What are the construction skills of portrait photography?

In front of us, we briefly introduced the common composition methods of portrait photography with photo examples. Seeing this, you may ask, how to compose a composition to make a satisfactory work? In the composition of portrait photography, the following composition principles should be followed.

Principle one, define the shooting theme. A good photographic work needs a clear theme, and portrait photography is no exception. Before we lift the camera and press the shutter, we need to spend some time thinking about one thing seriously. What is the theme of the photo we are going to take? For the theme depicted in portrait photography, we usually express some emotions, emotions or inner world of the characters by recording their instantaneous action expressions.

(Portrait works lacking a clear theme)

(Portrait with a clear theme)

Principle two, simplicity. Use various methods to guide the reader's attention to the subject, thus highlighting the theme of the photo. When we shoot portraits, in most cases, the characters will become the main body, which is what we often say is the interesting center of a photo. We should focus the attention of the audience as much as possible and focus on this interesting center as much as possible by using various techniques. Here, we can think about one thing further. What should I do with those things that have nothing to do with the theme of the characters? In fact, the answer is obvious. We should take various measures to weaken or eliminate their influence on the characters.

(Other characters and background text interfere with the theme)

(Eliminate all factors that interfere with the subject)

Principle three, balance. Balance is another principle to get good works. Mastering balance means reasonably arranging shapes, colors and light and dark areas to complement each other and make photos look balanced. Although the overall picture is relatively balanced, the brightness in the lower left corner of the picture is in sharp contrast with the dark color in the upper right corner. The contrast between light and shade is very strong, and it looks uncomfortable. This is because the principle of balanced composition has not been mastered.

(More complicated picture)

(concise picture)

The principle of balance does not require us to divide all the scenes or backgrounds equally and divide them into two. Many times, asymmetrical balanced composition will make photos more vivid and interesting than symmetrical composition. The position of the subject in the picture is not in the center, but on the right side of the center, so that the picture looks more vivid and interesting.

(No composition that follows the principle of balance)

(Asymmetric equilibrium looks more lively)

Principle four, avoid hiding. In fact, it is not only portrait photography, but also pay attention not to let the subject be covered when shooting other subjects. Avoiding occlusion means paying attention to the foreground or some background objects when shooting.

Sometimes the interference near the subject may not be so annoying, but it will still distract the subject. This kind of interference mainly means that some objects and lines are too close to the main body. In addition, when shooting, we should also pay attention to the fact that the main body of the character should not overlap with the background scenery, or the main body of the portrait should not block the background scenery. The most common problem here is that the characters have trees or telephone poles on their heads, which is caused by careless occlusion.

The wicker in the foreground hides the subject of the character.

For common composition methods and rules, don't mechanically memorize them, you need to master and use them flexibly to achieve satisfactory results. When the photographer's level reaches a certain level, we also encourage breaking through these composition rules and making bold innovations in photographic composition. Please remember, there is no fixed rule in art!