Teach you how to take photos of a soft backlit girl

Introduction: Backlight photography has always been pursued by some photography enthusiasts. The contour light produced by backlight shooting can outline the outline of the photographed object, achieving the purpose of separating it from the background and further shaping it. Forming bright lines on the edge of the object's shape can render the atmosphere to be expressed, enriching and enlivening the picture.

1. What kind of visual experience do backlit portrait works give people?

The superposition of light creates a rich sense of layering, overexposing part of the background image and diluting it, making the subject more prominent. body. Pictures taken against the light will appear more transparent.

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2. Grasp the timing of shooting

The best season for indoor backlight shooting is winter, when the sun’s altitude angle is the lowest. , it is also easier to align the light source with the subject and photographer in the same straight line, thus better interpreting the backlight. Because the lower the sun arc position, the better the backlighting effect, which is feasible both indoors and outdoors.

In fact, in some cases, good backlighting works can be taken near noon in summer. Under normal circumstances, I will choose more elevation angles and leave more space at the top of the screen to allow sunlight to shoot.

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When shooting, due to the relatively high altitude angle of the sun, you always need to squat down to shoot, or have more white space above the subject. If there is a white sky, you can choose to shoot under a tree. When composing the picture, it is also good to have some transparent green leaves illuminated by the sun in the upper frame of the picture. The same composition is also very suitable for yellow leaves or red leaves in late autumn!

In addition, in the morning or dusk, when the sun is close to the horizon, it is very suitable for shooting backlighting. At this time, the altitude angle of the sun is very low, and it is easy to Suitable for creating backlit photos.

The best season for indoor backlight shooting is winter. This is when the sun’s altitude angle is at its lowest, and it is easier to align the light source with the subject and photographer in a straight line, thus achieving better results. Interpret backlighting.

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In the summer, due to the relatively high altitude angle of the sun, you always need to squat down to shoot, or leave more white space above the subject to compose the picture If you don’t like the white sky above, you can choose to shoot under a tree. When composing the picture, it is also good to have some transparent green leaves illuminated by the sun in the upper frame of the picture. The same composition is also very suitable for yellow leaves or red leaves in late autumn!

In addition, it is also the best choice in the evening before the sun is about to set and when the sun has just risen.

3. How to mobilize the model to achieve the effect you want during shooting

I carefully recalled the girls I have photographed in the past. In fact, most of them did not have too much verbal communication during the shooting. , since backlight shooting requires relatively precise angles between the photographer, the subject, and the light source, there are few large-scale movements. Most of them are small adjustments such as raising the head a little, lowering the chin, etc.

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4. What are the special requirements for models’ makeup, clothing, and shooting props?

I prefer models with no makeup and simple hairstyles , especially yellowish hair or brown hair is my favorite. At this time, the hair will appear hazy and appear and disappear under the backlight.

Photographer OS: I like my girls to have their hair loose, or even if it is combed, it should be in a ponytail. It needs to be windy! It will blow! It is so beautiful! There are not many requirements for clothes. , I think backlighting is very suitable for the popular small fresh series, so the clothing is self-evident, with cotton and linen texture, small lace, lace, etc.

5. Selection of cameras and lenses in backlight environments

Most SLR cameras are capable of backlight shooting tasks. The ones I use most are Canon 5D2 and 60D. The main lenses are 24-70 and 50-1.4. Sometimes I use 8-15 and 17-40 to shoot interesting fisheye and wide-angle pictures.

6. Metering and camera settings

Spot metering can be selected as the metering method.

Meter the subject directly. To ensure that the subject being photographed gets the most correct exposure value, some cameras without spot metering mode can shorten the distance or lengthen the focal length so that the subject occupies the entire frame, shoot in manual mode and then recompose the shot.

7. Exposure and metering methods

Refer to the picture above.

8. How to handle white balance

In fact, regarding the processing of white balance, we all make corresponding adjustments according to the specific conditions during shooting. There is nothing special.

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9. About reflective equipment

It is best if there is a reflective board. Sometimes there is no suitable reflective equipment, so you can use white ones at home. For bed sheets, if you want to take a close-up, you can also find a book and open the inner pages for partial reflection.

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10. The use of UV mirror

When shooting backlit films, if you add a UV mirror to the front of your lens, will it be easier to produce contrast? More obvious light spots (halos) on the naked head. Regarding this, it can be loaded and unloaded according to your own preferences.

I personally like photos with large light spots, so I usually take UV with me when shooting.

Tips:

Usually when we hear backlight, most of us think of the sun, but in fact any light source can be used as a backlight source. For example, the sun shines in the first 10 minutes before it sets. The value is significantly lower, or the desk lamp in the room, the car lights on the road at night, etc.?

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In fact, a window that can be directly illuminated by sunlight is the best A good choice is to close the gauze curtain, preferably a white gauze curtain, which will not affect the normal imaging of skin color. Usually, when shooting directly next to a bed with direct sunlight, the light ratio will be too large. We can adjust it through the "Photo Style-Portrait-Detailed Adjustment-Contrast" inside the SLR camera to reduce the contrast.

Or use reflectors or flashlights for lighting. Be sure to note that the intensity of the lighting should not exceed the intensity of the backlight source, otherwise this will not be a backlit film.