Creating interesting photography is not only about being in the right place at the right time. It is not just using what you learned about graphic design online to adjust a photo after it is taken. Sometimes creating a story through composition is what determines a great photo. Every person, item, and place has a story; the difficulty is in showing that story in a single frame.

What has more history than abandoned places? These structures and spaces still maintain remnants of what they were used for in the past. They represent what can happen to a building when it is left for time and nature to claim. And in some cases, it shows how the building continues to be used after its ‘official’ purpose has passed. Trying to capture the beauty and history of these places is what urban decay photography is all about.

Urban decay photography clearly tells a story using what remains, or doesn’t remain, of a structure. Every concrete stain and peeling wall takes on significance and creates an atmosphere whether it be cheerful or dreary. These photos can also be composed to invoke fear or nerves in an onlooker whether it be a dental chair alone in the dark or a rehab pool resting in a sterile room.

Below are 20 examples of different types of urban decay photography taken around the world representing everything from old hotels and manor houses to rusted locks and discarded furniture.

DanielKHC

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ScallopHolden

Inzesky

G. S. George

country_boy_shane

MotionBlur

SnaPsi Сталкер

Compound Eye

Auntie P

Saithier