Tips for insufficient light in portrait photography

Tips for insufficient light in portrait photography

First, how to shoot a warm portrait?

In order to take a warm portrait picture, first of all, the clothes of the characters and the color of the background of the picture should be mainly warm. When shooting outdoor portraits, you should choose to shoot in scattered light. When shooting indoor portraits, the lighting should truly reproduce the characters, their clothes and the colors of the background.

Warm-tone portraits will give people a sweet feeling, and shooting can emphasize the warm-tone effect of the picture through details such as background, clothing and makeup.

If you choose to take outdoor photography at sunrise or sunset, golden light can show the feeling of warm color well. Then the photographer adjusts the color temperature and white balance of the camera according to the intensity of light and the light level adopted, and a better warm-tone portrait will be obtained. On sunny days, photographers can shoot along the light and set the white balance of the camera to cloudy mode, which will make the portrait look softer. If you shoot a portrait on a cloudy day, the photographer can adjust the color temperature of the camera according to the light ratio to highlight the warm tone effect of the picture.

Second, how to shoot a cool portrait?

When shooting cool portraits, first of all, people's clothes should be mainly dark, such as gray, black and dark green. Secondly, the background should also be dominated by dark tones, but attention should be paid to the color difference with the characters' costumes. Once again, use up the light, the light should not be too strong, and it is best to shoot on cloudy days. Indoor portraits, you can choose to shoot in dark artificial light.

The effect of portrait cold tone pictures is opposite to that of portrait warm tone pictures. Outdoor, if you want to take a cool portrait, the photographer can choose to shoot on cloudy days. If it is sunny, the photographer can arrange the characters in the shade with green plants as the background, set the white balance of the digital SLR camera to tungsten light mode, and make the image look more profound by adjusting the color temperature. You can also choose to shoot at night to create a cool portrait effect in a dark environment.

When shooting indoors, the ambient light of the characters is darker, which is more conducive to the performance of cool-tone pictures. At the same time, the flash should be used to fill the light for the characters, so that the characters in the dark light can be exposed correctly.

Third, how to highlight people with the help of flash?

Flash is one of the auxiliary lighting tools in portrait photography, which can provide light source illumination for portraits and make them get correct exposure. The photographer arranges the position of the flash according to the supplementary light of the character, which is the lighting way of the portrait. When using the flash, pay attention to eliminate the red eye phenomenon.

When taking portrait photos indoors or outdoors in poor light, you can use flash to fill the light. This can not only make the picture brighter, but also avoid the problem of image quality degradation caused by high sensitivity.

Under the condition that the illumination angle of the camera's flash can be adjusted, the flash should illuminate the ceiling or wall, so that the light will become soft and uniform, which can better blend into the ambient light. If the illumination angle of the flash cannot be adjusted, white cloth or paper should be used to soften the light to make the lighting effect more natural.

Fourth, how to use window light to shoot portraits

The main light source for indoor portrait shooting comes from window light. Outdoor natural light illuminates the room through bright glass, which makes the room full of natural light. People can stand by and shoot from the window. If there is enough light, people can stand anywhere indoors and shoot.

Window light has strong modeling ability and good projection. Photographers often use it to create emotional portraits when shooting portraits indoors. The distance between the person and the window determines the type of light. When people are close to the window, the light intensity of people is high. When you are far away from the window, the light intensity of the characters is small.

When the figure stands in the dead corner of the window light, the reflected light on the wall begins to play a role. At this time, the closer a person is to the wall facing the window, the better the lighting effect, and the more light a person's face can get.

Five, how to use the main light to express portrait style

The main light is the main lighting source of the photo, which determines whether the subject can be clearly imaged. In photography, the main light can be natural light, artificial light or mixed light. The main light in portrait photography can illuminate the whole picture, make the characters get correct exposure and show the style of portrait.

The main light is the main light of character modeling and the most eye-catching light in the picture. Other lights (such as auxiliary lights, side lights, etc. ) plays an adjusting role on the basis of the intensity and position of the main light source.

The nature, projection direction and shadow of the main light determine the external shape and three-dimensional sense of the subject. The position of the main light source is placed at an angle of 30o on the left or right side of the person, and also forms an angle of 30o with the subject, so the portrait photos taken in this way are generally considered to be the best.

In practice, the position of the main light is not absolute. As long as the desired feeling and visual effect can be obtained, the main light source can be placed anywhere.

Six, how to use auxiliary light to enrich the portrait level?

In portrait photography, auxiliary light is the light that supplements the characters or enhances the atmosphere of the whole picture. Auxiliary lights are usually made of special tools, such as flash, reflector, hood, etc. These devices can increase or decrease the light, making portrait pictures richer in layers.

Auxiliary light is the light that ensures that the subject does not disappear in the shadow caused by the main light source, which can not only illuminate the shadow part, but also maintain the existence of the shadow, and its intensity cannot be higher than that of the main light. Auxiliary light belongs to scattered light, just like scattered light in natural light. Auxiliary light is soft and meticulous, but it will not produce new shadows, which can highlight the layering of people and is very suitable for taking portrait pictures.

The specific functions of the auxiliary lights are as follows:

Adjust the color tone of the picture, weaken the contrast between the light receiving surface and the backlight surface, and form the required light ratio.

Increase or decrease the light ratio by changing its own brightness, so that the picture is more varied.

By showing the details of the backlight surface, the texture and three-dimensional sense of the object are enhanced, and its external characteristics are fully expressed.

In order not to affect the modeling effect of the main light and produce unnatural projection, it should be aimed at the subject, but the most suitable position is not fixed. Just as different forms of light need different technologies, the modeling effect of main auxiliary light can be improved by adding other auxiliary light (transitional auxiliary light).

Seven, how to use decorative lights to make people look more perfect

Decorative lights can increase the appreciation of portraits and the whole picture. In addition to decorating the part of the figure, it can also highlight the level of the figure and make the portrait picture more perfect.

Decorative lights are used to supplement, emphasize and decorate the local details of the main body. It will not affect the overall shape of the main body in strength and area. It is usually used to fill the light in the parts of the subject that are not prominent enough due to insufficient light, such as hair, ornaments, face parts, eyes, etc., so as to make the photographed characters more beautiful.

Eight, how to use side light to express portraits?

Side light is generally backlight or side backlight, which can outline the figure and make the portrait picture beautiful. Photos taken by silhouette lamps can attract people with touching details or attractive beautiful outlines.

Side light is formed under the irradiation of backlight or side backlight, which is mainly used to enhance and modify the edge contour of people in portrait photography. When shooting portraits outdoors, you can turn your back to the sun and let the bright light shine on your back. At this point, the profile light will be formed around the character's hair and body. When shooting portraits indoors, you can arrange people by the window, and use the hard light through the window to form contour light around people's bodies. In portrait photography in the studio, a large flash can be arranged behind the figure, and the strong light emitted by the flash can be used to shoot with the backlight level to obtain the side light.

Whether shooting portraits with backlight or side backlight outdoors or indoors, attention should be paid to filling the front of the figure to ensure the correct exposure of the front of the portrait.

Nine, how to use the background light to set off the portrait atmosphere?

The background light mainly comes from the back of the figure, which can be used as the main light to highlight the portrait, or as the auxiliary light to set off the atmosphere of the portrait picture. Background light can outline the outline lines of characters, highlight their body curves, and also illuminate their local contours and highlight their local features.

Background light refers to the light specially used to illuminate the background of the picture except the characters. Background light is divided into five types: parallel background light, central background light, directional background light, outline background light and transmission background light.

Parallel background light:

Put a lamp on the left and right behind the picture, and illuminate the background at a 45 angle to obtain a bright and uniform lighting effect.

Central backlight:

The light shines from the back of the figure to the background, and the light spreads from the center to the surrounding, and the subject is more prominent because of the background light. This way of light distribution can highlight the theme and express the three-dimensional sense.

Directional background light:

The light shines from the side to the background, producing a directional light source, which is suitable for photographing nostalgic or prominent characters' personalities.

Outline background light:

The light shines on people from behind, which highlights the outline of people, fully embodies the three-dimensional sense and has strong visual impact. It can also be used in conjunction with other kinds of background light to make the picture effect more harmonious.

Transmitted background light:

Put the light source behind the background, so that the light can be transmitted from the background, producing various special light effects.

The intensity of background light will directly affect the performance of background details and picture levels. In actual shooting, the background light can also be extremely processed, that is, black and white processing, which can fully contrast the subject, enrich the contrast of the picture, determine the tone of the picture, and lay a high-key or low-key tone trend of the picture, thus expressing the atmosphere and emotional color of the picture.

X. How to take a portrait with a single light?

Single lamp lighting is one of the common lighting methods for dark portraits. According to the theme to be expressed, the photographer can place the flash on the left or right side of the figure, and adjust the included angle between the flash and the model appropriately, so that the portrait picture generated by single-lamp illumination is more in line with the shooting theme.

Generally, single-lamp lighting is used to outline the characters, and the flash directly acts on the subject, which makes the picture form great contrast and light-dark contrast. When shooting with strong light, the photographer should pay attention to the direction of light and the orientation of the model's face and body, properly adjust the direction of the model or light according to the needs of the picture, and control the light and shade contrast between the model's face and the whole picture to get a deep work.

When the front-mounted single lamp is used to illuminate the studio, the distance between the flash and the subject can be adjusted, and the "stage projection effect" of the background can also be controlled, that is, the light intensity in the dark part of the picture. The single light on the front can better highlight the contrast between the highlights and shadows on the light-receiving surface of the characters and create a good three-dimensional sense of the characters. This way of lighting is also conducive to expressing some deep and sad portrait photography themes.

XI。 How to use a variety of lights to shoot portraits

Multi-lamp lighting is mostly used for studio photography. In a dark studio, photographers need to use multi-lamp lighting to express portrait features. Using the main light and auxiliary light to improve the portrait picture can not only make the portrait get the correct exposure in the dark environment, but also make the picture more beautiful.

The more lights, the more changes. Photographers should choose the best lighting scheme reasonably according to different subjects and themes. In large scenes and environments, professional photographers often choose multi-lamp lighting, because it is easy to shape the subject and render the picture atmosphere.

In studio portrait photography, double or triple lighting method is more common. When two lights are on, two flashlights with soft boxes can be placed on the left and right sides of the model at an angle of 45o. You can also use one lamp to illuminate the background, another lamp to illuminate the characters, and the two lamps are combined with soft and hard to take portraits. If three lights are used for lighting, two flashlights can be used to project hard light from the back of the character at a certain angle, effectively outlining the highlights of the face and hair of the character, making the outline of the character clearer and more stereoscopic. At the same time, the third flash with a soft box fills the front of the character and depicts the facial details of the character.

Twelve, how to use large plane light to shoot portraits?

In studio portrait photography, photographers often use large plane light to represent portraits. Large plane light distribution is one of many kinds of light distribution. The first two lights in this light distribution mode are the main lights, whose main function is to illuminate people. The latter two lights are auxiliary lights, which can enhance the appeal of the characters.

The first two lights and the last two lights are the large plane light distribution methods used earlier in portrait photography. When the photographer does not need to change the background brightness or there are not many layers in the middle of the picture, this light distribution method can be used to express it. When lighting, the power of the first two lamps is the same, and the power of the last two lamps is the same, and the light quality of the first two lamps is generally flexible, and the light quality of the last two lamps can be slightly harder.

The image taken by the large plane light distribution method is softer, the exposure is more uniform and the effect is more beautiful. Its function is to remove the bags under the eyes of the characters, eliminate the shadow of the nasal groove and make the characters more beautiful.

Thirteen, how to shoot portraits with triangular light?

When triangular light is used in portrait photography, the main light can be located on both sides of the portrait, that is, on the left or right side, and form a certain angle with the figure. The other two lamps are used as auxiliary lamps to fill the light or increase the brightness of the characters, making the portrait picture more exciting.

Triangular light is a kind of light distribution method, also called three-point light distribution method, that is, the light levels of main light, auxiliary light and contour light are connected to form a triangle, which is the basic light level in figure photography lighting. Side light, also known as backlight, is often used as decorative light and isolation light (light that separates the main body of the picture from the background). Three-point lighting is the basic lighting method for shooting portraits, but it is not the only method. The main light forms an angle of 45o (positive side light) with the camera, and can be used on both sides. The auxiliary light source is near the camera, and the silhouette lamp basically faces the lens direction, but it is slightly higher. The light ratio of the auxiliary light is slightly weaker than that of the main light, which makes a triangle appear on the cheeks on both sides of the subject's nose bridge and straightens the nose bridge.

Fourteen, how to use sunlight to shoot portraits?

The way the sun shines and the way the sun shines will make the characters form yin and yang faces, which has certain limitations. This kind of lighting can only be used to express a special theme, such as the effect diagram that highlights the black belly of men, or to show the inner world of characters.

In portrait photography, photographers usually avoid the picture effect brought by cloudy sunshine. This kind of light will make the characters have yin and yang faces, which will affect the beauty of the portrait picture. However, sometimes this lighting method can create some special atmosphere picture effects. Let's learn about the light distribution method of Yin and Yang.

On cloudy days, the main light of sunlight is located 45o above the side of the subject, with the bridge of the nose as the boundary, with one side bright and the other side dark. This way of lighting is more conducive to depicting the emotions of the characters. If the main light at the top is turned up a little bit, the projection of the bridge of the nose will appear on the other side of the cheek. It looks like the bridge of the nose is straight and the eyes are firm.

When shooting women on cloudy days, the background of the picture should be dominated by dark tones. The photographer's use of side face suggestion can not only weaken the defects caused by cloudy sunshine, but also express the psychological activities of the characters.

Fifteen, how to use light to shoot female characters skillfully

Most female portraits are shot to show the beautiful appearance of the characters, so soft scattered light is needed in the use of light.

For example, women can be photographed in the early morning or evening on a sunny day, or on a cloudy day. At the same time, it is also necessary to persuade with smooth lighting, because smooth lighting is conducive to expressing the femininity of female characters. But sometimes in order to highlight a certain atmosphere of the picture, you can also use backlight and side backlight to shoot.

Most photographers choose to take portrait photos in light environment, because light can effectively cover up the defects of the face and make the skin more tender and delicate. If you want to get a more beautiful portrait effect in smooth light, you can fill the light manually, such as using a reflector or a large piece of white plastic foam board, or using a flash to fill the light for the portrait, so that the skin color of the character is more white and moving.

But this shooting will eventually be eclipsed. Therefore, we should also learn to be flexible and explore the side that people have never discovered in an alternative way.

For example, you can shoot against the light. Different angles of backlight will also produce different portrait silhouette effects. If you shoot with positive reflection, you can get a relatively dull portrait effect; Side backlight shooting can get a more stereoscopic portrait effect. In the specific shooting, generally choose side backlight shooting. There is no need to fill the light manually during silhouette shooting. The photos taken by average metering mode emphasize the light and shadow effect more. However, if you use spot metering mode to measure light at highlights, the silhouette effect will be more obvious.

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