How to shoot documentary photography

Lead: Now more and more friends aim their cameras at the streets, relatives and friends from the moment they pick up their cameras, but after some intense shooting, few shocking photos appear. Why? Some friends will wonder that we did use a wide-angle lens to get close to it. Why is the effect not as shocking as the photos taken by the masters?

? Not close, but close to the subject.

Before taking documentary photos, we must first know what a successful documentary work is. I believe everyone has different standards for a good film, but there is a scale of inheritance, that is, a good documentary must first give people enough visual impact, and then let people gradually discover the story behind the film. It's perfect to make readers have a sense of existence through rich information.

Documentary photography: make the picture full of interest and story.

In fact, having said so much, it is nothing more than the students behind reinterpreting the master's words. A good documentary film should be as close to your subject as possible emotionally, so that the viewer can have an emotional connection with the content in the photo.

In this case, it is natural that we should choose the appropriate lens according to different expressions to apply it to the choice of lens and the choice of lens language. Next, let's see what kind of lens language expression they have in documentary photography, from wide angle to telephoto.

? Choose the right lens according to your intention.

Just like a writer writing a novel, a documentary photographer is actually describing what he sees and feels with a lens. Therefore, the lens has become a tool for photographers to speak at this time. Different lens focal segments naturally express different ideas and artistic conception.

? Wide-angle language: expressing environment and telling emotions.

Usually beginners will think that a wide-angle lens, or a lens of 20mm to 35mm, is the best documentary lens in humanities, although it is recognized as the standard focal length. Looking at the world from this focal point, we will find that these shots not only have good visual tension, but also make them the best narrative tools by recording more scenes.

Wide angle: explain the shooting scene.

? Television focus language: compressing scenes and depicting details

Of course, just like a novel with ups and downs, we can not only see the description of grand historical scenes, but also the portrayal of small people. And we should also follow this principle when taking documentary photos.

Telephoto: compress the scene to depict the details

To sum up, the principle of documentary photography is to record the scene with a wide angle, describe the reality, and then depict the details with a telephoto, depicting the emotional fluctuations of specific characters for readers. Therefore, this is why the news works that won the first prize in the past two years are full of stories.

? Wide-angle documentary makes photos full of stories.

As mentioned above, wide-angle lens has good visual tension, and wider viewing angle is also the best weapon to describe the scene. Now that we know the characteristics of wide-angle lens, let's learn what a wide-angle lens is.

Wide-angle Documentary: Explaining the environment makes the picture full of stories.

14-24 mm and 16-35 mm lenses

Wide-angle lenses are divided according to the angle of view. A lens with a focal length from 24mm to 40 mm slightly wider than the standard 50mm can be called a wide angle. With the development of modern reporting photography style, the lens with super wide angle 14mm to 24 mm has also been applied to documentary photography. Of course, being familiar with wide-angle lens is only the first step for us to open the door of wide-angle documentary photography. More importantly, we should understand the narrative style of wide-angle lens.

? Breaking the routine of composition, scene narration comes first.

This is a classic wide-angle documentary, which explains the relationship between characters and cities.

This is a successful news documentary.

The above two pictures are both on the exhibition site to let everyone know the successful case of this photo shooting. At the same time, the movements of the characters also have their own characteristics, and the position of the characters in the big environment is vividly portrayed. Through the study of the composition of the two works, we found that the photographer did not shoot according to the traditional three-point composition method, but all used it to suppress the characters on the edge of the picture. This is a composition method that breaks the old balance, but it is a good way to describe the scene.

? The central composition highlights the position of the characters in the picture.

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Center the portrait theme on the screen.

Through the above picture, we can see two successful wide-angle images with central composition, which is a common lens language in wide-angle photography. Because wide angle will bring more scene information into the lens, it is difficult to achieve the effect of highlighting the subject, so the method of middle composition is the best way to highlight the subject.

? The telephoto sling captures the details of big events.

After that, let's take a look at the application of telephoto lens in documentary photography. As mentioned above, telephoto lens is especially suitable for showing scenes with contradictions and conflicts because of its compression characteristics, and at the same time, because the focal length is long enough, it is also convenient for photographers to quickly capture the details of large scenes.

Telephoto is suitable for oppressive scenes.

The focal length of 70-200mm is the most common telephoto focal length, so there are many lens products in this focal length.

After talking about the characteristics of telephoto lens, let's get familiar with what telephoto lens is. Generally speaking, a telephoto lens is a lens with a focal length of 50mm longer than the standard focal length. For example, the focal length of 100mm is twice that of 50 mm, so we can call it telephoto. At present, the common telephoto focal length is 70-300 mm or 70-200 mm. ..

? Telefocus: compressing the scene makes the picture full of conflicts of interest.

The focal length of 70-200mm is the most common telephoto focal length, so there are many lens products in this focal length.

After talking about the characteristics of telephoto lens, let's get familiar with what telephoto lens is. A telephoto lens is usually a lens with a focal length of 50mm longer than the standard focal length. For example, the focal length of 100mm is twice that of 50 mm, so we can call it telephoto. At present, the common telephoto focal length is 70-300 mm or 70-200 mm.

Duan.

? Telefocus: compressing the scene makes the picture full of conflicts of interest.

The compression of space by telephoto lens is the success of this photo.

Just like the photo above, the sun is about to set, and the chanting believers are about to end their fasting for a day. The silhouette echoes the background sun, making this photo look very reasonable.

? Telephoto: Draw closer to the subject and depict the details.

A telephoto lens can bring each other closer without disturbing the person being photographed.

When shooting some religious ceremonies, it is often in order not to disturb the believers attending the ceremony, so I don't recommend using wide-angle shooting in this case, especially in the worship hall, and close-range shooting is often regarded as blasphemy by devout believers, so using telephoto hanging in this case is the safest and most respectful behavior for the photographed.

? Motion and stillness make the shutter a tool for telling stories.

We know that the actual mountain of photography is an art of light, shadow and instant, but how long does this instant fall? We can not only record a very short moment of 1/8000 seconds, but also record the light and shadow flow for several hours. No matter what shutter speed is used, the camera will record the moment when light and shadow flow. And as photographers, we need to make good use of them? Time? This concept.

? Shutter control: moving and stopping make the picture full of motion.

Shoot with a slow door

High-speed shutter solidification moment

The combination of motion and static makes the photos more contradictory.

The combination of motion and static makes the photos dynamic.

Through the comparison of the above photos, the effect of shutter speed on a single photo is very clear. When the photographer took the first Islamic child, he took a slow door shot. Because the child didn't move at that moment, it felt like being in a wave of people. The photographer used a high-speed shutter of at least 1/80 seconds when the child was running in the sun, so it was solidified in that light.

? Combine reality with reality, and learn to explain the environment with depth of field.

By controlling the aperture, we can control the depth of field of the picture. Generally speaking, the larger the aperture, the shallower the depth of field. Of course, the size of the aperture is not the key to determine the depth of field. The focal length of the lens and the distance from the object will also affect the depth of field. The longer the focal length, the shallower the depth of field, and the closer the distance, the shallower the depth of field. Now that you know these conditions that can produce shallow depth of field, when shooting documentary themes, players can make the aperture the best partner for your narrative as long as they are a little flexible.

? The shocking power of telephoto+shallow depth of field to depict details

9 1 1 The scene of holding the national flag at the commemorative ceremony.

At the commemoration of 9 1 1, a child caught the photographer's attention.

The above two photos are both successful examples of using telephoto lens to depict the details of news events. Because of this kind of works, the whole 9 1 1 commemorative activity itself was full? Sad? Color, which is also in line with the tone of the whole 9 1 1 mourning activities.

? Quan Jingshen application integrates theme and environment.

9 1 1 A mourner walked past the memorial wall with his name engraved on it.

The above photo is also one of the photos of 9 1 1 commemorative activities. The photographer showed the northern shadow of a mourner in the narrow monument forest with a wide angle. Combined with the use of small aperture, the close-up monument echoes the new World Trade Center building under construction in the distance, giving people a hope of rebirth.

? Summary: Documentary is the art of listening, watching and communicating more.

This article talks a lot about the skills of documentary photography. Documentary photography is not only to record what happens around you with a camera, but also a process in which photographers pour their feelings into it and interact with the world. By using different lens angles, I can use a wide angle to describe the environment where things happen, and I can also use a telephoto to describe specific people and things.

The shallow depth of field makes the subject of the photo stand out.

Of course, we can't forget the combination of shutter and aperture. Shutters can make your photos dynamic or dignified, and apertures can control the depth of field to make your photos more eye-catching.