Portrait low light photography course

Lead: Some photos pursue grandeur, some photos pursue influential real details, and photos taken when the light is insufficient often have a sense of closeness. In low light environment (bars, cafes, indoor natural light, dusk streets), light and shadow are often interlaced, the lights are blurred, it is difficult to focus, the picture quality is difficult to guarantee, and the expression is difficult to grasp. This is full of charm and challenges for many portrait photographers, testing whether we can take intimate photos.

? Portrait photography in low light-you can still take good photos in low light.

When the light is bad, we should have the courage to take pictures, look for interesting light and then think about how to take interesting pictures with light. At the same time, portrait photos in low light can often go deep into the shadow of things without floating on the surface, and can show things that other photography methods can't.

Let's talk about the skills of taking good portrait photos in low light:

1, looking for light

The light distribution is uneven in low light environment, so portrait shooting needs to express facial expressions and expressions well. Therefore, it is more appropriate to choose front light or side light, so that the face of the person can have relatively sufficient light, and the model is required to remain still when shooting. If conditions permit, you can also fill the face with a reflector to make the portrait effect more prominent.

Step 2 balance light and shade

The problem is not that the light in the whole photo is dark, but that some places in a scene are bright and some places are dark. The light and shade can't be controlled by the camera, so it is necessary to train and identify the evenly distributed positions of light sources at the beginning, so that the photos taken will be full and rich.

3. Use a lens with a large aperture.

? Big? Large aperture, such as f/2 or f/4. The larger the aperture, the greater the amount of light entering. In addition, in the case of shallow depth of field and insufficient light, it is really difficult to take clear photos. In that case, you'd better use f/2 lens. When the aperture of most lenses is adjusted to f/2.8, images with good visual effect and sufficient depth of field can be taken.

4. Consider using a fixed-focus lens.

A fixed-focus lens is a lens with a fixed focal length, such as a 24mm f/2.8 lens or a 50mm f/ 1.8 lens. This kind of lens often has a large aperture, so it still has a good shooting effect in the case of insufficient light.

5, increase the sensitivity

A camera that can increase sensitivity can definitely double the photographer's work efficiency. Today, many cameras can adjust the sensitivity to 3200, and the imaging effect is very good. High sensitivity is prone to some noise, but it doesn't matter, good photos always have some noise.

6, manual focus

Portrait shooting usually uses the central focus to focus on the model's eyes, and then re-composes by half pressing the shutter. In the dark environment, sometimes the subject's light is too dark and the contrast is too weak to focus and focus accurately. At this time, you need to use manual focusing or use a lens with full-time manual function to make manual adjustment at any time.

7. Accurate measurement

In low light environment, the camera can be set to spot metering. Approaching the model, let the uniform area of the face of the person fill the viewfinder, half press the shutter, and measure a group of aperture and shutter combinations. Then set the shooting mode to manual mode (M), and set the parameters according to the previously measured aperture and shutter value to ensure the accurate exposure of the person's face.

8. Fall in love with blurred images

If you can't shoot anything else, you'll have to collect ghosts. Ghosting means moving, and moving usually makes photos smart. Think about the vibrant carnival in Rio de Janeiro. The dance theme makes the picture full of energy.