Photographing a famous landmark

The common advice when photographing a famous landmark is to make sure you frame it in a pleasing way and of course make sure to find a new and a different angle.
Ok, right. I’m not sure what kind of a “different angle” you can come up with for a photograph that was taken by millions before you. Yeah, good luck with that.

So in order to avoid getting stuck with yet another cliché you can
A) avoid shooting well-known, shot-to-death landmarks or
B) Be creative, adapt a new approach and create something original.

Ok, sounds great you say, but how do I adapt a new approach, what does it even mean?
Well, when creating your famous landmark image you can create something new either when shooting the photo or at the post process/printing stage.
You can completely change the final appearance of the photo by selecting a camera that utilizes your vision best such as the Holga, polaroid, classic camera such as the kodak brownie, large format, pinhole or even a modified digital camera. Each one of these cameras will provide you with a unique image that can help depicting your insight.
If you like abstracts why not shoot an abstract of that landmark? If you are a street photographer you can make a picture where people are the subject and the landmark is the supporting cast in the background. If you like to make panoramas or time-lapse photos, you can certainly put a new spin on any overshot landmark.

Now, improving an average (not to say boring) shot of a famous landmark at the post processing or printing stage can be a bit tricky as it is very easy to overdo it and further add to the cliché.
But, as long as you have an idea and a general direction, and you’re not just playing around with the filters in your photo editor, you can absolutely make something original and imaginative.

I usually, not only avoid shooting landmarks, but I also keep away from visiting them. (I just get quite uncomfortable in big crowds)
But on this particular day in San Francisco, the colors, the sky, the crisp air, just seemed so perfect to photograph the Golden Gate, So I did.

When printing this photo I knew I need a different approach or I’ll get stuck with yet another boring image of the Golden Gate. So I decided on taking it to the 70′s and make it look just the way I’ve imagined it back then.