Post-skill Teaching of Photographic Characters

First, don't leave too much head space. Although this is a simple question, it is often overlooked. Leaving too much space above people's heads will give people a feeling of being crowded and not stretching, so don't leave too much space above people's heads. But how much is appropriate, experts have the experience that the eyes of the subject are at 1/3 above the scene. In other words, the human head must be placed in the upper 1/3 part of the scene frame, so as to avoid the problem of "too much head space".

There is also a composition method, which does not leave "too much" space above the head, but does not leave any space at all, and even cuts off a part above the head (the back can also be cut off), which is very useful when shooting people horizontally. Let the head of the subject fill the whole scene, and the compact composition can produce a very eye-catching effect. This composition technique is very popular at present, and it is widely used in many top fashion, beauty cosmetics and portrait photography. However, you should pay attention that the hair, shoulders and arms of the subject can be cut, but never cut the chin, otherwise such a person will look uncomfortable.

Second, horizontal and vertical strokes. It is meaningful to design the camera as a horizontal bracket. The shutter button is located on the right shoulder, which is just where the finger can be placed naturally, which is very conducive to scenery shooting. Professional portrait photography is generally taken in the vertical direction (the direction of people), so if you want to get the portrait of a professional person, you should generally put the camera vertically and shoot in the direction of people. If there are many people shooting, it is necessary to match the battery handle, which has two advantages. First of all, you can shoot for a longer time without changing the battery. Secondly, it is very important to ensure that you feel comfortable when shooting vertically. Comfortable, firm and convenient hand feel is a necessary condition for taking high-quality photos.

There are some exceptions, that is, in the first one, when shooting the profile of a character horizontally, because the subject faces the edge of the scene frame, if shooting vertically, the frame facing the portrait of the character is too close, which will be visually oppressive. Therefore, shooting the profile of the character horizontally will give the subject more visual breathing space and make him look more comfortable.

Third, outdoor figure photography. People who shoot outdoors generally don't go to direct sunlight, especially in summer when the light is very strong. However, when you have to shoot under such conditions, you should also make the subject's back face the sun, which is commonly known as the "sun on the shoulder" rule. This will leave a good edge light effect (profile light) on the subject's shoulders and hair. Then use the flash to give the subject's face a little (low brightness) enough light, and you can get a perfect photo that blends in with the surrounding natural light.

In addition, when shooting outdoors where the light is very harsh and not ideal, you must find a cool place. The light reflected by natural light on the subject in the shade is often ideal light (the light near the edge of the shade is the best), but when shooting in the shade, be careful of the terrible "light spot", that is, the sun passes through the trees to form uneven light spots on the subject, which will also destroy the whole photo. If there is no hood, you need a large transparent soft hood. Ask a friend to hold the soft mask between the sun and the subject, so that you can also get soft and beautiful natural light.

Fourth, use wide-angle and telephoto lenses. Traditionally, portrait photography generally uses a special lens with a focal length of 80- 120 mm, and it seems illegal to use a wide-angle or telephoto lens. In fact, shooting with a wide-angle lens can really get close to the subject, but the scenery on the edge of the scene frame looks a bit "wide", but these scenes show the shooting environment and can receive different effects. Using telephoto lens has more obvious advantages of "lens compression", which is very suitable for portrait shooting. We can often see portraits of fashion or celebrities on TV or magazines. You must pay attention to the distance between the photographer and the subject, and these photos often have very professional quality and the effect looks surprisingly good. This is due to the telephoto lens. In addition, when taking a group photo, the compression function of telephoto lens can also eliminate some adverse effects caused by perspective deformation, making the subject look more comfortable and soft.

Fifth, the light of indoor figure photography. When people look at photos, they will first be attracted by the brightest scenery in the photos, so they should project the brightest light to the position you want. In indoor figure photography, there is no doubt that the face of the subject is the most eye-catching, so the brightest light should be on the face, and then gradually dim along the body, thus increasing the interest, vividness and three-dimensional sense. Of course, the fading is not without details, but without a bright face.

As for the location of indoor light, generally, the north window light without direct light is the most suitable. In fact, some professional photographers insist on taking portraits only with natural window light. The window scattered the incoming light. The bigger the window, the softer and more dispersed the light, and the better the effect. Let the subject and his shoulder side face the window, so that the light will pass through the subject and there will be a soft shadow on his face. The distance between the subject and the window should be about 1.8 meters, and the light will wander around the subject gently. Your camera should be placed opposite the subject, with your shoulders close to the window, forming a triangle with the subject.

Sixth, don't pat the subject on the shoulder. Compared with the head, the shoulders are wide and flat in a limited scene frame. If the shoulder side of the subject is facing the camera, it will make people look slimmer. By reducing the width of the shoulders and focusing more on the head, the state of the subject will be more gratifying. When the subject is sitting in a chair to take pictures, the whole body of the subject should lean forward slightly, away from the edge of the chair, except for his shoulders, so as to ensure that the subject will not be in a lazy state and help to improve his spirit and take a better and more natural portrait.

When taking a photo of life, we should also pay attention to avoiding the phenomenon of linear arrangement, and don't let everyone stand in a simple and boring row. Just like measuring people's shoulders, if you want the subjects to form several mini-collections in groups of 3-4 people, you will find that these sparse and well-arranged combinations are full of intimacy and vitality. If you make some simple adjustments, you can get an interesting life photo.

Seventh, keep the main body in good condition. When shooting people, the mental state of the subject is very important. Photographers should make their subjects stand in front of the camera full of confidence, full of energy and happy, which is a great enjoyment, so as to help them take better pictures of people. But how to keep this state? An easy way is to keep them talking. Talk casually about what you are doing, weather, environment, clothes, stocks and so on. You can talk about anything that interests them, just don't be cold. If everything is quiet, the subjects will start to feel anxious and lose their state completely after a minute or two. At this time, your shooting is basically a failure, because no one wants to see a photo of his fidgety, anxious and even painful expression.

It is also very important that you should never count off when taking portraits. If you count 1, 2, 3 before pressing the shutter button, it is almost "guaranteed" that your portrait photo cannot have a natural expression. Counting photos is something anyone can do. If you want to have a special effect-a natural and sincere smile and expression, you must not adopt the old-fashioned practice of 1, 2, 3. Instead, talk to the subject, inspire them to laugh, then capture the moment and take photos continuously by taking "test photos", so that you can get the most natural and unpretentious photos of the day.

Eighth, create a simple and clean background. The ideal background of portrait photography is "less is more". If you shoot in a natural environment and want to get professional effects, you must remove some scenes in the background. Keep the background as simple and tidy as possible. If it is impossible, try to get rid of the factors that deviate from the subject. To treat the whole photo as a whole, choose or create a background to ensure that the theme of the photo is prominent.

If shooting outdoors, in order to attract the attention of the subject and form a visual separation between the subject and the background, you need to create a smaller depth of field, adjust the camera to the aperture priority mode, and then set the camera to the minimum aperture or close to the minimum aperture (such as F/2.8 or F/3.5), so that the background can be defocused and all the focus is on the subject. This effect is a common skill used by professional portrait photographers when shooting people outdoors.

Ninth, the method of quickly coping with facial challenges. 1. If the subject is bald, shoot from a low angle, and don't use hair to illuminate things like that. 2. If the subject has wrinkles, try to illuminate them directly, because the side light will emphasize the shadows and make the wrinkles more obvious. 3. If the subject's ears are very big, only one ear is exposed when shooting from the oblique side of the subject. If the subject has a big nose, let him shoot directly at the camera from a lower angle, so that the nose will not be emphasized. 5. If the subject has a double chin, let him face the camera and stick his head out slightly towards the camera, thus stretching and tightening the chin skin. 6. If the subject is round or fat, shoot 3/4 of the subject's face from the side, so it won't look too round. 7. If the subject has a shadow (pouch) under his eyes, put a silver or white reflector on his chest, so that the reflected light can eliminate the shadow under his eyes.