Low-light portrait photography skills

When the light is bad, how do we take pictures, find interesting light and then think about how to take interesting pictures with light. The following contents are arranged by me for you. I hope I can help you!

Looking for light

In low light environment, the light distribution is uneven, so portrait shooting needs to express facial expressions and expressions well. Therefore, it is more appropriate to choose smooth light or side light, so that the face of the character has relatively sufficient light, and the model is required to use the posture of leaning, supporting and supporting as much as possible when shooting to keep the body stable. If possible, you can also use a reflector to fill the face, which makes the image effect more prominent.

Balance light and shade

The problem is not that the light in the whole photo is dark, but that some places in a scene are bright and some places are dark. The light and shade can't be controlled by the camera, so it is necessary to train and identify the evenly distributed positions of light sources at the beginning, so that the photos taken will be full and rich.

Adopt a large aperture lens

The larger the aperture, the greater the amount of light entering. In addition, in the case of shallow depth of field and insufficient light, it is really difficult to take clear photos. In that case, it's best to use f/ 1.2 or f/2 lens. When the aperture of most lenses is adjusted to f/2.8, images with good visual effect and sufficient depth of field can be taken.

Note: The aperture of most zoom lenses can be adjusted to f/2.8 in wide-angle shooting and f/4.5 in long-distance shooting, which is not suitable for shooting in limited light. In order to make up for the lack of brightness, you can use a flash or reflector to supplement some brightness for shooting.

Consider using a fixed focus lens.

A fixed-focus lens is a lens with a fixed focal length, such as 24mm f/2.8, 50mm f/ 1.8, 85mm f/ 1.2, etc. This kind of lens often has a large aperture, so it still has a good shooting effect in the case of insufficient light.

Improve sensitivity

A camera that can increase sensitivity can definitely double the photographer's work efficiency. Today, many cameras can adjust the sensitivity to 3200, and the imaging effect is very good. High sensitivity is prone to some noise, but it doesn't matter, good photos always have some noise.

Note: If the brightness of the photos taken at the high IS0 setting is improved in the later period, the noise in the dark part will be obviously displayed, which will affect the image quality and should be properly applied.

Manual focus

Portrait shooting usually focuses on the model's eyes by using the central focus, and then re-composes by half pressing the shutter. In the dark environment, sometimes the subject's light is too dark and the contrast is too weak to focus and focus accurately. At this time, you need to use manual focusing or use a lens with full-time manual function to make manual adjustment at any time.

Accurate photometry

In low light environment, the camera can be set to spot metering. Approaching the model, let the uniform area of the face of the person fill the viewfinder, half press the shutter, and measure a group of aperture and shutter combinations. Then set the shooting mode to manual mode (M), and set the parameters according to the previously measured aperture and shutter value to ensure the accurate exposure of the person's face.

Note: You may ask why you don't use a tripod. Tripod is very practical when shooting city night scenes, but real life is fleeting and won't stop for your convenience, so using tripod will delay your time.

Fall in love with the blurred background

Low-light portraits are usually shot with large aperture and shallow depth of field. Except for the characters (even if the characters can't guarantee overall clarity, the principle is to ensure that the face or eyes are clear), others are vague and dark, which can highlight the theme of the characters, and the distant lights are only dotted with hazy backgrounds.

Kappa, founded in 2009, is the first avant-garde photographic equipment evaluation magazine in China. The content is quoted from the famous Japanese photography magazine CAPA, which is one of the authoritative photography magazines in China. With its original editing content, massive and rigorous evaluation, practical techniques and relaxed and interesting content, photographers are full of expectations every month.

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