How can I take a good photo?

A camera (DC) is no longer a rarity. Nowadays, digital photography puts forward new requirements for people on the basis of the original shooting skills. Many primary users report that the photos taken by digital cameras are dim, lack of vitality, more noise, scene depth (especially in macro mode) and color cast. But photography is a bridge between soul and light, so it is not easy to master the traditional shooting skills. Let me briefly talk about the problems that digital cameras must pay attention to in shooting, and also talk about some matters before and after shooting.

1, browse instructions

Many users don't like heavy and complicated product manuals, and generally like to explore for themselves after buying digital cameras. Of course, there will be some surprises in the process of groping, but it takes a lot of time, and you can't systematically understand the characteristics of your product in the shortest time; If you read the instructions before the operation, you can also avoid some wrong operations. Therefore, when you first come into contact with new products, you should first briefly browse the instructions compiled by the manufacturers for everyone and get familiar with the basic menus and functions of digital cameras. If you don't know anything in the future, you can also look through it and you will get something.

2. Reasonable choice of image format

We all know that the quality of digital photos is related to the pixel (resolution). The higher the pixel, the better the image quality. According to the actual situation, a 2-megapixel digital camera has the same digital image capturing ability as a 1200 dpi scanner, while a 6-megapixel digital camera can be regarded as at the same level as a 2400 dpi scanner. If only the general platform scanner is used to digitize the photos, the digital camera can easily surpass the 35 mm camera as long as it costs 2 million to 300 million Vientiane. But if the output is 4 "X6", which is about the size of A6, 200-300 Vientiane elements can meet the needs of ordinary people. But if it is only used for the 72 dpi display screen of the computer, the requirements are even lower. The resolution is 1024X768, only about 800,000 pixels. Any 2 million-level DC can be easily handled. Because the storage space of digital cameras is limited, the resolution should be selected reasonably according to local conditions, such as: PC only,1280x960; Generally used in my Sony DSC-S75；; For printing,1600x1200 is generally used; Of course, use 2048X 1536 when taking photos of life. In the case of low requirements, the compression STANDARD also adopts standard, which saves half more pictures than FINE's compression standard!

3. Writing and thinking

For users who have a certain understanding of photography, everyone knows the importance of accurate composition. For example, if you don't take a close-up, you should generally put the subject at 1/3 of the picture, and try to avoid the messy background and shoot from a special perspective to capture the details and personality of the object as much as possible. Using some diagonal or arc background composition will make the whole picture look more vivid.

In addition, we should be good at observing with two-dimensional eyes. Because photography has only two-dimensional space, it expresses the sense of space through perspective (that is, taking the modeling effect of light and shadow as the reference object), which is different from three-dimensional human eyes observing things from two different angles. However, most of the current digital cameras are direct-view LCD viewing screens, and the field of view ratio is above 90%, and some are close to 100%, such as S75 and 99%. We can directly observe whether the sense of space and distance is enough and make adjustments in time. However, the LCD resolution of general digital cameras is relatively low, and the definition is generally unsatisfactory, but the pen is still satisfied with S75. But you can't be superstitious, because in practice, it is found that the exposure in LCD is slightly overexposed, and the exposure measurement in computer display is just right. This is also the reason why the photos taken by some users are always dim. Moreover, the power consumption of LCD has always been a headache for color friends, so many color friends are still used to using optical viewfinder when shooting. Considering that the field of view of optical viewfinder is only 80%-90%, remember to be off-axis when shooting close-ups! Of course, if you want to make a spectacular picture, you have to close one eye, build a "picture frame" with your thumb and forefinger, and imagine the scene in front of you as a picture printed on a book or hung on a wall. ...

In a word, the camera is the end of shooting, and the front process is the key.

4. Don't be superstitious about DC automatic mode.

First of all, another biggest difference with traditional cameras is that DC has a white balance. This is somewhat similar to the color temperature in traditional photography, and it is precisely because novices do not pay attention to this white balance that color cast will occur. DC generally provides four modes: automatic mode, indoor mode, outdoor mode and manual mode. Novices trust AUTO, but the photos they take tend to be biased towards a certain color, as long as we pay close attention to the LCD viewfinder. When we have just photographed an object, the object is generally biased towards a certain color. If it is blue, the white balance of DC will automatically be biased towards blue, and it will naturally be biased towards blue when shooting other objects. Although this will be reflected on the LCD, beginners generally don't notice it. At the same time, some modes are not perfect, for example, Sony's DC has "blue syndrome" in indoor mode, so we'd better try to use manual white balance. And pay close attention to the color change of LCD. As soon as it is found that white is not white, it is necessary to re-light the white object and correct the white balance. In addition, some digital cameras also have automatic closed white balance function to record accurate color information.

Secondly, the control of aperture and shutter. It is recommended to use the manual mode if there is one, because the photos taken in the automatic mode are usually dim, especially in the window, with a lot of noise. Because when shooting indoors, DC will automatically increase the ISO value. For example, Sony DSC-F505V generally reaches about 282 indoors, and the sensitivity is inversely proportional to the image quality, that is, the higher the equivalent sensitivity, the worse the image quality. This is similar to the characteristics of traditional photosensitive materials, but more obvious in digital cameras. Because in traditional photography, we change the sensitivity when shooting by choosing films with different sensitivities or by "speeding up and increasing sensitivity", but digital cameras can't do this. The response speed of CCD can only be improved by improving the sensitivity of CCD and the gain of circuit, that is, at the expense of filtering performance and resolution index. This will cause signal noise problems, and eventually leave traces on the screen, much like the coarse particles of traditional high-sensitivity film. Therefore, when shooting with a digital camera, if you want to get good imaging quality, you should choose the equivalent sensitivity as low as possible, or directly fix it at the lowest.

Thirdly, DC has macro mode, and the wide angle of digital cameras is generally larger, reaching about F2.0. In automatic mode, camera programs also tend to use a larger aperture to shorten the shutter time and prevent vibration. But the common sense of photography tells us that the maximum aperture of a camera lens is generally about two steps to take the best photos. Especially in macro mode, such as Sony DSC-S75, when shooting some mobile phone buttons, only the middle part is clear and delicate, and the periphery is slightly blurred. So we'd better use aperture priority or full manual mode, and use a smaller aperture to expand the depth of field. If the camera doesn't have the aperture priority function, you can try to improve the brightness of the environment, let the camera automatically choose a smaller aperture or use a flash, and the image quality can also be improved.

5. Use the light correctly and talk to the light.

Light is the soul of photography. Therefore, we should pay attention to the change of light, not only the intensity of light, but also the direction of light, and talk to light with your heart. Such as: the sunset dyed the sunset glow red, symbolizing romance; The dark sky shows a cold gray tone, symbolizing melancholy; A beam of sunlight moved away from the shade, reflecting joy and pleasure.

Distinguish the intensity of light

Hard dimming is usually emitted by a single light source, such as the sun, a spotlight, a flash or a single light bulb. In this light, the contrast of the subject is great, and the details and texture are outstanding. You can use this light to get the documentary effect.

On the contrary, diffuse light produces soft light. Indoor indirect lighting, outdoor shading and cloudy days all belong to this situation. It is ideal to shoot portraits and quiet outdoor scenery in this light condition.

Pay attention to the angle of light

With the different light angles, the texture of the object will be strengthened or weakened, and the shape of the object will be highlighted or faded. Whether the tone of the photo is happy or melancholy will also vary according to the angle of light use. The light projected from above or behind the camera (usually called frontal light) will reduce the layering of the subject, because frontal light is not conducive to creating highlights and shadows. A better choice is to make the light source lean to one side, and the side light with an angle of about 45 degrees with the subject can well show the shape and details of the subject.

When the light comes from behind the subject and is facing the camera, it will produce backlight. This object is very dramatic in the backlight. When shooting a portrait, the backlight will produce beautiful silhouette light at the edge of the hair. Backlight with large contrast can produce silhouette effect.

Photography skills of digital camera

In traditional photography, a color temperature problem that can't be ignored and difficult to master no longer exists in digital cameras, because digital cameras can be adjusted by white balance without considering the color temperature relationship between light source and negative film. This is another advantage of digital cameras. Compared with traditional photosensitive materials, especially new dye-based photosensitive materials, digital cameras have no advantage in exposure latitude index, so accurate exposure during shooting is still the basic principle for digital cameras to obtain good image quality. In practical use, we find that digital cameras have higher requirements for light, and indoor shooting is particularly important. Therefore, when we shoot indoors, we try to use the flash when we can't illuminate outdoors.

6. Several misunderstandings

Accustomed to using ultraviolet filters

For traditional photographers, UV mirror is one of the necessities. However, because the photosensitive range of DC shifts to the long wavelength end, it is sensitive to red light and infrared light, but insensitive to blue-violet light (especially ultraviolet light). Therefore, adding a UV mirror to a digital camera will not get the expected beneficial effect, and a UV mirror with poor optical performance will also have a negative impact on imaging. So just, ultraviolet light is unnecessary.

Tripod is a thing of the past.

Don't think that there is no place for a digital camera except for professional photographers or enthusiastic photographers. Because if we want to shoot a clear image, we must hold the camera firmly, even the slightest jitter will cause the image to blur, and we are often helpless about this result, and we can't eliminate this influence through post-production.

Of course, ordinary film cameras also have this problem. However, due to the low sensitivity of digital camera, it needs a series of circuit processing, so there is the problem of shutter delay. For example, the shutter delay of S75 is nearly 0. 1S, which requires a longer exposure time than a film camera with fast film, especially when the light is weak. In order to stabilize the camera, try to hold the elbow when shooting, put it on the forehead, the most stable part of the person, and gently press the shutter. But the best way is to install the camera on a tripod, or put it on a table, counter or other fixed objects. Especially when shooting close-up or macro photography, using tripod will get better shooting effect.

Ignore post-processing

Only a few digital images taken with digital cameras look perfect, and in fact, so do ordinary film cameras. Of course, the advantage of digital image is that it can be post-processed, but some people will think that it has lost the true meaning of "fidelity". In fact, on the basis of photographic creation, through creative ideas, various digital technologies are used to optimize or combine photographic materials, thus turning ordinary things into magical re-created works of art.

As long as the image editing tools, such as PHOTOSHOP, are properly used, those photos that are not outstanding can become quite standard. It can brighten the underexposed image, correct the color balance, cut out the distracting background, cover up some small defects (such as hot spots caused by reflected light), and even combine multiple photos or images (see figure). Being able to edit photos is one of the main advantages of digital camera shooting.

7. Knowledge embodies value in application-application lies in practice.

It is not necessarily "multi-functional", but "multi-functional" is necessary, and digital photography is no exception. So, take as many photos as possible under different lighting conditions. When shooting, pay attention to the camera settings and lighting conditions used in shooting, and then study the results to see which setting is the best under what conditions. Professional photographers always shoot the same image many times when taking pictures, and we have to do this every time we change the settings such as shooting angle or exposure time. Most digital cameras have LCD screens, and you can easily observe and delete images you don't like by using it, so you don't have to worry about insufficient storage caused by "over-shooting", just take various exposed images at will, so at least you will get a good photo in the end.