Analysis of subject matter and composition in landscape photography

In landscape photography, I believe you must have encountered such masters. Even in the same landscape, why can some people be able to seize the unpredictable changes of the moment? Is it good luck? Or is God special? Favored? In fact, if you want to take good landscape photography, in addition to preparing the equipment, you also need to understand the subject you want to present, and then cut into the composition of the picture, the viewing angle, the alternate use of foreground, middle ground and background, and then The photographer observes the dynamic elements in the shooting environment, and when the time is right, by combining these elements together, he can completely bring out the stunning scenery with personal characteristics! Let me take you through it.

Analysis of themes and composition in landscape photography. Selection of themes

Landscape photography has a wide range of themes, in addition to famous mountains and rivers, forests and wilderness, and scenic spots and historic sites. , urban scenery, industrial and mining scenes, night scenes, rural landscapes, lakeside parks and all natural scenery, etc., all belong to the scope of scenery. Taking landscape photos is the same as anything else. Before taking pictures, you must first determine the theme of the scene, and then consider how to express the theme. In this way, the photo can have central content and express the author's thoughts and intentions. Any photo without central content will be a failure, no matter how good the lighting, how beautiful the composition, how many layers, how bright the colors. Therefore, the requirements for landscape works are the same as those for writing articles, they must be structured and methodical. The light, composition, layers and tones in photos are all techniques for expressing content and cannot be used to determine the picture.

To choose the subject matter of each type of landscape photography, you must fully understand the scenery in advance, and have an in-depth understanding of the various characteristics and conditions of the scenery. For example, when photographing city scenery, each city has its own different contents and characteristics, including which ones are newly built and which ones are ancient buildings with historical significance, which park is the most beautiful, which road is the widest, and which section is full of high-rise buildings. More, when is the busiest time, and when is the best time for light exposure, etc. All this must be observed and understood in detail before we can choose a better subject as the subject of our shooting, as well as determine the light and lens angle used for each scenic spot.

▲Photographing the Golden Summit of Mount Emei. The Golden Summit of Mount Emei should be photographed before sunrise so that all the cloud-covered moments can be included in the shot.

▲Photographing the shopping mall. When shooting in the city, you need to determine which aspect of the city you want to express. If it is prosperous, then choosing an area with dense pedestrians is a good idea.

Framing and angle

A perfect landscape photo should not only have the main scene that expresses the theme, but also other objects as a foil. The main scenery and the background objects are called the subject and the background in photography terminology. Objects are classified into primary and secondary objects. This should be appropriately arranged on the picture. Generally, the subject is arranged in an important and obvious position on the picture. Position, the body is only located in a part of the whole photo, either above or below, or on the left and right.

Landscapes with significant buildings as scenery targets should have buildings as the main body. Some scenes have not just one but many main subjects, which can even occupy the entire picture. When we shoot this kind of scenery, we must first determine the position it should occupy on the screen, then decide the number of shots, and then choose the lens angle for shooting.

▲Xidi Archway. Due to the large number of them, the photographer needs to carefully select the angle when arranging the composition.

There are many photos of natural scenery without buildings. Precisely because it has no fixed scenery target, the scope of natural scenery is relatively wide, and the preferred shooting position is also more flexible. When there is no fixed subject target, In the natural scenery, the scope of the scene and the shooting angle should be determined based on the natural conditions of the scene and the ideal sun light. For example, in the Guilin landscape, there must be mountains and rivers. Should mountains or water be the main body? This will be decided based on the scenery being photographed. If it is a mountainous landscape with a river close by and mountains far away, the river should be the main body; otherwise, the mountains should be the main body.