Photography skills of 550D dinner party

To shoot portraits at night, we must first understand the shooting method of night scenes and the principle of flash photography. Let's talk about it one by one:

First of all, talk about the shooting method of night scene. To shoot night scenes, we must first understand that the reciprocity rate in photography is invalid. You can check the detailed information on the internet here, and we will select some practical ones for night shooting here.

The failure of reciprocity law here means that we can't always measure light and light during the day to determine the aperture and shutter we should use. That will definitely underexpose the film. We need to correct the exposure data.

Let's start with my personal method of shooting night scenes.

First of all, let's make it clear that night scenes belong to the category of landscape photography, so of course we should choose a smaller aperture. I usually set the exposure file to aperture and the white balance to daylight first. Then take a picture, compose a composition-focus (note: focus is the key, manual focus is generally selected, and autofocus will fail in dark environment)-release the cable and open the shutter-until the exposure is over.

Second, observe the photos just taken, and observe the actual effect (using histogram as much as possible) and shooting exposure parameters (focusing shutter) from the LCD. Then set the exposure file to M, and the aperture is still 8. The use of the shutter refers to the effect just shot. If it is insufficient, it will extend the shutter, and if it is too bright, it will speed up the shutter. For example, the aperture priority shooting parameters are: aperture 8 shutter 5s feels that the picture is not exposed enough, so when using M file, use aperture 8 shutter 7s or 10s to try out the best shooting parameters in turn.

Under this explanation, people have different opinions on whether the shooting of night scenes is overexposed. If you like bright, shoot bright, and vice versa.

Third, after finding the best shutter combination, look at the tone of the picture. If you like cool colors, you can set the white balance to cloudy days. If you like warm colors, you can adjust the white balance to tungsten lamp.

At this point, the night scene skill is completed.

So how can we solve the problem of taking portraits on a beautiful night? Let people stand in front of the camera and shoot for the same length of time at night. People are alive. If they move, the image will be blurred.

Shoot someone, just use a flash. We use the formula of flash photography: aperture =GN (flash index)/distance, and calculate how much aperture to use, as long as the camera shutter can stop.

Now we want to take a picture of the environment with a perfect night view. Why can you have your cake and eat it? At this time, we need to treat the environment and people differently. The environment is not illuminated by our flash, and it takes a long time to be exposed. You can get away at close range. Yes, we use the flash to shoot synchronously at slow speed.

First, as I said before, our night scene is landscape photography, and the aperture should be small, and eight is the best. Then add people to shoot, if you want to clearly reproduce the night scene, you need more depth of field, so you still choose 8 as the aperture.

Secondly, we mentioned the formula of flash photography: aperture =GN/ distance. Then this formula can also be derived: distance =GN/ aperture. Then we can decide how far the character should stand from our camera. Take the built-in flash of the camera as an example, the distance is =12/8 =1.5m. So we ask the model to pose at a distance of1.5m from the lens.

Third, adjust the shutter according to the best shutter value we just took at night, then focus on people and turn on the flash. After the alignment is clear, we press the shutter button on the shutter line. At this moment, our flash lights up.

Fourth, this is the most important point. As soon as the flash lights up, the model can't move immediately, just like a gun. Remember, don't shake or move your hands and feet from side to side. Blink your eyes and move your lips slightly, which has no effect on the final result. When the shutter was closed, the photographer ordered the model to stay still. At this point, the shooting is complete.

Note: 1. If the model walks away after the flash lights up, the person being photographed will be transparent.

2. The whole process is always completed by the camera on the tripod.

3. If you like the virtual paste effect of the background as much as the photos I sent, you can get it by increasing the aperture, extending the shooting distance and shooting with long focal length. The shooting distance depends on the aperture size you use, which is obtained by the formula: distance =GN/ aperture.

Details of portrait shooting

The portrait photo with a big head sticker can be said to be the most popular portrait photo, which can be seen from the popularity of the sticker photo among young people and the wide application of the photo with a big head sticker in fashion magazines and businesses.

Simple beauty and local close-ups

To shoot a character in the simplest composition way, just keep the character smiling and look at the camera! (as shown in figure 3), simple and beautiful, this is the beginning of shooting the head portrait, I believe it is easy for most beginners. Observing the characters carefully, we can only show a part of their faces and highlight the details you want to express (Figure 6).

Composition principle

When taking big photos, the composition is relatively simple, and people's faces occupy most of the picture. But do you want to keep the whole head? Or just part of the face? It has something to do with the feeling you need to show. On the screen, the hand shape is a common composition element. You can also add flowers, headdresses and other elements to enrich the composition.

Taking big photos requires careful observation of the five senses of the characters and trying to show the perfect part of the model. If the character's face is wide, try to shoot from the side; If the chin is long, you should look down a little and pat it; If she has beautiful big eyes, you might as well take a close-up of her eyes.

Flower decoration method

We can use flowers and plants as part of the avatar composition. At this time, we need to pay attention to the color of flowers and plants to coordinate with the whole picture.

Mei Wei painting method

When shooting, we don't pursue the clarity and texture of the picture, but the feeling it gives people. Sometimes the picture looks "fake" or more advertising, but it might as well be a new attempt.

After shooting some pictures with full composition, you can try to add the shape of your hand as a composition element to the picture. At this time, you should try to avoid cutting your wrists and elbows when composing a composition. At the same time, you should grasp your hand shape and try to face the camera, so that your hand looks more delicate. When shooting, good results can be obtained by using forward light or reverse light plus reflector to make up the light.

Mobilize the mood of the model

We don't have many opportunities to shoot professional models, so it is very important to arouse the emotions of ordinary subjects. In order to improve the success rate, you can tell the subject what you want to feel before shooting and communicate with her more. In addition, when shooting, you should constantly encourage the subject, keep her attention on your lens at all times, and shoot continuously, so that she feels that the shooting process is very happy and smooth. Even if she doesn't perform well sometimes during filming, you should continue filming and encourage her more to make her performance better and better.

Using the direction of light

We need to pay attention to the direction of light when shooting. Even on cloudy or cloudy days, light has a direction. For example, under trees, walls, doorways, windows, etc. Because there are obstacles blocking the light, the light has obvious directionality. Why should we pay attention to the direction of light? Because, if you are completely facing or facing away from the light, the photographed characters are relatively flat, and the side faces the light, which has a stronger three-dimensional effect.

chest

In the sunny season, everyone is willing to go for an outing with family and friends, breathe fresh air, throw themselves into the embrace of nature, and take photos of some people as souvenirs, among which busts are especially popular with everyone.

Backlight and smooth light

Backlight: Backlight is used to show the contrast between light and dark, which can form a sculptural effect with sharp outline and strong lines, commonly known as silhouette. If the background is blue sky or sea, you can emphasize the tone level and highlight the main body. Because the strong reflection of the sun or background comes from the back of the subject, facing the camera lens, it is more difficult to shoot against the light (as shown in figure 1).

Guang Shun: This kind of lamp is relatively flat. Characters lack three-dimensional sense. And strong light will make the characters in the picture squint. So generally speaking, people rarely use sunlight for portrait shooting. But at dusk, the sun will be warm and soft, not dazzling. At this time, sunlight can be used for lighting.

Selection of pictures and key points of composition

Frame form: refers to horizontal frame, vertical frame or other forms. Generally speaking, mullions are mostly used to shoot busts, because mullions are more in line with people's visual habits and the physical characteristics of the characters in the picture. Horizontal frame composition also has its own characteristics, which can contain more environmental factors in the picture and is also a good composition method.

Visual Center: When shooting a bust, a person's face becomes the visual center, and a photo can only have one visual center. Otherwise, it may destroy the integrity of the picture and cause disorder and confusion in composition.

Blanking: refers to the part other than the real image of the subject. In a photographic picture, the blank part can set off and explain the subject.

Diagonal composition: Divided into figure diagonal and background diagonal, the purpose of both is to break the traditional visual habits, add movement and vitality to the picture, and make the photo look less rigid.

TIC-tac-toe composition: This is the simplest and most effective composition method. Divide a painting into two straight lines, draw TIC-tac-toe lines, and arrange the visual center at the intersection of TIC-tac-toe lines. This is the most suitable composition for people's visual habits, and the photos taken with this composition will look very comfortable (Figure 3).

The principle of bust shooting modeling is that the orientation of the head, chest and crotch of the character should avoid symmetry and singleness, otherwise it will easily make the character look dull and mediocre.

Seize the details

1. Don't draw a straight line between your head and your body. When the body is facing the camera, the head should turn slightly or lean to both sides. When the head is facing the camera, the body of the character should be turned at an angle, so that the film will be very vivid.

2. Avoid parallel legs and arms. The specific method is to make the model center of gravity on one leg, the other leg can be bent properly, and the arm can be bent all the time or form a certain angle. This will make the photos very dynamic.

3. If the subject's posture is sitting, try to arrange him to sit in front of the chair and avoid putting his whole body on the chair, so that the subject can easily maintain a good posture.

Generally speaking, when taking a bust, you should show your hands. Although the hand occupies a small proportion in the whole picture, if it is not handled well, it will seriously damage the overall aesthetic feeling of the picture. Be sure to pay attention to the posture and integrity of your hand when shooting. Avoid feeling broken or severely deformed.

There are many kinds of human expressions, eyes and lips are the most abundant ones. If you want to prompt a model to make a certain expression, the best way is to tell the model the expression you want, and then instruct the model how to use eyes and lips flexibly to express the desired expression.

Portrait shooting supplement

Portrait around the world

A successful photo of a character should not only show the beauty of the body, but also show the character. So it is very important for photographers to observe the characters carefully before shooting. Only in this way can a photo show a character's personality characteristics.

Less is more.

If we can focus on "people", people's photos will be better. After all, taking a picture of a face can express more information than taking a full-length picture. People's attention always shifts from clothes and environment to their faces.

Compared with the optical viewfinder, you can use the LCD screen to control the photo composition more conveniently. If you are not sure whether there are too many crowded things in the photo, you can use the camera's own zoom-in function, so that you can see the subject better. Is it possible for the current topic to make people feel better? Later, you can take new photos by taking more photos of current people.

To make photos more attractive, you can shoot people who focus on their faces in landscape format. In order to show better effect, people can not be placed in the center of the photo. You can even just pat the head.

Guide the subjects to prepare.

Some colors will look ugly together. Because you are ultimately responsible for the quality of the photos, you must carefully observe the clothes of the subjects. For example, wearing a purple shirt in front of the green grass will spoil the fun. This requires you to pay attention to whether there is harmony between the subject and the background. If a lively person wears such clothes, you have to choose another shooting location. If you want to take pictures in bars, cafes or private buildings, you must ask the owner's permission in advance.

It is best to visit the shooting site at different times during the day. In this way, you can evaluate different lighting conditions and know whether you really need to bring equipment like reflectors, flashlights or tripods.

Take pictures with your brain.

Usually photographers only pay attention to the faces of people. In this way, flowers, roofs and trees may grow from behind the head of the main body. So now I'm going to stare at the part above my eyes! If necessary, you have to squat down and move a few steps to one side. So those nasty things will disappear from the photos.

In order to blur the background, you need to set a large aperture. The larger the aperture, the smaller the clearance area. Portrait shooting mode will be displayed as the symbol of "head" on the setting dial of the camera, and the large aperture can be automatically selected according to a certain exposure time. If you want to decide the aperture size yourself, you can use the automatic shutter (Av). In this mode, the camera can calculate the corresponding exposure time. Now all we have to do is take a clear photo and print it out.

Rational distribution of elements in photos