’t make you a cityscape photographer.
If you mean business, as a cityscape photographer you may take the trip especially for shooting that charming city you always wanted to have in your portfolio.
You would wander the streets, check out Google maps, the weather forecast and pretty much everything that can influence a successful photoshoot, including local transport schedules and whatnot. After you have identified a few perfect spots, you would wake up early in the morning, when everybody else sleeps, go to the locations, shoot before the sunrise to catch a bit of a blue hour, during and after sunrise, to get the golden hour, then move on to another location where the morning light might be better and so on.
During lunch you would plan your next locations to shoot in the evening, go back to your hotel room and have a bit of rest and, a few hours before the sunset, you would go back out there and start shooting just until after the blue hour, when the sky goes dark and you are already exhausted.
After a few years of doing this routine, you would amass a nice portfolio to show on your website or social media, and maybe even monetize by selling prints or licensing your images as stock photography. These never come fast and a lot of photographers give up on this journey, but it takes time to build something beautiful.
Shooting portraits, still life or beauty may come easier to do in a short amount of time, but showing consistency in travel or cityscape photography — this may take years in most cases.
Here are, in no particular order, 10 cityscape photographers who are doing an amazing job:
- Marco Bottigelli
Based in Italy, but shooting all around the world, Marco Bottigelli will amaze you with his impressive travel portfolio. Find his work on his website or Instagram profile.
2. Sean Pavone
Based in USA, Sean Pavone is one of those photographers who can amaze you with the quality and diversity of his portfolio. It’s even hard to understand how come he had time to travel in so many countries and produce such an amazing body of work. Find his photos on his Dreamstime account or a smaller gallery on his website.
3. Serge Ramelli
An amazing photographer from France, now based in California, Serge Ramelli also offers online courses, coffee table books and fine art prints. Check out his work on his website or Instagram account.
4. Sebastien Nagy
Based in Brussels, Sebastien Nagy is taking amazing shots from the heart of Europe, but he’s also traveling with his camera to the most charming places on Earth. Visit his Instagram page and you won’t be disappointed.
5. Luciano Mortula
Based in Italy, Luciano Mortula is doing a great job photographing his country and the places he visits. Find his work on his website or an extended gallery on his Dreamstime portfolio.
6. Ilja Mašík
You probably won’t be able to pronounce his name. But that’s ok, because Ilja Mašík’s photos will leave you speechless anyway. Based in Prague, Czech Republic, he managed to gather a very nice portfolio of cityscapes from around the world. Check our his work on his website or Dreamstime profile.
7. Julia Anna Gospodarou
Showing the world in her own style, founder of the (en)Visionography concept, Julia Anna Gospodarou is an internationally acclaimed artist with plenty of prizes won for her architectural photography. She’s also offering limited edition prints of her photos, she has published photography books and teaches photography through workshops or video tutorials. Find her on her website or Instagram page.
8. Radu Nita
Based in Romania, Radu Nita is doing a fantastic job photographing his country and the rest of Europe. Find his work and his other projects on Instagram.
9. Gil Tamin
The Toronto-based photographer is presenting amazing views of Canada and United States, both on his website and Instagram page.
10. Emi Cristea
Based in Romania, photographer Emi Cristea keeps surprising us with the plentitude and beauty of the places he visits especially for cityscape photography. Find his impressive portfolio on Dreamstime.
What do all these photographers have in common? Besides knowledge and talent, the work ethics and consistency.
