3 Insta-genic Rainbow Buildings in Tokyo
Color plays a vital role in the world in which we live in and how we see the world. They can be used to add drama and life into an image. They make the picture pop up adding depth and vibrance. In an instagram news feed, pictures with vibrance and carefully saturated colors pop out from the rest, making sure the viewer stops the perpetual scrolling to ponder over the colorful image. In a city like Tokyo, where the cityscape is very monotonous in color, these buildings stand out exceptionally. And in turn, making them a perfect location to photograph or film.
Here are 3 rainbow colored insta-genic locations in Tokyo. All located in the out-skirts of Tokyo, these buildings’ facades are designed to attract attention and stand out. The vibrant colors on these buildings contrast heavily with the color mute streets of Tokyo.
the pixelated cubes
Trees sprout out of the colored cubes that make up the facade of this beautiful building. This is a building located in the out-skirts of Tokyo and designed by a french architect who uses colors as her signature design. Positioning a model in one of the lower cubes with the colorful building at the back can result in a stunning image.
The colored cubes are only constructed on the front facade, leaving the side facade of the building a plain white flat wall. The wooden floor marks the area designated for bicycle parking. You are allowed to take pictures in this area and of the building from outside as this is a public space.
view reference spot images from Instagram
We took this picture on a very sunny day during December. We were lucky that the sky was blue otherwise this picture might have had less impact.
This building stands out in the neighborhood because of its architecture and should not be hard to find. Adding the plantations on the facade increases its beauty up a notch.
Small office home office
This is a building where they rent out small rooms which can be used for offices. It is one of the most popular and famous spots on Instagram, in Japan and abroad, guarantied to get you a lot of likes. Shooting vibrant colors like these is actually easier when the lighting of the subject is indirect, less powerful, or even subdued. Because there is not a lot of direct sunlight in this building, and the light comes indirectly through a courtyard, this spot really makes the colors of the doors pop. Which is another reason, why pictures taken at night in this building is more popular. It is because during the day time, the colors of the doors do not pop out as much comparatively.
A popular way to take a picture of this location is by adjusting your exposure to the doors, so that everything other than the doors turn black, and making your model walk in one of the corridors like below picture. Adding a model like below breaks the continuity and rhythm of the picture making it more interesting. What other creative ways can you take a picture here?
view reference spot images from Instagram
the Rhythmic slabs
The rhythmic selection of colors and placement of the rainbow slabs makes this building very photogenic. The building is designed by the same french architect earlier mentioned in this article. This location creates a perfect look up for any photographer who enjoys taking look up pictures of architecture on Instagram. Located somewhat with in the city center, this spot wont be too far from your hotel in Tokyo.
The colored slabs extrude against each other on two sides of the facade. The height of the building is low compared to the buildings surrounding it. And the pastel colors, seemingly randomly place on the roof, make this a good building to photograph.
view reference spot images from Instagram
These images were taken on an over cast day, but bringing back the highlights we managed to reveal some of the blues in the sky.
It’s amazing how simple slabs placed rhythmically with complementing colors can result in a beautiful and unique architecture.
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