Five shooting skills of portrait photography

Portrait photography is a very important part of photography. There are many articles about portrait photography. The following will introduce five shooting techniques of portrait photography, hoping to give you some reference or help.

1: approach the subject first.

A clever and simple strategy of alfred eisenstaedt, a famous photographer of Life magazine, is to get close to the subject. He didn't shoot immediately, but asked the subject to allow him to get close, and carefully adjusted his dress, straightened his collar that didn't need to be straightened, and swept away one or two hairs that the camera couldn't shoot at all. He doesn't do anything of practical significance. After that, the appearance of the main body will not change. But ... he accomplished a very important thing: contacting the subject.

He disarmed his subjects and became closer to them, which was the beginning of trust. He started a silent conversation with this topic. The subject will think, "Oh, I see, he wants me to look better. Give it a try. " Then the subject began to like being photographed by him, maybe not as much as sophia loren, but it will definitely improve. In the end, he will shoot successful works instead of lifeless portraits.

How to take such a photo:

For women of a certain age, especially classical beauties like sophia loren, the lighting must be as soft as possible. Think of light as a soft blanket, gently wrap her cheeks, illuminate her eyes, and eliminate shadows and lines. Because the roof is relatively low (we shot it in a hotel conference room), the light source is almost connected as a whole as a result of repeated adjustment of lighting.

On the left side of the camera, there is a soft box above her face and a smaller soft box below her face, but the two lights are close together, and the effect is actually equivalent to an oversized soft umbrella around her face, which makes her beautiful in this light and makes her hair more layered and deep. Sometimes, I bring a piece of 12 foot silk cloth (or sheet) to cover the whole lamp holder. This kind of light is like wearing a big white blouse, emitting extremely soft light. Because they are two different light sources, I can still fine-tune their direction and brightness.

Here I want to talk about a key point. To fully meet the needs of outdoor shooting, the most ideal configuration is to equip each flash with an independent power box. Although it is expensive and inconvenient to carry, it is definitely worth it. The independent electric box supplies power, which not only facilitates the flash light to adjust the flash output separately, but also avoids the embarrassment that the instantaneous voltage of multiple lamp holders in a single electric box is too large and it is easy to power off. At the same time, multiple electric boxes also provide necessary backup for the damaged part of the whole flash system. I now have 14 power boxes and 17 lamps.

Step 2 find different seats

There is a fact that everyone has to face. Everything became commonplace and everything was filmed. So how can I take different photos-especially when I want to take a theme of changing light bulbs? Try to climb the Empire State Building.

Just as Napoleon thought when he invaded Russia, you must think how difficult it can be. In fact, it is much more difficult. Rain, snow and ice are all enemies. I climbed that tall building four times. The last time, on the last day, I took this photo.

More than one film was shot at that time. When the brightness of the light bulb matched the sky just right, I tried my best to murder the film. 10 minutes, I took 14 films with a single hand-held phone, and everything was entrusted to the safety rope. In retrospect, I wish I had a digital camera and an 8GB memory card. I changed 14 tablets at that height. If I accidentally fell and hit someone, I'm afraid I'd be in prison now.

Before that, I waited for half a year and failed three times. When I climbed out of the window in the fog, I left a two-inch scar on my head. Because I cut off the microwave signal four times and offended several TV stations in new york (otherwise it would be cooked by microwave), the manuscript of National Geographic magazine had to be delayed again and again. However, this photo was finally published on a whole spread. All because my seat is different.

3. Learn to block control light.

"Light and shadow are presented, so make sure it is presented according to your wishes." A photographer certainly doesn't want the audience to look at the photo and say, "Ha, he must have arranged it this way." He just wants readers to say, "Wow, that's great." This is the same reason that the magician doesn't want people to see through his sleeve.

One of the most fatal mistakes in taking a full-length portrait is that there is no shading when using the flash. For example, the flashlight is placed on the left side of the camera, everything is ready, the model is good, and the background is good. However, because the background and the model are under the same light source and the illumination is the same, the photos taken will make the exposure of the model and the background consistent and the picture level even, so that the viewer can't find the focus of the work and can't focus on the model, the photographer's preset interest center.

How to take such a photo:

Take your time and follow these steps.

A, raise the lamp holder, so that a lot of light disappears above the distant main body.

B, hit the main body with a honeycomb or four-leaf folding lamp.

C, conveniently copy a convenient thing, such as a piece of black paper, a piece of cloth, a coat, etc. To cover the lower third of the reflective umbrella or the soft box, so that the lower part of the picture is no longer illuminated. In this way, the light naturally falls on the upper body of the main body and does not illuminate the ground. Light and shadow appear, as you wish.

Step 4 break the routine composition

"Shooting according to the law of photographic composition can certainly achieve good results, such as the classic" golden section "method. But sometimes breaking it will get more unexpected results. " Joe McNally.

I was filming for Golf Digest in Augusta, Georgia. Walking in a slum, I found several people going to church. So I followed them into the church and was immediately moved by its simplicity and silence. I met Mr. Greer, the priest here, and sat down to talk with him. I talked to him about my plan to film him, and he agreed. The priest is a very kind man, but he looks a little scary. Look at the size of his palm. If I dare not join this parish! )

Simplicity is the most suitable for this photo. I put the priest in the center of the picture to make him exude solemnity and authority. Next to the edge of the picture, I hit him on the head with a soft box. The point is the cross in his hand. I used a hot shoe flash, Nikon SB-800, and my assistant took it and polished it on a small golden reflector. Just this little golden light makes the cross fold and shine. By the way, the chandelier like a halo above his head didn't appear there by accident.

5. Be bold and innovative.

I'm going to talk to the agent of the big shot on the phone soon. I'm going to convince them to hang the movie star under a helicopter 500 feet off the ground and fly over the Hollywood sign with a steel cable to realize a bold idea we had at that time.

I was filming a special topic called "The World Together" for National Geographic, trying to show how Asian actors influenced Hollywood. I want to cooperate with Yang Ziqiong. At first, I flew to the dry lake bed on the outskirts of Los Angeles in full accordance with the Hollywood routine, making up, modeling and others, and took many beautiful photos. But the editor of National Geographic told me frankly that this was not what they wanted at all. He's right. Then we improvised a set of stunts on the helicopter. We are all standing on the landing gear skid, 150 feet high, without any safety rope. But the effect is not very good. We're too close. But she proved that she is not only a beautiful but also a fearless actress.

So I was going to move, and I had a more dangerous idea. Why not hang her under the helicopter and fly over the Hollywood sign-a photo that is both stunt and Hollywood, killing two birds with one stone. Her agent refused, but she agreed.

After calling the editor to talk about our ideas, we set off. This shooting is not easy. We first obtained the consent of the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States, set up a temporary apron on Hollywood Hill, found the best pilot in Los Angeles and the helicopter winch operator who filmed Titanic, and bought insurance for the whole of Los Angeles from the insurance company. Hang up the cable, the helicopter took off slowly, and Yang Ziqiong and I began to walk in the clouds. She is noble and brave in the air. The key to shooting is to synchronize with her. I don't want to shoot from another helicopter with a telephoto lens. I want to shoot close to her with a wide angle to get a visual impact and have enough depth of field to keep the Hollywood logo clear.

After landing, she smiled and said to me, "You know, I'm too tall to look down." Later, this photo was made public by National Geographic and attracted everyone's comments. But most of them are my colleagues. They all advised me to lose weight when they saw me hanging on a helicopter by a wire rope.