Analysis of flower photography composition techniques

Introduction: The act of completing the composition is actually very simple. It may be just a step away in position, but the image results will vary greatly. How to obtain the best composition has become a problem discussed by both novices and veterans. In this season of spring and flowers blooming, it’s the right time to take pictures of flowers. Let’s explore the composition techniques in flower photography.

The essence of composition

Use color to create a composition

Minimum composition

Composition is a thinking process, from the original chaos to Discover the underlying order in things. Composition is also an organizational process, organizing a large number of elements into a relatively complete whole. The purpose of composition is to convey to the viewer the complete emotion felt by the subject through the elements that make up the picture.

Composition gives the painting meaning. For the composition of flower photography, the most basic requirement is that the subject is prominent, creative and full of beauty. The elements that make up a composition can be divided into five aspects: shape, lines, light and shade, color, and texture. How to judge whether the composition of flower photography is successful? A good composition can make the flowers in the picture more real, vivid and beautiful. It should be noted that there are many types of flowers, with different shapes, sizes, and distributions, so the composition method should also vary depending on the flower.

Nine-square grid composition method

Nine-square grid composition legend

Legend dividing lines and exciting points

Nine-square grid composition method is simply to assume that the picture is The horizontal and vertical lines are divided equally into three parts. The four divided lines will form four intersection points. If the subject position falls on these four intersection points, it will not only be effectively highlighted, but also make people feel comfortable. Fundamentally, In other words, Jiugongge follows the theory of the golden section, in which the four dividing lines and intersections are called excitement lines and excitement points respectively.

Illustration of nine-square grid composition

Legend dividing lines and exciting points

When photographing flowers, the flowers must be the main subject we want to highlight. Therefore, the position of the flower will be determined at the "exciting point". For a single flower, just position the center of the stamen at the exciting point. If it is a dense cluster of flowers, the selected focus can coincide with the exciting point to ensure that the best imaging position is highlighted in the picture.

Diagonal composition method

The most common application of diagonal composition in flower photography is to place the flower branches at an angle. The reason why people like to place the flower branches at an angle is that compared with Other placement methods are more elegant and natural. This feeling comes from life. In nature, due to the influence of the gravity of flowers, thin branches and stems will generally tilt to a certain extent. Another reason is that diagonal placement can accommodate more content than vertical placement.

Diagonal composition legend

The two ends of the flower branches should not be completely aligned with the two corners of the picture, just close to the diagonal trend

Simple placement It’s not simple. Pay attention to the following points to maximize the composition. When placing a single flower branch at an angle, you must pay attention. The two ends of the flower branch should not be completely aligned with the two corners of the picture, otherwise it will be too deliberate and artificial. If the flower branches are placed on the same plane, the overall picture will lack virtuality and reality, and there will be no sense of hierarchy. The scene must be angled at an angle to combine virtuality and reality, and the picture will have a sense of depth.

Central composition

Central composition? Center spiral

Central composition? Radial

Tips for using centripetal composition Depending on the actual situation, it is mostly used for flowers with large inflorescences (the area of ??a single petal is large and the petals are loosely distributed). This type of flower has a stamen as the center and petals surrounding it in a radial pattern, shrinking inward from circle to circle. Centripetal composition is suitable for expressing the stamen part of a flower, and is suitable for using a macro lens to record the texture and details of the stamen. Of course, it is also suitable for taking close-ups of flowers from the front.

In the error example, the color of the center point is different, but it is dim and the imaging result is poor

Centripetal composition has the effect of highlighting the center point, so we are required to focus on the center position Very accurate and clear imaging.

The composition of flowers is not only how the flowers are placed in the picture. A good flower composition is indispensable for color, imaging, tone, layering, lines, virtuality and reality.

The background highlights the color of the flowers

The purpose of background selection is to make the flowers stand out and the colors more vivid. It is difficult to achieve this effect if you choose a background with messy colors, especially for beginners.

Processing method? Choose your own background

Operation suggestions:

You can put a black (white) background behind the flowers. Remember, the flowers should be in harmony with the black (white) background. There is a certain distance between the white) background, so the effect will be better.

Customize the background

Blur the background

Note:

Keep the background clean and pay attention to the aperture and depth of field range Control

Try to use a single-toned scene as the background, or use background cloth, card, paper and other props to create an artificial background (if there is no preparation in advance, you can also use the lining of the coat to achieve a similar effect). Regardless of whether you use blur or choose your own background, you must pay attention to keeping the background clean, pay attention to the control of the aperture on the depth of field range, and the impact on the sense of space in the picture.

Methods of composition

Contrast between virtual and real + color contrast

Use light and shadow contrast, color contrast and rhythm contrast to compose a picture. For example, when photographing a large area of ??flowers, using the contrast of light, shadow and color to compose the composition will make the flower clusters more bright and vivid.

Virtual and real composition

The choice of focus is also an advantageous weapon for composition. For example, when taking a close-up of a flower, it is best to focus on the stamen to make it the center of interest in the picture. It is best to predict the depth of field and actually control it according to the size of the flowers. Because the aperture is too wide, the depth of field becomes too small, and the subject is unclear; the aperture is too small, the depth of field becomes too large, and the background blur is not in place.