How to adjust the brightness of photographic lighting

Real-life shed lamp method, backlight method, strong light single play method, flat light method, butterfly light method, top light reflection lamp method, oil painting effect single light method.

Triangular light (V-shaped light)

Triangular light is the most commonly used lighting method in photo studios in recent years. This kind of lamp is developed from the "eight-character lamp", that is, two lamps illuminate the object at the same distance at a 45-degree angle, and the light ratio is1:L. Because the two lamps are at a 45-degree angle, it is called the eight-character lamp. This kind of light is mainly plane light, characterized by bright, bright, bright, noble and warm, which is the beginning of the success of wedding photography. Because this method is adopted by most photographers, it gives people a feeling of lack of personality and connotation over time. Some people call it depersonalization. In the late 1980s, some photographers introduced advertising photography into wedding photography. On the basis of the original eight-character lamp, a lamp was added from below the main body to form a triangle with the original two lamps, which is called triangle lighting. Although it is also plane lighting, the eyes of the characters are particularly bright, crystal clear and very impactful under the new lighting method. Moreover, when taking a double photo, the shadow on the face and the shadow on the neck are eliminated. The photo looks clean and bright.

Triangle light should pay attention to the following points. Be sure to pay attention to the actual effect of the light and the height of the light. We should aim the center of the soft light box at the hair position of the subject, the lower part of the soft light box at the subject's face, and the upper part of the light box at the background. Because the center of the light emitted by the flexible box is the brightest and the four sides are dark, the difference between the center and the edge is usually 0.8 to 1. Therefore, illuminating the most light-absorbing hair with the brightest light source will make the hair appear transparent and layered; Face illuminates people's face with the lower part of a relatively weak soft box, so that the light of face and hair can be balanced; The upper part of the flexible frame shines on the background, which will enhance the brightness and level of the background. In this way, the whole lighting effect is stereoscopic, transparent and layered. Under normal circumstances, triangular light does not need to polish hair, the purpose is to make the picture natural and realistic, and reduce the feeling of deliberately using up light. When the position of one lamp is fixed, the other lamp illuminates the subject at the same height from the other side. Floor lamps should not be too bright or too dark. Too bright will make the contours of the face and neck disappear, and there will be a feeling that the face and neck are connected. If it is too dark, the meaning of triangular light will be lost, and there will be no transparent and bright feeling. Therefore, if the intensity of the three lamp areas is the same, a plane light effect will be produced. We only need to change the distance of a certain lamp, and the light ratio will change.

High and low triangular lights (high and low V-shaped lights)

High-low triangular light is a more fashionable and fashionable way of using light developed by portrait photographers through continuous practice on the basis of triangular light. The purpose is to add some level changes on the basis of plane light, and also meet the requirements of people's continuous innovation and change.

The concrete method of high and low triangular light is that the lamp on the ground and one lamp on the ceiling rail form a vertical line, and the angle is selected to face the main body, and the other lamp forms an inverted triangle on one side of these two lamps. The three light areas can move forward, backward, upward and downward to meet the requirements of various light ratios. According to different face shapes and modeling requirements, the angles and positions of the two lights on the vertical line can be determined. Therefore, the high and low triangular light not only has the brightness and vividness of triangular light, but also has rich levels and strong three-dimensional sense. The key of this kind of light application is that the position of high and low light is on the same plane as the direction of human face. When the face rotates, the high and low lights also rotate.

Closed triangular lamp (closed V-shaped lamp)

Surrounding triangle light is also called surrounding light. This form of lighting is creative and avant-garde, especially suitable for shooting close-ups and busts, and its expressive force is particularly outstanding, especially popular with young people. The use method of enclosed triangle lamp is basically the same as that of triangle lamp. The difference is that the enclosed triangular light pushes the triangular light closer to the main body, forming a light field, which refracts between soft boxes and radiates to the human face, diluting the details, highlighting the eyes and mouth, and making the face look bright and clean. If the exposure is properly overexposed, the contrast will increase and the effect will be more obvious. But when the exposure is too much, the tiny layers on the face of the person are removed, which may be different from my image. If the distance between the flexible box and the character is pulled apart, there will be no refraction between the light boxes, and the surrounding triangular light will become triangular light.

High and low light

High and low lights evolved from high and low triangular lights by removing the lights on the side, and became high and low vertical lights. Photographers choose the best angle according to the requirements of modeling, one is high and the other is low, and the direction of shining on the subject is consistent, forming a strong contrast, and the characters have a good performance from light to dark. This kind of light is rich in connotation and good at expressing characters' personalities. It is often used for artistic portraits and wedding photo studios. The key to make good use of this high and low light is to choose the angle. If you want to show individual photos, you can use 120-degree side backlight lighting, 90-degree side lighting to show texture and three-dimensional sense, and 45-degree lighting to show people's mental outlook. To make good use of high and low light, we must carefully observe the changes and feelings of characters' demeanor under high and low light. The usual law of change is that the light box moves forward, the dark area of the character increases, the connotation is rich, and the imagination space increases; The light moves backward, the light receiving surface increases, the imagination space decreases, and the characters are bright and peaceful. The light is close to the figure, the contrast is improved, and the figure image is vivid. The lights are far away from people, with rich tone levels and low contrast.

Single lamp

The single lamp here refers to the lighting mode in which the main body is illuminated by a single lamp. Generally, there are several ways to apply single lamp lighting. One way is to use a soft light box or reflector to shine on the characters, so that the main body of the characters is more prominent and sharp, and the contrast is strong. The other is a single spotlight lighting, or a common flash plus a beehive, which projects light onto people's faces to enhance facial expressions. Because the light receiving area of characters is small and the contrast is enhanced, they are better at expressing characters' personalities and emotions. The third way is to make a single lamp into a big soft box, such as 2m×3m. With a large index lamp, it looks like a light wall on a person, and it has the feeling of natural light. The photos taken are low in contrast and natural and true. In this method, besides the main light, background light is added. The main light angles are mostly 45 degrees, 90 degrees, 120 degrees, and the height angle of the light can also be adjusted as needed.

Butterfly lamp

Butterfly light, also called disc light, is a special way of using light in portrait photography. The main light is placed in front of a person's face, projected at 45 degrees from top to bottom, and a butterfly-shaped shadow is projected under the nose. Butterfly light, in a sense, is inclined top light, and it is also a way of using front light or fairing. The whole face has a large light receiving area and a small shadow. There is only a small butterfly shadow under the nose and some shadows under the cheeks. The strongest part of the light shines on the bridge of the nose, and then the light spreads to both sides, so the transition of the character's face is round, clean and bright. In wedding photography and artistic portrait photography, butterfly light can create a sense of beauty. Generally, the oval face can be used, especially for young women. Butterfly lamp can be used as a single lamp, or the main lamp can be equipped with an auxiliary lamp. The auxiliary lamp is placed behind the person, which outlines the face and emits light, creating a three-dimensional effect from a low-key background, which is more artistic.

Shooting of color light source

Color light source shooting can bring ever-changing novel effects to our photos, create all kinds of emotional atmosphere and shape all kinds of characters.

In the application of color light source, the main characters are usually shot by single light, and the background light matches the overall atmosphere. The position of the single lamp is 45 degrees in front of the picture, slightly higher than the human head. You can also move the light back and forth as needed. Insert filters of different colors in front of the reflector of the lamp to get different effects. For example, orange represents nostalgia and nobility; Green represents love and tranquility; Light blue represents freshness, coolness and softness of the character's skin; Red represents enthusiasm and enthusiasm. Photographers can also use mixed color light sources to shoot, that is, lights with two different color filters are used to light up. It should be noted that the two kinds of light can't cross and hit different parts of the characters respectively, resulting in color contrast effect.

Application of background light in wedding photography

1, parallel background light. Put a lamp on the left and right behind the picture to illuminate the background, so that the background produces bright and uniform light effect, which is suitable for taking photos with bright effect. The use method is that the background light shines on the background behind the figure at a 45-degree angle, and the farther away from the background, the more uniform the light is. The height of the lamp is close to the head position of the person.

2. Central backlight. This lighting method is the most widely used background light source in modern portrait photography. It can highlight the theme and express the three-dimensional sense. The method of lighting is to put a lamp behind the figure and shoot against the background. The light diffuses from the center to the surrounding, which has a shining effect, and the main body is highlighted by the background light. The height of the lamp is placed in the middle of the main body. If it is inconvenient to put the background light behind the figure, you can add a honeycomb to the light and shoot the background from the side.

3. Directional background light. Shooting light from one side to the background produces a directional light source, which is suitable for creative needs with strong environment and atmosphere. For example, shoot nostalgic works that show strong personality.

4. Outline background light. The light shines from the back of the character to the character, producing the outline of the character. This kind of background light can be displayed in three dimensions with strong visual impact, and can also be used with other background lights at the same time to produce a harmonious picture effect.

5, transmitting background light. The light source is placed behind the background cloth or artificial background to transmit light to produce various light effects, which is especially suitable for small photo studios.

All the above background lights can create a better picture effect according to the content requirements of photos, but it should be noted that different color filters have different light blocking rates, so the brightness or exposure of the lights must be appropriately increased.