SLR Shooting Sunrise and Sunset Skills

Digital SLR camera is a kind of camera that records images digitally. It belongs to the intersection of digital camera and SLR camera. Next, I will bring you the skills of shooting sunrise and sunset with SLR. I hope you like it!

First, the exposure control of the camera when shooting.

1, spot metering exposure.

The spot metering of the camera is not only a spot metering, but actually a small angle range in the metering picture. Spot metering is usually linked with focus point, but some cameras only support central spot metering and cannot be linked with other focus points. The advantage of using spot metering to shoot sunrise or sunset is that you can choose the compromise part of light according to the weather conditions, or measure the main body in the picture correctly without interference from other nearby lights. Because the metering point is not necessarily in the composition center, or it needs to be re-composed after metering, you can use AE lock on the camera to lock the exposure after metering to record the perfect picture of sunrise and sunset.

2. Use the camera histogram as a reference exposure.

For any photo, the histogram shows the brightness distribution of the shot photo. The coordinate diagram in the histogram represents the tone curve of digital photos and reflects the tone distribution of the image. The horizontal axis of the histogram represents the number of pixels in the photo from left to right from dark to bright, while the vertical axis of the histogram represents the number of pixels in the corresponding part. The higher the peak value, the more pixel information of light and dark values. Generally, the histogram with accurate exposure is distributed from left to right, with light and dark details, which will help you check whether the exposure is accurate or not. At the same time, there will be no pixel overflow on both sides of the histogram. For digital SLR cameras, the current histogram can't be displayed in the optical viewfinder, so we can only look at the histogram of the photo during playback and then check the exposure of the photo.

3. Use the surround exposure function of the camera.

Automatic surround exposure of digital SLR camera is a method to obtain correct exposure photos by taking multiple photos of the same scene with different exposures. Automatic means that the camera will automatically take 2, 3 or 5 or 7 consecutive photos of the subject (depending on the camera function), and the exposure of each photo is between 0.3 and 2.0EV (the exposure of each photo is different). When shooting scenes like sunrise and sunset in Gao Fancha, I am not sure whether the exposure is correct. We can use the automatic bracketing exposure function to ensure the accuracy of exposure, and then improve the image quality. After shooting with bracketing exposure, you can choose the most correct exposure from several photos with different light and dark on the computer.

Second, the choice of focal length

Taking wonderful photos of sunrise and sunset is inseparable from the correct choice of lens focal length. The proportion of the sun in our eyes will be misled by consciousness. When the central point of our vision is the sun and the glow, other distracting scenery around us may be ignored. However, the imaging of lens and sensor of digital SLR camera is not affected by consciousness. When shooting the sunrise and sunset with wide angle, medium focus, telephoto or telescope, the imaging effect is clear at a glance. If you choose a super wide-angle lens to shoot, although the photo is magnificent, it can't highlight the sun, glow and colorful clouds; If the focal length of the lens is too long, it may cover too little photo information, which will affect the readability of the photo. Therefore, when shooting the sunrise and sunset theme, we should try different lens focal lengths, intercept the elements that set off the atmosphere in the big environment, and boldly give up meaningless interference elements.

Third, grasp the shooting opportunity.

When shooting the subject of sunrise or sunset, the most difficult thing to grasp is the position and light of the sun. There are often movie friends who go out to shoot at dawn and wait for the sunrise in the cold wind, but in the end they miss the wonderful picture because they are in a hurry when shooting. At sunrise or sunset, although the overall environment looks dark, the brightness dominated by the sun or glow can basically meet the requirements of hand-held cameras. If you use a tripod, it is recommended to use a spherical fast pan-tilt to make a composition in advance before the sun comes out. When the sun comes out at the first angle, measure the light immediately, play back the photos to check the exposure, and continue shooting after setting the exposure compensation. The process of sunrise or sunset is very short, and it is more difficult to grasp the perfect moment of the overall contrast of the picture, so don't be stingy with the shutter during the whole process, so as to ensure the most perfect photo.

Fourth, wait for the afterglow after sunset.

When shooting a sunset scene, you should know everything that may happen in advance, especially the weather that may appear after sunset. This photo was taken in the bay of Xinghai Square in Dalian. At that time, the setting sun in the west was so strong that the contrast of the photos taken was always too large. In order to ensure the level of the sky, the ground has been in darkness. For such a shooting environment, the photographer didn't go away immediately, but continued to wait for the glow and look for a suitable angle to shoot. Until ten minutes after sunset, the contrast of the whole environment reached the best, and the sea was dyed red by the glow.

5. Record the whole process and expose it separately.

The whole process of sunrise and sunset is only a few minutes, and the lighting conditions will change with the decrease of the sun angle and the occlusion of the environment. Pay attention to adjusting the exposure value as much as possible when shooting. Two methods can be used here: the first method is to use automatic metering to reduce exposure compensation with the increase of light, or to increase exposure compensation with the decrease of light; The second method is to use M-stop manual exposure, which is suitable for fixing the camera on a tripod, fixing the aperture value when shooting, and then adjusting the shutter value according to the change of light. The following three photos are the whole process of sunrise after the camera position is fixed.

Sixth, the silhouette is equally wonderful.

The subject of sunrise and sunset is not necessarily limited to the sun or the sky itself. When shooting, you can rely on the surrounding environment and use silhouette shooting techniques to express it. Silhouette is actually a black shadow with obvious shape but unchanged tone details, which is generally used as a dark subject under a bright background. The expressive force of silhouette depends on the vivid outline of the subject, but silhouette is not conducive to expressing details and texture. Therefore, as long as you find an expressive shape and line theme, you can use it to set off the sunrise or sunset scenery. When shooting, the silhouette can be arranged in parallel with the sun, or the subject can block the sun and make the silhouette emit the light of the sun. Silhouette shooting is mostly in backlit scenes, so attention should be paid to the influence of light on the picture when shooting, especially in the case of direct sunlight.

Seven, the combination of beautiful scenery

When shooting a sunset, you can combine other scenes, just like the water and sky in the photo. The scenery in Guilin is the best in the world. When shooting in Guilin, we often encounter sunset scenes. As it gets late, the sun will cast a long shadow on the water. At this time, we don't have to care about the brightness of the shadow, because the importance of formal beauty in the picture has surpassed the correctness of exposure. In the combination of beautiful scenery, we can use a variety of shooting methods, the most commonly used is the up-and-down segmentation method, which brings the subjects into the picture one by one through a simple method, and then arranges a reasonable position for each element according to the color block or shape division.

Eight, extended reading: camera advantages

1, advantages of image sensor

For digital cameras, the photosensitive element is one of the most important core components, and its size is directly related to the shooting effect. In order to achieve good shooting effect, the most effective method is not only to increase the number of pixels, but also to increase the size of CCD or CMOS. Whether using CCD or CMOS, the sensor size of digital SLR cameras is much larger than that of ordinary digital cameras. Therefore, the number of sensor pixels of digital SLR is relatively large (currently the lowest is 6 million), and the area of a single pixel is four or five times that of a civil digital camera, so it has excellent signal-to-noise ratio and can record a wide brightness range. The image quality of a 6-megapixel digital SLR camera definitely exceeds that of an 8-megapixel 2/3-inch CCD camera.

2. Rich lens selection

Digital camera is a product of optical, mechanical and electrical integration, and the performance of optical imaging system is also very important to the final imaging effect. Having an excellent lens is as important for imaging as the choice of image sensor. At the same time, with the cost reduction of image sensor, image engine and storage equipment, the proportion of optical lens in the cost of digital camera is also increasing. This is especially true for digital SLR. In the choice of traditional SLR cameras, the richness and imaging quality of lens groups are important factors in the choice of film friends. In the digital age, the retention rate of lens group naturally becomes the basis of brand competition. Canon, Nikon and other brands have huge autofocus lens groups, from super wide angle to super telephoto, from macro to soft focus, users can choose matching lenses according to their own needs. At the same time, due to the large sensor area, it is easier for digital SLR cameras to obtain excellent imaging. More importantly, many photographers generally have one or two or even a dozen professional lenses, all of which are purchased by photographers with their hard-earned money. If they buy a digital SLR camera body, the lens will be revitalized at once, and they will form two complementary film and digital systems with the original traditional film camera.

3. Fast response speed

The biggest problem of ordinary digital cameras is that the shutter lags behind for a long time. If you don't master it well, you will often miss the most wonderful moment. Response speed is the advantage of digital SLR. Because their focusing system is independent of imaging equipment, they can basically achieve the same response speed as traditional SLR, which makes users handy in news and sports photography. Canon's EOS1D Mark Ⅱ and Nikon D2H can both reach the continuous shooting speed of 8 frames per second, which is comparable to traditional film cameras.

4. Excellent manual control ability

Although the camera's automatic shooting function is getting stronger and stronger today, a user who has certain requirements for photography will not be satisfied with shooting only in automatic mode because of the ever-changing environment and shooting objects. This requires that digital cameras also have the ability of manual adjustment, so that users can adjust according to different situations to achieve the best shooting effect. Therefore, the function of manual adjustment has become an essential function of digital SLR and a professional representative. Exposure and white balance are two important aspects in many manual functions. When the automatic metering system cannot accurately judge the light and color temperature of the shooting environment, users need to judge according to their own experience and make mandatory adjustments manually to achieve good shooting results. This is also the embodiment of the professionalism of digital SLR. For example, EOS 10D can adjust the color temperature value on the basis of 100K every time to help users get the best effect.

5, rich accessories

An important difference between digital SLR and ordinary digital camera is its strong expansibility. In addition to continuing to use additional lenses such as polarizers and interchangeable lenses, you can also use auxiliary equipment such as professional flashlights to enhance your ability to adapt to various environments. For example, high-power flash, ring macro flash, battery handle, timing remote controller, these rich accessories make digital SLR adapt to various unique needs, while ordinary digital cameras are greatly inferior.