Tone processing techniques for portrait photography

Introduction: Tone is a concept that exists in traditional photography. Photos with dark and black colors occupying a large area in the picture are called low-key photos, while photos with white and light colors occupying a large area in the picture are called low-key photos. Just high-profile photos. Let’s talk about the tone processing techniques for portrait photography.

High-profile

In portrait photography, high-profile techniques are often used to express female characters. The secret to creating high-profile portrait photos is to choose a white or bright background and use exposure techniques at the same time. Make the characters submerged in the bright background, and the model is best dressed in white or bright-colored clothing, consistent with the main tone of the picture.

High-profile portrait photos give people an elegant and pure visual experience, and are often used to express the sanctity and purity of women.

High-key photos have low contrast. Except for the hair of the characters, there are few dark elements in the picture. In terms of exposure techniques, you can use exposure compensation to increase the exposure appropriately to make the tones of the photos more favorable. obvious.

When creating high-profile portrait photos outdoors, you can use backlighting to easily create a bright background, and use reflectors to fill in the face of the character. At this time, the model's hair is often illuminated by the light. Creates a beautiful glow. It should be noted that digital cameras have limited ability to record bright details, and exposure control must be as precise as possible.

To create high-profile portrait photos in the studio, you need to choose a white background cloth, and use the matching of clothing and lighting design to create a high-profile atmosphere for the picture. You can set up auxiliary lights to further brighten the background, and use it during exposure. Use the normal exposure of the model's skin as the benchmark, increase the exposure by one stop or half a stop, and then adjust the intensity and position of the light according to the shooting effect to obtain the best shooting effect.

Low-key

A low-key picture is a picture tone formed by contrasting a large area of ??dark tones with a small area of ??bright tones. It is a type of picture that uses a dark background to set off a bright subject. artistic expression.

Low-key expression techniques correspond to high-profile. In portrait photography, low-key expression techniques make it easier to highlight the characters in the picture. The characters are often in the bright areas of the entire picture, and the visual effect is more prominent in the low-key picture. The visual meaning is more profound, melancholic and intense in emotional color than high-profile. It can well focus the viewer's attention on the characters in the picture. In low-key portrait photos, dark tones account for most of the picture, and a small amount of bright areas are often the person's skin color and clothing.

Under natural light conditions, by taking advantage of the strong contrast between characters and background, and with the limited tolerance of the camera and accurate exposure of the characters, it is often possible to darken the background in shadow and create a low-key atmosphere.

When metering, it is advisable to use spot metering mode for low-key portrait photography to meter the person’s face.

In studio photography, low-key creation is mainly achieved through the setting and lighting of the background. In order to create a low-key picture effect, the main light illuminating the characters often chooses hard light instead of soft light. At the same time, exposure and lighting are used to create a low-key effect. Light control darkens the background.

Low-key portrait photos have high contrast, and the model’s face and body are often exposed to uneven light. It is necessary to control the light carefully to avoid deviations in the angle and location of the person’s exposure, otherwise it will affect the overall effect of the photo. .