How to take a parent-child photo of Japanese air?

Lead: Maybe everyone has seen the style of some Japanese photographers' works: the tone is light, the picture is simple, the composition seems casual, but it is very comfortable and feels fresh. This is an aerial photograph. Among them, the most familiar photographers are Kawauchi Linzi, Shiqiao Zhijie and Iwata Jie Jun. In recent years, Hideaki Hamada is a very popular parent-child photographer with an air sense. I was deeply attracted by this kind of photo, so I worked hard to learn the shooting method. The following are some personal humble opinions. If there are any mistakes, please advise.

Exposure; expose

Aerial photos tend to be high-profile, with exposure of about 2 levels (depending on the environment). But if you overdo it, the highlights will die white, the dark parts will not be black enough, and the photos will turn gray. So the key is to polarize the photo and keep enough darkness.

Contrast/saturation

The contrast or saturation can be reduced a little, but not too much, because it will make the photo lose its layering. You should know that the effect of creating a light mainly depends on exposure, and contrast is only an aid.

colour temperature

Japanese photographers mainly use film (negative film) to take aerial photos, which feels a little cold (blue) green, especially the sky seems to have the effect of fluorescent color. For digital cameras, you can try to fine-tune the color temperature, which is about blue +2~3 and green+1~2. If the camera has a negative mode (such as Fuji X series), try it.

focal distance

Different focal lengths have different sense of space. 50mm (Quan Huafu, APSC 35mm, 4/3 25mm, etc.) is easier to bring out the sense of air, which is also the most commonly used focal length for Japanese photographers. Personally, zoom lenses are not recommended. Although it is convenient to use, it will affect the consistency of photo space.

hole

Blindly opening the aperture is not necessarily a good thing, and sometimes it is more likely to backfire. The key is to have enough depth of field, so as to see the theme in the photo clearly.

lighting equipment

Backlighting is just one of the techniques, which does not mean that it must be backlit. It is precisely because the negative film has a higher tolerance for backlight, and the photo is slightly affected, the photographer can shoot boldly and is not afraid of backlight. On the other hand, the traditional negatives are usually used in daytime because of the limitation of ISO (generally acceptable is 400), which is why the aerial photos we usually see are taken in daytime.

composition

This is the most important link. Friends who look at many Japanese photos may find that the composition of the photos is mostly simple and there is no special deliberate skill, but they always look natural and comfortable. In fact, the key lies in whether the theme and content of the photo can grasp the decisive moment. Take a picture of your son like Mr. Hideaki Hamada, which will make you smile.

later stage

Basically, I try not to do post-production unless it is to correct exposure. Mainly lazy, don't know PS, afraid of trouble, prefer to adjust the settings on the fuselage and take photos directly. I don't object to post-production, as long as there is no big problem with the photos themselves; If there are too many flaws in the photo, even post-production can't remedy a lot. There are some post-teaching and automatic grading of Japanese air sense in the workshop. I have tried some of them, but due to my limited understanding, the effect may not be ideal. If you are interested, you might as well give it a try. In addition, some users have designed a Japanese profile for the camera, so you can try it.

skill

1: Taking a full-length photo with a 50mm lens will force you to keep a certain distance from your child. It is precisely because of this distance that you can stay away from it, observe your child's every move and capture wonderful moments.

2: Put down your body. The height of the child is only half that of you. It is unnatural to shoot them at your height, and it will become a bird's eye view. So you have to be at the same height as them to see their world.

3. Everyone also has the habit of composition proportion (especially a fixed-focus person like me). Being too used to a photography style will affect your observation. If you find that the photos you take are always close-ups, then you should mention that you should stay away; On the contrary, if you find that all photos are always taken, you should get closer. When it should be near and when it should be far depends on the content and feelings that the photo wants to express. Photography is the art of subtraction. You can't add what you don't have to the picture (except for re-exposure or post-production), but you can choose what to keep in the picture. Too much will distract the attention of the subject; Too little will make the theme unclear and not prominent. Appropriate distance, so that the picture contains enough elements, can create a sense of space.