Quick skills of portrait photography

Lead: The process of learning photography is like an endless road, and everyone is rushing forward. In fact, as long as you explore carefully, there is still some. Shortcut? Although there are shortcuts, only practice can speed up your progress.

Background blur

Is background blurring important for portrait photography?

For beginners of photography, the more blurred the background, the better. Indeed, the main body of the photos taken in this way is prominent and the intuitive effect is obvious. However, if you shoot with a large aperture, no matter how the subject changes, the overall effect of the photo will appear thin and lack depth, and the background will gradually lose its function under such shooting techniques. Therefore, we should analyze the shooting situation and scenes, and don't ignore the important role of the background.

Error prompt: use the maximum aperture of the lens blindly.

In actual shooting, there is no need to blindly use the maximum aperture of the lens, especially the medium and long focal length lens, such as 85mm/f 1.2 or 70? 200mm/f2.8 lens. There are two reasons for this. On the one hand, the imaging quality of the maximum aperture will be much lower than the optimal aperture of this lens. On the other hand, the depth of field of the maximum aperture will be very shallow, especially when shooting close-ups of head portraits, such as the eyes in focus are very clear and the front and back parts are blurred. Therefore, it is best to reduce the aperture of 1 to 2 on the basis of the maximum aperture when shooting, which can not only obtain the best imaging but also present a wonderful blur effect.

How to measure light

Recommended single-point metering

Because the light changes at any time, you should adjust the exposure index at any time according to the change of angle and facial shadow. You can't rely entirely on natural lighting conditions. If you want to take the most ideal photos, you have to rely on your own eyesight. Especially when shooting outdoors, the light changes quickly, so it is not difficult to adjust the metering point at any time and follow the light of the face of the person to accurately expose.

Recommend two weighted photometry.

Weighted photometry means that the camera has a large measuring area and is suitable for large scenes. Meaning: The brightness of each point in the viewfinder is different. After measuring many points, take the average value, and then the camera exposes according to this average value. This is to take care of the exposure of most points and it is basically correct.

When metering, this metering method will weight most of the scene. In other words, using this metering method can not only highlight the bright part of the figure in the center of the picture, but also take care of the surrounding dark parts.

Focus selection

Suggestion 1: Pay attention to your eyes.

When shooting a person's head, the face occupies a large enough proportion in the picture. When choosing the focus, you must clearly focus on the eyes of the portrait, even if the person's eyes are not in the center of the picture. When shooting portraits, eyes are the first choice of focus.

If you are facing the model, you might as well move a little, take a half-side view and focus one eye closer to the camera, so as not to make the flat Asian face less stereoscopic.

Recommendation 2 focuses on the face.

When shooting a bust or full-length portrait, you will find it difficult to aim at people's eyes accurately, so you only need to focus on the face.

environmental selection

Recommend a distinctive environment

The characteristic is that it can directly reflect the environment of the characters, but it should be well measured. Remember that the environment always serves the portrait subject, whether it is contrast or foil, it is subordinate. Don't just think that the background is different from others, but also take care of the overall portrait atmosphere.

Recommendation 2 Clothing makeup is also a part of the environment.

A touch of blue on the model's clothes coexists with the blue of the sky and the blue of the sea, and the collision of similarities and differences between color and texture echoes the theme more. Author: Vientiane is free.

Dress makeup is not only a way to hide and beautify the characters, but also a means to make the characters more suitable for the environment. Clothing makeup is a means of remolding characters. According to different themes and different environments, clothing and makeup should respond to make the characters more beautiful. Into the play? Control the environment more confidently.

The right weather, the perfect light

Different weather gives different lighting conditions for shooting. Needless to say, what kind of weather can give the most suitable lighting conditions for shooting?

Recommend a cloudy day

Different thickness of clouds can achieve different soft light effects, just like a soft light box, the light is projected from between clouds, which is natural and soft. It is perfect to depict the beautiful faces of characters in such weather.

Recommend two sunny days after rain.

Because the environmental pollution is getting worse every year, many times even sunny days are gray. After a rain, the visibility of the air is greatly improved, and it is easier to show details and levels. Simple exposure shooting can capture the wonderful texture of light and shadow.