How to adjust the Nordic wind?

In good houses, I have visited many houses with big coffees, and found that many big coffees are not only aesthetically superior, but also take photos, store things, shop and save money ... it's so boring ~

I also found some beautiful friends at home, but because the photos are not particularly beautiful, the collection rate and praise of the pictures are not particularly high.

Here I recommend some of my retouching experience to you. I hope people who don't know how to adjust can improve their retouching skills a little, and I hope Sumitomo, who is already a big photographer, won't laugh at me. Hahahaha _

1. retouching software

Retouching software has two different clients: computer and mobile phone. It depends on what you usually do with your photos.

If you often shoot with your mobile phone, or import camera shooting habits into your mobile phone for retouching, it is recommended to use:

VSCO is my own retouching APP. The advantage is that there are many filters and adjustable parts, and the operation is very simple.

Due to network restrictions, it is more troublesome for instagram to be used over the wall. But the filter inside is also very beautiful, and interested parents can also try it.

I seldom use the other two, but each has its own advantages. I won't be verbose here.

If you often shoot with a camera and like to retouch pictures on the computer, it is recommended to use:

These two softwares on the computer are relatively complicated to operate and require a certain technical foundation, which is also the software used by professional photographers. There is not much explanation here.

In fact, the previous software is similar, mainly because of thinking. In fact, Baidu can find a lot of things just by talking about technology, so there is no need to entangle ~

This paper focuses on the creativity and retouching operation of mobile phones.

Step 2: Ideas

As for the photos of Nordic style, we all know that it is very cold and elegant. Whether it is matching or color matching, it is simple and elegant. Let's put some representative pictures first.

Considering that most of the sumitomo's homes are white walls, it is more meaningful to look at the white walls.

Image from: instagram

From the pictures, we can easily find that their walls are all white and clean, and most of them are mainly white+brown+gray+a little black+a little color.

If you have to put some bright colors such as rose and sapphire blue when shooting, no matter how you retouch the picture, it won't help if you don't match it well. What I share with you here is a very general and easy-to-operate retouching method.

Below I have extracted some color blocks that look good together, which will look more intuitive:

Low saturation green+low saturation yellow (gold)+large area achromatic color = Nordic style picture.

Contrast color matching with low saturation

Adjacent color matching with low saturation, brown+gray = generally infallible color matching.

The combination of cool colors with low saturation and warm colors with low saturation can also create a comfortable Nordic tone.

I have mentioned the word low saturation many times here, which shows that this is also our tendency to mix colors. Mo Landi Mo Landi color system, which has always been very popular, is actually a special color scheme of advanced gray.

mix colours in proper proportions

Here I share how I usually mix colors and what are the necessary steps.

Step 1: Exposure

The so-called exposure, in fact, is simply whether the picture is bright or not, and the degree of brightness is abnormal. If it is too bright, it will be dazzling, and if it is too dark, it will be unclear and dirty.

Then your first step in retouching should be to adjust the exposure, that is, the brightness. If this step is done well, the photo will be more than half successful. It's easy to say, but it needs constant adjustment to find the trick. I can't say ok, as long as I shoot well, I will be all lit up, which is also wrong. There is a word in photography: white plus black minus. Generally speaking, if the background is a white wall during the day, try to increase the brightness. If it is night or the background is a dark wall, then don't increase the brightness.

If you want to create a clean and bright environment, you must remember to increase the exposure, because most cameras and mobile phones (without adjusting the exposure) are dark gray. If you want to create an atmosphere, then you can do it according to your feelings.

Here's a tip: whether you shoot with a camera or a mobile phone (camera automatically), you should shoot in a dark place. Don't aim at the darkest place, aim at the brightest place or the place that is neither dark nor bright. Shoot in a very bright place, don't aim at the brightest place. Here you will find that if we shoot the sun in the sun, other places will be particularly dark. If we shoot in a place that is neither dark nor bright, it will look like it to the naked eye.

In VSCO (most retouching software is similar), as long as it is adjusted here, in fact, the filter of the system does not need to be too dependent.

Step 2: Color temperature/white balance

In VSCO, the color temperature is blue on the left and yellow on the right, which is the same operation in computer retouching software.

Some roommates shoot at home, probably mostly in the afternoon, and the indoor environment is yellow, so the walls are yellow and easy to get dirty. At this time, I suggest you pull it to the left until it becomes normal white.

I suggest you pull the picture as much as possible after shooting, because I found that the mobile phone was really yellow when shooting, hahaha.

Step 3: Saturation

This step determines the tonality of your picture ~ if you do this step, it will be very close to the tone of Nordic style.

In fact, the colors of many household products are bright, which may be brighter than they look. At this time, you need to adjust them manually. In particular, some wood products, such as cherry wood or beech wood, are actually a little reddish and look good under normal circumstances. Taking pictures will not only be redder, but also affect the color of the whole environment. At this time, if you lower the saturation a little, you will find that it will be much softer and closer to the old gray-brown color in the Nordic wind.

It is best to control the saturation of a single color in Lightroom. For example, in the picture below, I think the blue-and-white wall looks strange. It is better to reduce the saturation of blue in LR alone.

Whether the white wall is yellow or blue, it is not very good. Try to turn it into white to reduce the saturation of other colors in the picture, which will be closer to the cold wind.

Step 4: Contrast and Tone/Highlight Shading

In the pictures of northern Europe, you will see that everything is quite bright. In fact, it is the highlight and shadow adjustment part here.

I won't explain it here. Simply put, the bright place will drop if it is too bright, and the dark place will rise if it is too dark. This can be done well if you adjust and try a lot.

In commercial shooting, the contrast is mostly enhanced. If you don't think it is necessary to shoot every day, then there is no need to add it. After the contrast is high, the theme will be more prominent and formal. It depends on personal needs.

Step 5: End, Sharpen and Clarity

I still suggest that you sharpen it, and the picture texture will be better. But don't sharpen it too sharply, it will look fake.

Here's another tip: if it's a photo taken by a mobile phone, it's fine to send it directly, but some sumitomo said it would be compressed. The pictures taken by the camera will be more compressed if they are transmitted directly. So it's best to reduce the image before it is released. Many softwares, such as VSCO, PS and Lightroom, can reduce images. I usually reduce it to the width of 1500 pixels, and there is no pressure to publish it to any platform at will.

Let's share some comparisons between my original and modified drawings.

Many guests are asking about this shower curtain. In fact, the original film is really not very good. Hahaha, I can't bear to recommend it to you.

4. Before shooting

The collocation and angle in the early stage are also very important. It's best to be as vertical as possible and find a good angle when shooting. You can also try a variety of angles such as flat shot, oblique shot and back shot.

If the previous angle is wrong, it can be adjusted later.

You can also match some prospects, such as flowers, doors, curtains and so on.

Some well-known INS bloggers will have their own styles, even Nordic styles, which vary widely. I hope everyone can find the music they are most satisfied with, and then go all the way to black ~

Writing is the routine of operation, and there are endless possibilities in the routine. Home is about finding yourself, and so is photography.

Ok, that's all for sharing ~ If you have any good retouching methods or shooting skills, please share them with me ~ ~

I hope everyone can get better and better in the beautiful picture of life!

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