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It turns out that people love snapping pics of Big Ben, as it’s been revealed as the most photographed building in the UK. And thanks to the old boy’s £79.7 million makeover that was finished earlier this year, we can see why.
This is according to new data from art and design gallery Singulart. By looking at Britain’s 40 most popular pieces of architecture and then cross-referencing with the relevant Instagram tags, Singulart was able to work out which buildings our cameras love the most by using only social media. The study was created to help us understand how we look at and appreciate architecture in modern times.
London was host to the top three most-snapped buildings, with Tower Bridge (a bridge is like a building, right?) and Buckingham Palace taking second and third place, making us the most photogenic city in the country. As if Londoners didn’t already have enough to be smug about.
Big Ben racked up 3.2 million posts under #bigben, while Buckingham Palace and Tower Bridge had 2.6 million and 1.3 million posts respectively. In fact, seven of the top ten places went to London structures, with The Shard, St Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey also climbing up the ranks.
If you’re feeling left out for not being one of the 3.2 million people who has a pic of the giant clock on their phone, architecture photographer Grégory Herpe gave Singulart tips for taking the optimal building snap.
He said: ‘Most photographers simply stand in front of a building and raise the camera upwards. You need to vary the effects.
‘This is true no matter what your subject is. Look around you and look for another angle, try to get on a roof on the other side of the street, or shift your position completely by incorporating one or more elements into your composition that will reinforce your image.
‘It’s not just a matter of standing at the bottom of a building, looking up and taking a picture. I have to look for my point of view and make these lines and volumes the actors of my image.’
You heard it from Grégory! To avoid the textbook postcard picture, you’ve got to get on a roof. Give us a leg up.
For more building-related fun, check out London’s Festival of Architecture.