Use light to make dynamic pictures of movies.

Lead: How to shoot a movie tour with good light correctly? Here I give some tips for your reference. Hurry up and learn!

Making a moving movie with light is like traveling. Many people say that my travel works have a sense of film. Simple analysis, I think it mainly comes from the following three points:

First, the real infectious light, learn to find attractive light, make full use of the scene light, adjust the angle and position, so that the characters can be presented most truly and naturally under the ambient light, even if it is supplementary light? Hide? And then what? Blend in? ;

Second, the composition is rich and focused, try to use standard perspective or telephoto lenses to avoid lens distortion and deliberately create visual impact, make full use of picture elements and lens depth of field characteristics, show people in the environment and create an atmosphere;

Third, natural and heartfelt emotions let the picture convey the inner voice. The photographer's guidance and situation setting are very important. This skill comes more from experience.

Next, I will introduce it in detail in three phases, starting with light.

▲ In the evening of summer in Lucerne, Switzerland, in a smooth environment, the characters are exposed normally, and the foreground and background will darken. Casual kissing and oblique composition make the picture more dynamic. The sunset with low color temperature and golden seats make the couple warm and reduce the saturation. Later, the yellow tone is added, and the picture is more retro, showing the film style.

First, the characteristics of different lighting conditions

Let's take a look at the following three photos, all taken in Tuscany, Italy in summer. Experience the different atmosphere of the picture under different lighting conditions.

Figure 1: At 5 o'clock in the evening, the setting sun is warm and intense, and the earth is covered with gold. The light is relatively strong, the scenery is saturated strongly, and the skin of the characters is bright and warm.

Aperture: f/2.8, shutter: 1/3200s, focal length: 45mm, ISO: 50.

Shoot in strong and smooth light, and adjust the exposure according to the characters. Be careful not to overexpose the wedding dress and church when shooting. At this time, the sky is very dark, showing a nostalgic and retro taste. The lower color temperature makes the character's skin color naturally present a warm golden color. If you shoot with a large aperture, you need to pay attention to the sensitivity of the camera and the limit of the shutter.

Figure 2. At 7 o'clock in the evening, the setting sun is close to the horizon, and the light becomes very soft, reflecting the wheat ears into a golden ocean with a strong environmental atmosphere;

Aperture: f/ 1 1, shutter: 1/800s, focal length: 45mm, ISO: 50.

The sunset passes through the top of the head from the back of the character. At this time, the face of the character can be exposed normally without any supplementary light. Later, the sky darkened, showing a dreamy artistic conception. When shooting in the front light, the picture quality is high and the color is restored well, and there is no need for too much processing in the later stage. When shooting against the light, you should brighten the characters properly and darken the sky.

Figure 3: After sunset, with the help of skylight shooting, people's skin color is naturally soft under scattered light, with small contrast and rich details, and the overall feeling is calm and moist.

Aperture: f/2.8, shutter: 1/800s, focal length: 150mm, ISO: 50.

After sunset, the sky is not completely dark. At this time, the contrast between light and dark is not obvious, and the whole body presents astigmatism, with rich details, good skin restoration and natural skin color. At this time, the contrast between the background and the characters is small. In order to highlight the characters, the background environment was darkened later.

Front lighting

The advantages of fairing are good color reproduction, high saturation and clear imaging; At low sensitivity, the picture has strong texture and is closer to the prototype; The environment is rich in details, especially the details of clouds, and people and scenery are evenly exposed, so the exposure is easier to grasp. The disadvantages of smooth lighting are lack of spatial expression, relatively flat picture and hard light quality. If a person's skin is flawed, you can see it at a glance, and later decoration needs more skills. When I choose to shoot along the light, I will use the depth of field characteristics of the lens to highlight the characters and break the boredom.

Aperture: f/3, shutter: 1/2500s, focal length: 45mm, ISO: 50.

In summer evening in Italy, the angle between the sun and the horizon is about 45 degrees, which is the most suitable time to take portraits along the light. Sunlight illuminates the face from the front of the character, and the low color temperature at sunset can make the skin appear golden yellow. Clouds in the distance are layered in smooth light and the environment is darker. With the later adjustment, it shows a warm sense of nostalgia.

Side backlight

The advantages of backlighting and side backlighting are stronger stereoscopic impression, richer tones and levels, high transparency of the overall environment, light silhouette of characters and easy creation of aesthetic atmosphere. When backscattering light, a large aperture can create a hazy and soft picture, and a small aperture can form a dreamy star beam. You can also try to take a silhouette portrait. Backlighting can bring more creative space. Disadvantages are that exposure and details are difficult to control, the choice of exposure point is very important, and sometimes artificial light is needed to control the contrast of the picture.

Aperture: f/2.8, shutter: 1/800s, focal length: 45mm, ISO: 50.

The sunset in pienza in summer, when the sun is still strong, will be taken into the sky when the camera is shooting horizontally or at a low angle, so it is difficult to control the contrast and it is easy to overexpose the picture. So I chose to shoot at a high angle, avoiding the sky and taking the transparent grass under the backlight as the background. At this time, the setting sun outlines a circle of silhouette light for the characters, and the backlight leaking into the picture adds a hazy and dreamy atmosphere.

Scattered light

Scattered light is a soft and uniform illumination state formed by the sun's rays blocked by clouds or fog. When the sun is covered with thin clouds, scattered light will appear on cloudy days, rainy days and snowy days, as well as before sunrise and after sunset. At this time, the color of the scene is easy to appear dull and the color is relatively gloomy. In the case of scattered light, it is not suitable for the big scene of Quan Jingshen, so color processing is very important. The shooting distance is directly proportional to the color saturation, so try to choose bright elements as the foreground to improve the contrast of the picture and avoid the dullness of the scene tone.

Aperture: f/2.8, shutter:11000s, focal length: 45mm, ISO: 64.

In summer in pienza, Italy, the sunlight shuttles between thick clouds, and the picture contrast is not high. Grass, sky and people can keep more details in the early stage. Compared with smooth backlight shooting on sunny days, this kind of scattered light is softer and brighter, which is more suitable for expressing fresh artistic conception.

Second, the choice of shooting time

Afternoon to sunset

Sunny afternoon to before sunset is the prime time for outdoor portrait shooting. Whether it is sunlight, backlight or scattered light, it can fully show a specific atmosphere, which is 15- 18 in winter and 16-20 in summer. If you want to take more cinematic photos, the use of ambient light is the key. I am used to shooting with natural light. The color temperature of the light at sunset is low, which makes the photo warm and sweet. Emotional? It is easier to express the emotions of stories or characters; The light irradiation angle is flat, the shooting range is wider, and the details of the picture are richer; Good color reproduction in sunlight can darken the environment, make the film feel full, and make the backlight transparent, which can create a beautiful and dreamy high-profile atmosphere.

Aperture: f/2, shutter: 1/250s, focal length: 45mm, ISO: 50.

At sunset in Copenhagen, the setting sun shines through the window of the ice cream truck. The dining car is used to block some direct sunlight, weaken the strong contrast brought by backlight and create a dreamy fairy tale atmosphere. The emotions and actions of the characters are very appropriate, and properly brightening the characters in the later stage can bring a sense of film.

Aperture: f/2, shutter: 1/2500s, focal length: 50mm, ISO: 50.

On the beach in Okinawa, Japan, the sunset just emerged from the thick clouds. What formed it? The light of Jesus? . Because the incident angle of sunlight is very low, as long as we adjust the position and shooting angle of people and control the contrast in the picture, we can use natural light to complete shooting, forming a unique light leakage atmosphere, and pay special attention to accurate exposure.

Cloudy and sunny

Cloudy and sunny days with large changes in clouds are also an excellent time to shoot, which is very suitable for creating panoramic pictures of large scenes. Clouds are like magicians of the sun, which can bring you richer changes in light and shadow. The photos taken in this weather will not be as dull as cloudy days, nor will it be as difficult to control the exposure of the scenery as sunny days. It should be noted that we should be good at observing and coping, and control the contrast between characters and background environment.

Aperture: f/2.8, shutter: 1/2000s, focal length: 45mm, ISO: 100.

Vilen, Tuscany, Italy, afternoon 15, the picture is transparent and bright. The clouds in the sky are very thick, and they cover part of the sunshine, which makes Yuan Ye have fantastic light and shadow changes and full of artistic conception. You need to adjust the position of the characters in the picture and wait for the perfect light.

The afterglow of sunset

Numerous wonderful movie scenes unfolded in the afterglow of the sunset. At this time, the sun has fallen below the horizon. Although the sunset glow in the sky is still warm and bright, it is not enough to illuminate the details of the scenery on the ground. The photos taken are in sharp contrast and will show great contrast. At this time, the beauty of artistic conception is far greater than the display of details. It should be noted that in order to better present the sunset glow, people are often underexposed, and the direction and color temperature of the ambient light source should be considered when filling the light, so as to be natural.

Aperture: f/ 1.6, shutter: 1/8000s, focal length: 50mm, ISO: 100.

Florence old bridge, the composition of the scene determines that the light is sidelight and the sun is close to the horizon. In order to preserve the color of sunset glow in the sky, flash and warm color film are used to fill the light for the characters in the left front of the picture to simulate the sunset effect, which is naturally one of the foundations to realize the film style picture.

At night? Belt density?

The light is on, the sunset glow is just covered, and the color of the sky is not all black. Is this the time of night? Belt density? Time. To put it simply, within one hour after sunset, the light is on, and the light ratio of skylight to terrestrial light is basically 1: 1. The sky and buildings presented in the picture have details and colors, and the overall effect is gorgeous and dreamy. A little later, it will be dark, so we should seize this fleeting best time.

Aperture: f/ 1.4, shutter: 1/60s, focal length: 50mm, ISO:500.

In five fishing villages in Italy, the background buildings are all lit up after sunset, and there are no other natural supplementary light sources to use. So use a flashlight with low color temperature to brighten the characters, which can better preserve the environmental atmosphere, and the most important thing is to create a warm feeling in a cool environment.

Third, fill the light or not?

The key to decide whether to fill the light or not lies in the atmosphere you want and what kind of effect you want the overall picture to present. If you want to realize the picture sense of the film, you should keep the ambient light effect, and try to choose the lighting style, intensity, angle, light quality and color temperature that conform to the logic of ambient light even if you supplement the light. These are all questions worth thinking about. If possible, you can also choose a constant light source to supplement the light. It should be noted that in either case, we should try to keep the details of the picture and create contrast, including cold and warm contrast and light and dark contrast, so that the whole picture presents a natural atmosphere and weakens artificial light. A sense of existence? Be natural. Of course, sometimes you don't need to use artificial light sources, you just need to adjust the position, posture and facial orientation of the characters to achieve the ideal lighting effect. Next, let's look at several common situations.

The light is very flat on cloudy days. Do you need to make up?

-Fill the light, and use the color temperature difference to create a sunset effect.

Aperture: f/ 1.4, shutter:11250s, focal length: 50mm, ISO:200.

Okinawa, Japan, cloudy with thick clouds, the overall picture is cold. The white balance of the camera is set to 4000k manually, and the face of the character is illuminated with flash and warm color film to simulate the sunset effect, highlight the expression of the character, form a soft contrast between cold and warm, and reduce the cyan saturation later. It should be noted here that the output index of the flash should not be too large, otherwise it will destroy the naturalness of the picture and affect the expression of the atmosphere.

-Soft and bright scattered light is more suitable for expressing delicate emotions and soft colors without supplementary light.

Aperture: f/ 1.4, shutter:11250s, focal length: 50mm, ISO:200.

In the morning in Tuscany in summer, the clouds are thick, but the light scattered by the sun through the clouds is very comfortable, just like a bright soft box. At this time, details such as people, land and sky can be preserved. Generally speaking, the scattered light in the morning is better in texture, bright, soft and warm, which will make the whole environment transparent and moist. In the afternoon scattered light, the color reproduction of the scene will be worse. A little sunshine leaked from the clouds and sprinkled on the vilen in the background, adding a sense of fantasy. Later, you can brighten the characters appropriately, darken the sky and increase the saturation, which will make the color more tender.

The elements of the big scene are complex, do you need to fill the light?

-Adjust the position of characters without supplementary lighting, and use sunlight to achieve dramatic lighting effects.

Aperture: f/ 1.4, shutter:11600s, focal length: 50mm, ISO:200.

It's afternoon 16, shooting in the light angle. Clouds make sunlight fade in and out, and the background environment is rich in light and shade. The overall exposure benchmark of the picture is the bride's face. In order to highlight the characters, I waited for the moment when the sun just shone on the bride's face through the trees, forming a dramatic lighting effect. At the same time, I use a large aperture telephoto lens to compress the depth of field, and the mottled background is like an oil painting.

-replenish light, balance light contrast, strengthen environmental atmosphere and restore soft skin color.

Aperture: f/ 1.4, shutter:11600s, focal length: 50mm, ISO:200.

It's already night, and the overall environment is relatively cold. Although snow is like a huge reflector, which makes people receive light evenly, it is still in great contrast with the surrounding environment because of its high reflectivity. In order to preserve the details of the snow, I use flash and warm color film to fill the light for the characters, control the output power of the flash, only fill the light for the faces of the characters, restore the skin color and retain the real atmosphere.

The contrast of the sunset is large, do you need to fill the light?

-Without filling light, the silhouette effect highlights the outline of the body and shows the beauty of artistic conception.

Aperture: f/ 1.4, shutter: 1/2000s, focal length: 50mm, ISO:200.

At sunset in Boracay, the bride dragged her skirt and ran by the sea. At this time, if the characters in the backlight are forced to fill the light, the atmosphere of the scene itself will be lost. Although it can illuminate the characters, it is not as real and meaningful as silhouette. It should be noted that the attitude of the characters is the key. Even if you take a silhouette, you should adjust the exposure and control the position of the sun in the picture. At the same time, autofocus is easy to fail under large backlight. Manual focusing is recommended.

-Fill the light to realize the delicate expression of environmental atmosphere and characters' emotions.

Aperture: f/2.2, shutter: 1/800s, focal length: 50mm, ISO:200.

In santorini in summer, in the evening 19, when the sun has set below the horizon, the sky glows golden. I want to keep the color level of the sky, so I adjust the camera parameters with the sky as the exposure point. I also hope to express the mood of the characters without destroying the environmental atmosphere, so I use a flashlight with low color temperature to fill the light. The light intensity of the flashlight is low, and the constant light source is easier to control, which can retain the aesthetic atmosphere of the scene and approach the real visual experience of the human eye.