The secret of controlling the tone and visual situation of photos

Lead: For a digital photographic work, the photographer should adjust and control the level of images, the contrast between reality and reality, and the relationship between light and shade of colors in the creative process according to the needs of the subject matter, so as to form the tone of the work.

The control of hue and visual situation of photos can be divided into the following categories: from the relationship between light and shade, it can be divided into high-key, low-key and intermediate tones; From the color relationship, it can be divided into cold tone and warm tone; From the level contrast of the image, it can be divided into soft tone and hard tone.

High-profile picture

High-profile is a picture formed by comparing a large area of white or light-colored images with a small area of dark images. But generally speaking, dark parts and dark parts are the main body or focus of the works in the picture, and white parts and bright parts are the base or secondary parts of the picture. High-profile pictures give people a light, pure, elegant and bright feeling, which is suitable for children, girls, health, science and education.

When shooting high-profile works, the background should be white or light, and the intensity of background light should be increased when lighting to enhance the contrast with the subject. When shooting portraits of people, the clothes of the people being photographed should also be mainly white or light-colored clothes, so as to ensure that the dark part in the picture is the finishing touch of the work.

When shooting a high-definition picture with a digital SLR camera, the dark part should be selected as the measuring point when measuring light, which can increase the half-level exposure and ensure the picture to be brighter. When shooting high-profile photos, the light should be smooth, so as to minimize the contrast between light and dark and bad shadows of the subject, and make the subject level of the picture richer.

F: 750mm f:5.8 T: 1/3200 ISO:400.

F: 1 16 mm f:5.9 T: 1/320 ISO:400.

Foggy days can shoot ideal high-value pictures, and the key to success lies in the choice of black themes in the foreground, which often plays a finishing touch. This bird picture was taken in Cangzhou Beach, Hebei Province, and it was foggy at that time. The second picture was taken on the Gui River in Yanqing, Beijing, and it was foggy at that time.

F: 28mm f: 5.4t:1125iso: 400.

"Magnolia" was not shot in foggy days, but at this time, the sun had set, and it was shot by using the soft light reflected from the sky.

Low-key pictures and Rembrandt's lighting methods

Low-key is a picture formed by comparing a large area of dark light image with a small area of bright light image. But the light color and bright part are the focus and center of the work. Although the dark area is large, it is generally only used as the background or base of the picture to illustrate the environment and render the atmosphere.

When shooting portraits of low-key people, you should choose black or dark background cloth, or put the people being photographed in bright places with great contrast between light and dark, and the costumes of the people should also be mainly dark. When shooting with a digital camera, the light should be taken as the reference point, and the half-level exposure should be appropriately reduced to ensure that the background can be darkened.

Low-key pictures are suitable for works with heavy content, solemnity, melancholy, horror and mystery. For example, the elderly, adult men and villains often use it, and it is also used for dark indoor or night shooting. Low-key pictures can hide messy backgrounds and objects unrelated to the theme in the dark, making the subject stand out in bright places. Backlight, side light or soft local scattered light are commonly used for lighting, which is often used in western painting, especially for painting indoor figures and still lives. The famous oil painting master Rembrandt is the best one, so this method is also called Rembrandt lighting in photography.

Hubei Wudang Mountain Palace Building F:125mm F: 6.3t:11600ISO: 400.

"I love famous cars". When the light is dim at sunset, add a flash F: 28mm F: 5.6t:1/60ISO: 200.

Dance f: 22mm f: 5.6t:1/70siso:1600.

The most commonly used intermediate key

Intermediate tone picture refers to the works with normal contrast between tone and light and dark, rich image levels and balanced proportion of black and white parts. Half-tone pictures are very suitable for expressing the three-dimensional sense, texture and color of the subject. When lighting and using light, it is necessary to use multi-directional combined light to avoid too strong light ratio and contrast, but if the light is too flat, it is not conducive to the formation of halftone.

Hebei laoting seaside small shipyard f:10mm f:11t:1/400 iso: 400.

The middle-tone picture is suitable for a wide range of contents and themes, which is easy to give the audience a real and cordial feeling. Using a digital SLR camera to take photos with intermediate tones can measure light according to the average brightness. Exposure should be as accurate as possible, and the tolerance of photosensitive devices should be used as much as possible to show more layers through images.

Hint: Midtones tend to have a flat feeling. In order to avoid this shortcoming, we can consider making some efforts in composition during shooting to enhance the visual impact and appeal of the picture. As shown in the shipyard photo above, due to the low-angle back shot and the large wide-angle lens, although the light is dull, the visual impact is very strong.

Cold and warm tones

When taking a color photo with a digital SLR camera, it will be influenced by the color composition, forming a picture dominated by cold tone or warm tone, which can be called cold tone photo and warm tone photo respectively. Cool color refers to the picture with cyan and blue as the main tone, which will remind people of cold weather or objects such as ice, water and snow. Warm colors are mainly red, orange and yellow, which will remind people of hot weather or objects such as sunshine and flames. The formation of cool color and warm color is not only related to the inherent color of the object, but also influenced by the environmental color. In digital image shooting, it is more influenced by the color temperature of light. For example, at sunrise or sunset, the color of the shot is definitely warmer. On cloudy or foggy days, the image will be cold.

F:3 1 mm f:5.6 mm t:115 iso: 400.

In the same picture, whether it is expressed by cold or warm colors alone, it will make the colors feel harmonious. If there is a strong contrast between cold and warm colors in the same picture at the same time, although it will make people feel that the colors are not harmonious, if used skillfully, it will sometimes produce another unique artistic conception and express a deeper theme.

If you take a black-and-white photo with a digital SLR camera, or convert a color picture into a black-and-white image when the computer adjusts it later, you should also pay attention to the fact that the black-and-white image synthesized by multiple color layers will also have a color cast due to a slight color imbalance, which will make the black-and-white image have a warmer or colder tone.

Photographed at Gubeikou Great Wall, selected for the cover of Popular Photography. Shooting time 165438+ 10 At dawn on a certain day in October, the grass on the mountain was golden in the morning light. The photo on the next page was taken in Yichun, northeast of China in winter. At that time, the sun had completely set, and only a little light reflected from the sky was blue, in contrast to the warm orange light.

Tip: There are several ways to change or enhance the warm and cold tones of a color: 1 Use light sources with different color temperatures; 2. Add color filters with different color temperatures when shooting; 3. Skillfully use the white balance settings in the camera, such as shooting the sunset glow; Set the white balance on the block of sunshine or cloudy days to enhance orange-red; 4. Change the color balance in the later computer adjustment to strengthen the subjective imagination effect.

Soft and hard tone

Soft tone refers to photographic works with rich image layers, small contrast and soft picture. Soft-tone images often use soft scattered light when shooting light, and the light ratio is small, so the directivity and intensity of light should not be too strong. Under the condition of outdoor natural light, it is appropriate to shoot on cloudy or fake cloudy days. When using artificial light to shoot indoors, soft and even smooth light should be the main light, and it is ideal to use a soft box or a reflective umbrella. Soft-toned images are suitable for photographic works with delicate pictures and strong emotional expression, such as quiet scenery, elegant flowers, portraits of beautiful young girls and children, etc.

Hard sound is the antonym of soft sound. The light pursues large contrast and strong light, and the direction also adopts side light or side backlight, which makes the black-and-white contrast of the photographed image obvious, just like wood carving. It is difficult to adapt to the content pictures that express resolute emotions or obvious lines and color blocks, such as tall modern buildings, industrial workshops and large equipment. If you shoot people, it is suitable to show the image of an old man who has experienced many vicissitudes or a masculine man.

Shooting is a part of modern architecture. In order to emphasize the composition of the building, long telephoto shooting is used to compress the sense of space. Strong light is an ideal choice for this theme, which can strengthen lines and texture.

Introduce several methods of image softening:

1. Choose a soft lens when shooting;

2. Add a soft lens or gauze in front of the lens;

3. Breathe into the camera when the weather is cold, and then shoot immediately;

4. Softening during computer adjustment.