Model photography skills

First, the equipment selection should be appropriate.

Because the size of the model is usually small, it is necessary to use macro functions to express local details. In this respect, compared with traditional film cameras, digital cameras have unique advantages. The macro shooting effect is often very good for ordinary models with a price of more than 2,000 yuan. Of course, if you use a digital SLR camera, you need to be equipped with a macro lens at the same time, and the deputy factory lens is cost-effective. In addition to the camera, it would be better to bring a tripod, because as we all know, macro shooting requires high stability of grip, and slight jitter will destroy the image quality. Because the model belongs to still life shooting, using a tripod can ensure the probability of success, especially with the camera's self-timer mode. It is also important to use the focal length of the lens. The principle is to make the shooting effect of the model close to the perspective relationship of 1: 1.

Secondly, choose the shooting location and background picture.

The equipment is ready, and then enter the scene preparation stage. Often we put a little effort into the photographic environment and background, and the result will surprise you.

The simplest scenery, we can use a solid color background cloth in an L-shape on the table, which can be bought in the photographic equipment market, usually about per square meter 10 yuan, or we can choose drawing paper with a slightly higher cost. White background is the most popular. Of course, if the color of your model is light, you can choose black, blue or red. , according to the actual shooting flexible grasp.

The above is a relatively simple method. If the model is integrated into the surrounding environment, it will get a more realistic effect. The model scene is made to truly reproduce the atmosphere at that time, so the choice of model scene should also consider this problem. For example, shooting off-road vehicle models, you can choose to be outdoors, where there are mounds and sand; For example, when shooting cartoon characters, you can use color pictorial as the background and put some decorations around the model.

In addition, there are some difficult scenes that need to be synthesized later. For example, when shooting a BMW 5 Series sedan, it is not difficult to find that the photographer expresses the sense of speed of the car through the dynamic blur of the background and tires. The car model is static, so it is impossible for us to photograph its motion state, so we need to do dynamic fuzzy processing on the background and tires to express the dynamics. So we choose a picture of a wide road environment as the background. In the later synthesis, the position and angle of the car should be adjusted first to imitate the visual relationship in the real world. Finally, the background and tire are dynamically blurred. See the digital adjustment section for details.

Tips: The scale of the background is not necessarily large, but the depth of field can be skillfully used. In addition, the use of props should play the role of finishing touch, and can't pretend to be the host.

Third, reasonable lighting, choose the right shooting angle.

The light distribution is the most critical, because when the light strikes the surface of the model, it will produce a contrast between light and shade, and this light and shadow effect will be used to highlight the three-dimensional sense of the model. In addition, we should pay attention to the relationship between the light distribution of the model and the background light to avoid light distortion.

Under normal circumstances, considering the economic situation, ordinary photographers can use the desk lamp at home, take energy-saving bulbs as the main light, and use foam board or A4 white paper as the reflective surface to reflect the light to the model. The reason why reflection is emphasized is that the light we want is scattered and soft. It should be noted that the automatic white balance will be inaccurate at this time, and it is best to manually adjust the white balance with a whiteboard or a gray board. When shooting large model models of aircraft and land-based equipment, there are certain restrictions on the operation under lighting conditions. It is recommended to use natural light, but also natural' location'.

1, determine the main light.

The main light is the dominant light source, which determines the main color of the picture. In cloth lighting, it is meaningful to add auxiliary light, background light and profile light only after determining the main light. In the process of determining the main light, we should systematically consider the brightness, intensity, coverage and distance to the main body according to the modeling characteristics, texture performance, light and shade distribution and the degree of separation between the main body and the main background. For most subjects, soft light, such as reflective umbrella, soft light and fog light, is generally chosen as the main light. Direct floodlights and spotlights are rarely used as main lights unless the picture needs them to bring strong contrast.

The main light is usually higher than the subject, because the most comfortable and natural lighting is usually to simulate the light effect of natural light. If the main light is too low, the subject will form abnormal bottom light illumination, while if the main light is too high, it will form top light, which will increase the contrast between the side and top of the subject. Most photography hobbies will choose an angle of 45, because the light and shadow effect is most balanced at this time.

2. Add auxiliary lights

The illumination of the main light will make the subject shadow unless the photographic picture needs strong contrast. Generally, in order to improve the level and tone of the shadow surface, auxiliary light should be added when lighting.

There can be one or more auxiliary lights according to the needs of the picture effect. To control unwanted shadows, use reflectors as much as possible. Because the light ratio can be properly controlled, it produces unexpected good results. The light ratio of the model is adjusted by adjusting the position of the reflector. The light ratio of shallow objects (that is, the reflector is far away) is smaller, and the light ratio of heavy objects (that is, the reflector is far away) is larger.

Set the background light

Background light plays the role of setting off the main body or rendering the atmosphere. Therefore, when dealing with background light, we should pay attention to both contrast and harmony.

When shooting a model, it is often difficult to light the background alone because the subject is very close to the background. At this time, the main light doubles as the background light. In the specific control of the light ratio between the subject and the background, it can be controlled by selecting appropriate lamp distance, direction and illumination range, or it can be blocked by opaque shading objects at appropriate positions to obtain the required light and shade changes.

Step 4 add profile light

The main function of contour light is to produce a bright contour for the subject and separate the subject from the background. Side light usually uses spotlight, which is strong and hard and often produces strong projection on the screen. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the position of the lamp. Using a reflector (such as a mirror) for analysis usually produces unexpected good results. In addition, according to the needs of the subject, choose strong light or soft light as side light.

Tips: It needs to be clear that profile light is not necessary for every picture. Only add it when the picture needs it, otherwise it will feel superfluous.

Add decorative lights

Decorative lights are mainly used to decorate some parts or details of the main body, which is a local and small-scale use of light. So we use local lighting and so on. The front face of the car is a very important design, which needs to be emphasized, so it is emphasized by local light sources. We use a spotlight to hit the front face of the car, and we need to pay attention to the projection generated by this light to grasp the overall tone.

check

Every additional light may have an impact on the previous effect. Therefore, after the lighting is finished, it is necessary to carefully check the overall lighting effect, such as whether the lighting is obviously insufficient or unreasonable, whether the projection shielding meets the requirements, whether the projection position is appropriate, whether the lighting of each light source interferes, whether each light source enters the viewfinder screen and causes halo, etc. Looking at these details can avoid giving up all previous efforts because of a moment's negligence.