Shooting skills in small studios

The first article: small studio shooting skills 1, front light

Direct light at a horizontal angle makes the shadow position of the five senses inconspicuous. If the light angle is adjusted upward, shadows will appear on the chin, nose and other parts. Both of them are "front light" lighting methods, and everyone can decide the lighting position according to their needs. Shooting skills in small studios

Small studio photography skills 2, top light

Many friends may have the impression that the light is placed in front of the figure, slightly sideways or backlit at the back. In fact, there is another way to "top the light". If you use this kind of polishing, the top of your head, nose and forehead are bright enough, but the eyes, cheeks and other parts are dark, highlighting the mystery.

Small studio photography skills 3, bottom light

Try to light the model from the bottom, and everyone should be able to predict the effect, so that the face and facial features are clear, but the position of the top of the head becomes dark. It feels a bit ferocious to look at it this way, but if you want to shoot a sense of terror on Halloween, you might as well give it a try.

Small studio photography skills 4, 45-degree angle light

In this way, because the portrait is not taken from the front, more shadows can be displayed while taking the face, such as the nose on the right face, forming a slight contrast between the two faces. At the other end of the light receiving surface, there is an inverted triangular bright area, that is, Rembrandt lighting (also known as triangular light and Rembrandt light).

Small studio photography skills 5, sidelight

Moving the light continuously from the horizontal angle, we can see the changes of the light and shadow details of the portrait face. Try to illuminate the model from the side to highlight the strong contrast between the bright position on one side and the dark position on the other side, showing a different effect from the front 45 degrees.

Chapter two: The shooting skills of the studio and the rational use of props.

I've seen photos of dishes or bowls of food in many food blogs, but nothing else. This kind of photo is a souvenir photo of delicious food for me. There is no story without props around food. I know it takes time to practice. Studio shooting skills

But if you start with something very simple, props can magically optimize your photos. Please note that the props in the picture below are secondary, which means that the first thing you see is spaghetti. All the props are low-key and won't distract attention.

The protagonist of the photo is still food, but the props will give people who look at the photo a visual supplement. There is a delicate balance between "just right" and "too much" props. If you find this balance, you won't let the people who look at the photos leave the food.

Shoot a vertical film

Many people take pictures horizontally. I know that's because horizontal photos are easier to control. When shooting a vertical film, the setting options will deviate. If you use a tripod, you must always tilt your head to adjust the settings. You can bear it!

Vertical film can ensure the proper depth of field before and after. If you have a blog, you can also put a big vertical photo in it. Taking a vertical film can leave room for the photo, add a title and so on.

Cut off the plate

Many novices are afraid to cut vegetables. The following two photos, one is a complete plate, and the other is cut in half. Of course, cutting or not depends on how we use these photos. Sometimes you may have to use two forms of photos.

Try to cut it first and see which one you like. It's no problem to cut off the plate. Remember, you are not selling plates, so let more food appear in front of the camera!

Don't use the flash.

You may have heard of it before, but I want to emphasize it here. . After all, this is digital photography, and turning on the flash will make the food ugly. There will be many reflections in the wet part of the food, which will not only help the picture, but will make the refreshing food look oily.

The use of flash can also cause strange and ugly shadows on food or plates. The flash is too strong and food looks best in soft light. Compare the two photos below. The photo on the right was taken under soft natural light.

Shoot with a long focal length

Everyone wants to know what is the best lens focal length for shooting delicious food. My 35mm digital SLR (Quan Huafu) always uses 100mm? Macro lens. I use it 90% of the time. This kind of lens can ensure a good depth of field.

Depth of field is controlled by aperture.

The aperture size determines how much light enters the camera and also controls the depth of field of the picture. The following picture shows the commonly used aperture of the lens. Some shots don't have f/ 1.4? That big aperture. It seems that the more expensive the lens, the larger the aperture. For example, the high-end 50mm lens is equipped with an aperture of f/ 1.2, but it is expensive.

At the beginning of learning, the use of aperture was very confusing. In fact, the smaller the f value, the larger the aperture. What I often say in class is that the smaller the f value, the smaller the depth of field; The greater the value of f, the greater the depth of field.

Don't decorate with exaggerated patterns.

The key point of taking food is to create a picture, naturally catch the audience's attention and directly see the beauty of your food. As I said above, all props are supporting roles in the story you want to tell.

If the pattern on the plate is too exaggerated, your audience will see the plate first, and then the food, but the protagonist of your story is not the plate but the food. You may like the pattern on the plate very much, but that's not the point of your photo. Below is a photo of the food before putting the props. You can feel the effect of shooting with different plates.

The same rules apply to tablecloths and fabrics. We never use exaggerated patterns on the plane taking pictures. "We" refers to me and stylists and props. We will work together to serve our customers.

A conspicuous tablecloth will compete with food for attention, which is human visual instinct. Our eyes are easily distracted. You only have a few seconds to convey your views to the audience. Don't lose more than you gain because of exaggerated tricks.

Use a tripod

Well, speaking of which, I heard your booing. I just said you can't take pictures with a flash. The second trick is to use a tripod. I will try to use a tripod in my usual shooting. Give it a try! The tripod will completely free your hands and let you shape dishes at will.

As a commercial food photographer, I usually shoot in a controlled environment, such as a photo studio, so this move is more suitable for photographers in a similar situation to me.

Make your food look fresh.

If the food contains oil or fat, such as meat and poultry, use vegetable oil. If you want the salad to look moist, you can spray water directly.