Principle of portrait tone processing

Because of the different factors such as the use of light, the clothing collocation of the subject and the choice of background color, portrait photos will show different shades and tones. Next, we will introduce how to deal with color tones in portrait photography.

1, how to shoot a portrait with high value?

High-profile portraits are characterized by bright tones, and dark tones are avoided or used less as far as possible. Color portrait photography, high-profile should be dominated by white, high-brightness light color, medium-brightness color. The image of the subject in the whole photo shows bright colors, no obvious shadows and projections, and the picture is clean, clear and soft.

When shooting a high-profile portrait, the subject needs to wear white or other light-colored clothes, and of course, the background is mainly light-colored. Generally, the light will be smooth light with less shadows, or cloudy days. Photographers can also use the scattered light to increase the first exposure according to the actual situation.

2. How to shoot a low-key portrait

The characteristics and shooting requirements of low-key portraits are just the opposite of high-profile portraits. The tone composition of color portraits is mainly dark tone, and the tone composition of color portraits is mainly black, dark with low brightness and medium brightness. Low-key portrait photos can make the image of the subject look deep and dignified.

When shooting a low-key portrait, the subject should wear dark clothes and use a dark background. When using light to express, it is generally dominated by side backlight or side light, and the shadow on the face of the person is large. In the process of exposure, the photographer needs to expose according to the bright spots of the subject's face, so that the bright spots are expressed in the form of medium brightness or slightly darker than medium brightness, and the shadow parts are reproduced in dark tones. However, when the photographer uses forward lighting to represent a low-key portrait, the exposure should be appropriately reduced to make the whole picture look darker.

3. How to shoot a portrait with a general tone?

Generally, portraits with colors are not dominated by light colors like high-profile portraits, nor by deep colors like low-profile portraits, but can include deep, medium and light colors in photos. Therefore, its tone composition is neither inclined nor inclined to darkness, but gives people a visual feeling that is not dull or dignified. In general, the portrait photos taken belong to this tone.

4. Warm color design

Colors are mainly divided into warm colors, cool colors and intermediate colors. Red, orange, yellow and the colors with red, orange and yellow as the main components are called warm colors; Blue, cyan and colors mainly containing blue and cyan are called cool colors; Green and purple are called intermediate colors. Therefore, if warm colors such as red, orange and yellow are used or colors mainly containing these color components, photos with warm color effects can be obtained.

First of all, photographers can choose the clothes of the main characters according to their own shooting needs, and clothes in red, orange and other colors can get warm colors; Secondly, the photographer needs to choose a background that matches the subject of the character properly; Thirdly, if you are outdoors, you can choose to shoot at around 3 or 4 pm when the sun is soft and warm; If it is indoors, you can design warm colors with red or yellow lights. Of course, in addition to certain design in the shooting process, photographers can also get the desired effect through post-processing software.

5, cool color design

The cool tone of portrait photography refers to the portrait photography picture composed of blue, cyan or colors mainly containing blue and cyan components. Photographers can also get a cool tone effect by shooting the color of the subject's clothing. At the same time, the effect of cool colors can be further unified by choosing the shadow part of the surrounding environment (the shadow is mainly composed of cool colors) as the background.

6. Contrast color design

There are many forms of color contrast, such as cold and warm contrast, complementary color contrast (red, green, blue and yellow are complementary colors), fresh and dull contrast and so on. In portrait photography, if there is a contrasting color design, it will inevitably leave a deep visual impression on the viewer.

7. Harmonious color design

Harmonious color design refers to arranging some adjacent colors in the same picture without using contrast colors, or using "achromatic colors" such as black, white and gray to harmonize some colors, so as to obtain the effect of color harmony. Photos designed with harmonious colors will give people a feeling of stretching, serenity and calmness, which is also a common color tone design method in portrait photography.

8. Strong color design

Emphasis on color design is to form a picture with high purity and bright colors, so that the viewer is strongly stimulated by color, thus leaving a deep color impression. This design method needs a lot of rich colors to get a heavy color effect.

9. Light color design

Contrary to heavy color design, light color design mainly uses light colors and bright colors to form a picture, such as light yellow, light red and light blue. Give the audience a light and elegant feeling.

Tone processing skills in portrait photography

Exaggerated words

In portrait photography, high-profile techniques are often used to express female roles. The secret of creating high-value portrait photos is to choose a white or bright background, and at the same time, use exposure technology to drown the characters in the bright background. At the same time, the model had better wear white or bright clothes, which is consistent with the main color of the picture.

High-profile portrait photos give people elegant and pure visual feelings, which are mostly used to show the holiness and purity of women.

The contrast of high-profile photos is small, and there are few dark elements in the picture except the hair of the person. In terms of exposure skills, exposure compensation can be adopted, and exposure can be appropriately increased to make the tone tendency of photos more obvious.

When you create a high-profile portrait photo outdoors, you can easily create a bright background by backlighting, and at the same time, you can use a reflector to fill the face of the person. At this time, the model's hair is often brightened by the light, forming a beautiful halo. It should be noted that the ability of digital cameras to record bright details is limited, and the exposure control should be as accurate as possible.

When creating high-profile portrait photos in the studio, it is necessary to choose a white background cloth, create a high-profile atmosphere for the picture by using the collocation of costumes and the design of lighting, and set up auxiliary lighting to further brighten the background. During exposure, on the basis of normal exposure of the model's skin, appropriately increase one or half exposure, and then adjust the intensity and position of the light according to the shooting effect to obtain the best shooting effect.

low key

A low-key picture is a picture tone formed by contrasting a large area of dark color with a small area of bright color, and it is an artistic expression that highlights the main characters by using a dark background.

Low-key expression corresponds to high-key. In portrait photography, low-key performance is easier to highlight the characters in the picture, and the characters are often in the bright area of the whole picture, and the visual effect is more prominent. Compared with high-profile, low-key images have deeper, more melancholy and stronger visual significance. It can focus the viewer's attention on the characters in the picture well. In low-key portrait photos, dark tones account for the vast majority of the picture, and a small number of bright areas are often the skin color and clothing of the characters.

Under the natural light condition, the strong contrast between the characters and the background, the limited tolerance of the camera and the accurate exposure of the characters can often darken the background in the shadow and create a low-key picture atmosphere.

When metering, low-key portrait photography should adopt spot metering mode to measure people's faces.

In studio photography, low-key creation is mainly achieved through the setting of background and lighting. In order to create a low-key picture effect, the main light that irradiates people often chooses hard light instead of soft light, and at the same time, the background is darkened by controlling exposure and illumination.

Low-key portrait photos have a great contrast, and the face and body of the model often have uneven illumination. It is necessary to carefully control the light to avoid the deviation of the angle and position of the person's light, otherwise it will affect the overall effect of the photo.