Shooting skills of autumn red leaves

The famous Tang poem "Frost leaves are red in February flowers" is world-famous. In fact, the color of "frost leaves" in autumn is broad. Besides red, there are colorful colors such as yellow, pink and purple. From a photographic point of view, these are called "red leaves".

From a scientific point of view, the color change of trees in autumn is a reflection of self-protection, while bright red leaves reflect the vitality of trees, the carotene content in leaves and the geographical orientation of trees. There are many kinds of red-leaf trees in China, so shooting red leaves is one of the reserved programs of photographers every autumn. To make the color of red leaves artistic and exquisite, the key is accurate exposure. Shooting red leaves with a digital camera requires strict exposure. Unlike most people think that "the color contrast of photos can be adjusted by computer", it is not important whether the exposure is accurate or not. In fact, the exposure requirements of digital photos are not lower than those of using color reversal films, which is the first point to be explained.

1. Equipment used

Shooting red leaves requires high or low equipment. In the past, it was best to use color reverse film, followed by color negative film, because it was difficult for black-and-white film to show the characteristics of red leaves, so it didn't make much sense. Equipment is usually equipped according to shooting scenery films. Generally, 28 mm-85 mm and 80 mm-200 mm zoom lenses are enough, which can meet the needs of shooting large scenes or close-ups. If it is a digital SLR camera, you can use the original lens, which is more convenient; There is no harm in not having a digital SLR camera, because the zoom range of portable digital cameras is mostly 3-5 times, mainly 38mm to 150mm, and some cameras with zoom of 10 times are equivalent to 38-380 mm of traditional cameras, which has a wider application range and can cope with shooting ordinary red leaf scenes. And the macro photography function of digital camera is very powerful. Using this function to shoot close-ups of red leaves can show the veins of leaves in detail. Relatively speaking, the imaging quality of high-pixel digital cameras is better.

2. Shooting scene

Photographers can choose to shoot panorama, middle shot or close shot according to the actual situation, but they should also pay attention to shooting close-ups. Through the combination of point and surface, the charm of red leaves can be better displayed. Because the cost of shooting with a digital camera is almost negligible, you can shoot more from different angles.

At the shooting scene, we should pay attention to the geographical location or environmental characteristics according to the actual situation. In fact, shooting red leaves is not only shooting trees or leaves, but also taking red leaves as the finishing touch, which mainly reflects the unique scenery. Many photographers like to shoot red leaves in Inner Mongolia, Jiuzhaigou, Sichuan and Tachuan, Hongcun, yi county, Anhui, mainly because the environment there has special local characteristics, and it is more attractive to decorate with red leaves. Therefore, we should pay attention to the organic combination of red leaves with streams, rivers or mountains and rivers and ancient houses, and the effect will be more ideal.

Run out

Shooting red leaves can be applied to different lights, but different lights will produce different effects. Sunlight is mainly used to express the color of red leaves. Under the sunlight, not only the red leaves are good in color, but also the blue sky is rich in color and has a strong sense of color, but the three-dimensional sense of the picture is a bit poor. When selecting objects, pay attention to the clear outline of trees and don't confuse them with other backgrounds. It is better to shoot red leaves by side light. When using sidelight, the picture has a certain level. The color performance has not been greatly affected, especially when shooting in the middle or in the distant view, it is generally taken by side light. Backlight is also often used to shoot red leaves. Backlight can clearly reflect the translucent texture of red leaves when it is necessary to take close-ups and show details.

4. Background processing

There are generally two kinds of backgrounds for shooting red leaves. One is the sky as the background, which is mostly used for looking up or shooting close-ups with a medium telephoto lens. The picture with the sky as the background is relatively simple and bright. When using the sky as the background, you can squat down to take elevation photos according to the actual situation, so as to make better use of the sky and show the outline of trees; The other is to use other existing backgrounds, such as the shadow of trees, the shade on the hillside and so on. Using these as the background is mainly to use the difference between light and shade formed by light to prevent the subject from being confused with the background.

Background selection is closely related to light consumption. For example, when choosing backlight or side backlight, the brightness of red leaves is higher, and it is convenient to reflect the light and shadow effect with the help of dark background. Choose a dark background for close-up shooting, which is also convenient to reflect the translucent texture of red leaves. Backlight shooting, you can also use the mountains under the backlight as the background. If you are shooting a picture with the nature of jungle, it is best to shoot a relatively high-angle backlight, use the light characteristics to prevent the overlap between trees, or use a relatively dark ground as the background. Even popular digital cameras, many of them measure light a little. If there is no spot metering function, the exposure compensation can be negative 1 to avoid overexposure due to the influence of dark background.

5. Shooting time

China has a vast territory, and the climate varies greatly from place to place, so the time for the leaves to change color varies with the phenological conditions in different places, but the trees gradually change color from north to south with the decrease of temperature. Usually the leaves begin to change color after being frosted, but in some places, the autumn wind is too strong after autumn, and it is easy to blow the red leaves all over the trees, so the number of days that the same tree species can be photographed in an area is only ten days.

Specifically, in northern areas such as Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia, winter comes early, and red leaves can be photographed at the beginning of1October, while in southern Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Anhui, the best time for red leaves is in the middle and early days of 1 1 month, while the south direction of this area is delayed by ten days. If you are interested in shooting, you'd better pay more attention to the news of various travel websites or TV stations, collect some relevant information in advance, especially pay close attention to the weather forecast in relevant areas a few days before departure, and you can start once there is frost in a certain place. Pay more attention to the situation on the way to the creative destination for the first time. When you arrive at your destination, you should make friends with the local residents. It's best to make one or two friends and leave your phone number, so that you can get phenological information at any time in the future, so as to properly grasp the shooting opportunity and improve the success rate of creation.

6. About common red-leaf tree species

Some people think that red leaves are maple trees. In fact, besides maple trees, there are many red-leaf trees to shoot. Common ones are as follows:

Toona sinensis, Toona sinensis is common in Henan, Hebei, Anhui, Jiangsu and other places. Toona sinensis trees that have suffered severe frost in autumn often grow in full swing and are very beautiful.

Sapium sebiferum and Sapium sebiferum are common tree species in Zhejiang and Anhui. Their leaves vary in color. The color of leaves can change from green to red, purple, orange, apricot and so on. Sometimes different colors like "red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple" will appear on a tree to form a "colorful tree", which is very ornamental and takes a long time to shoot, about half a month.

There is a poem "Huang Qi bitter bamboo lives around the house" in Huang Qi Du Fu's Pipa Trip, which describes the harsh living environment. In fact, Huang Qi is the main tree species of red leaves in the western hills of Beijing, and "Red Leaves in Xiangshan" is one of the natural landscapes in Beijing, and Huang Qi is the main tree species on the mountain. In addition, the common Acer truncatum, lacquer tree and some unknown shrubs in the south all have color changes in autumn, which is also a good shooting material.