The scenery is always overexposed. How to control it?

Light is the life of photography. Without light, there can be no photography. Photography is the art of light and shadow. As we all know, the scenery in the landscape, like other things, can only produce light and shade levels, lines and tones if it is illuminated by lines. Taking pictures of scenery, we mainly use ether sunlight as light source. Sunlight is varied. When they shine on the scenery, they can produce various effects. It is sometimes strong and sometimes weak, and it will change with different seasons and climates, and the scenery will be affected differently because of its different changes. Therefore, when shooting a scene, we must first understand the source of each kind of light and the influence of light intensity, so as to make good use of it and fully show the light effect of the scene. The success of scenery photos is closely related to the proper use of light. Therefore, it is a key problem to be familiar with all the changes of light in the scene.

1, the influence of frontal light on the scenery

Shooting a scene with positive light can make the scene clear and have a bright and vivid atmosphere. However, when the front light shines on the scene, it is necessary to divide the light and shade, which often confuses the tone of the main body and background of the scene and lacks the three-dimensional sense of the scene.

2. The influence of sidelight on scenery

When shooting a scene with sidelight, because the light shines obliquely on the scene, the scene will naturally produce shadows, showing alternating lines of light and dark, making the scene three-dimensional. When the scene is stereoscopic, the colors of the stereoscopic background are not easily confused with each other. However, when shooting a sidelight scene, we should pay attention to the depth of the dark color height and determine the bright time with the dark part. However, it is best to use neutral gray as photometric tone to fully show the level of the dark part of the scene and enrich the picture level. Side light is the light that can best express levels and lines among several basic lights, and it is also the most suitable light for taking landscape photos.

3. The influence of backlight on scenery

Backlight illuminates the scene, and the part of the scene illuminated by light will produce a bright outline, so that there is an obvious light boundary between objects, and the subject and background will not be mixed into dark black tones. Because the outline caused by backlight is bright, the subject and background are completely separated, which is the uniqueness of backlight.

Backlight comes from the back of the scene, and the object we shoot must be a dark part without direct light, so it is not easy to show the light and dark levels and lines of the scene. But the backlight shines on the back of all objects, and if the distance between objects is not too far, it has the function of reflecting light from each other. When shooting a backlit scene, the sharp outline and the illumination in front of the lens often affect the photographer's field of vision, which easily leads to underexposure. Therefore, the exposure time must be determined by the dark part of the scene or neutral gray, in order to fully display the level of the scene. In addition, all objects on the ground, water surface and back under the background light will naturally have strong white reflection. In order to avoid too much contrast between this part and other objects, it is more appropriate to shoot with soft light.

4. The influence of highlights on the landscape

This is a bright spot when the sun rises in the sky and shines vertically on the earth. Highlight is the strongest time of the day, so strong light will make the shadows darker. At the same time, the highlight is the light that shines vertically from high altitude, and it can't express the texture of the object except the dark layers from top to bottom. This kind of light is not an ideal light source for shooting scenery, so it should be avoided as much as possible when shooting scenery without necessity.

5. The influence of scattered light, weak light and reflection on the scene.

In addition to the four basic light types mentioned above, such as front light, side light, back light and high light, sometimes we have to shoot scenes under scattered light. Scattered light is not as direct as sunlight. When shooting in this light, all the objects to be photographed must have no light-dark boundary and cannot produce shadows. Therefore, we don't use light to change the theme depth and background tone of the scene. Shooting a scene under scattered light can only show a dull object image and a gloomy atmosphere, and cannot produce the beauty of light and shade levels and lines on the scene. Therefore, sometimes it is necessary to shoot a scene and encounter scattered light weather, so only by narrowing the scope of the scene as much as possible and shooting a close-up middle scene or local scene can we get a slightly clear effect. The bigger the scene, the darker the atmosphere; The smaller the scene, the smaller the gray tone. When the sun has just risen or is about to set, it is the softest weak light in a day. Because the light directly illuminates the scene from a low angle, it can also obtain the effects of front light, side light or backlight in different aspects. Therefore, taking landscape photos in low light can not only obtain extremely soft effects, but also be rich in changes. The weak light belongs to the red component of the spectrum, and its colors are yellow and orange, which will have a certain impact on the original color of the scene. Therefore, when shooting a scene in weak light, we should first pay attention to the influence of light on the tone of the scene, and then decide whether it is suitable to shoot with a color filter, so that the weak light of color will not affect the original tone of the scene.

Reflected light is indirect light, which is softer than direct low light, but it can only reflect the dark part of the object in the scene. Because of the limited reflection range, it does not play much role (polarization) except assisting the performance of the dark part of the object itself. Light has a direct influence on the level, line, tone and atmosphere of the scene. Whether the scene can be well represented in the photo depends on the use of light. Therefore, we must understand the influence of each kind of light on the scenery in order to obtain the ideal effect. Only by observing the natural change and influence of this light in the scene regularly can we understand the light effect.

You can shoot the same scenery and others can shoot it. The effect is different, and some of them are hard to impress. To a large extent, it is because the light in the scenery film is not well mastered. Therefore, it is particularly important to understand the characteristics of light in landscape photography and use it correctly.

1. Characteristics of natural light

Landscape is one of photographers' favorite subjects, and natural light plays an important role in landscape photography. As the day goes on from morning till night, the light will change greatly. Many landscape photographers like to shoot with light around sunrise and at dusk in the morning. This time, not only the change of light and color, but also the golden scene often appears. In landscape photography, if we can make full use of the light effects of light and shade, we can make the works have attractive light and shadow interests, such as shadows and projections produced by low-oblique sunlight on grass, beach, water surface and mountain top, and snow under natural light. The cool backlight and long blue shadows presented by these scenes on the screen can make people take extremely touching photographs.

2. Common natural light and its effects

Although the landscape photos taken along the light are clear, there is little light and shadow, and the color difference is relatively small. The landscape photos taken by this light are generally dull and do not reflect the vitality of the landscape.

The sidelight effect is characterized by distinct layers, which can make the scene three-dimensional and rich in tones. It is widely used to take commemorative photos of people or introduce tourist attractions.

Side backlight and backlight can best express the texture, repetition and profundity of the scene, and at the same time, they can outline a clear outline, make the foreground and background clear, and show the space and atmosphere. Therefore, in addition to sidelight, it is most appropriate to use backlight or sidelight when taking landscape photos.

The most subtle natural light is before sunrise or after sunset. At this moment, the sky presents a light and soft color. Xia Yun, with its rich colors and rapidly changing levels, is the most expressive natural light for landscape photography.

Many photographers like to shoot in sunny weather. They think that sunny weather has good natural lighting conditions and it is easy to take successful photos, but it is not necessarily true. Rainy, foggy and snowy weather is often a rare opportunity to shoot. In rainy or foggy weather, just like before sunrise and after sunset, there is no direct sunlight, and the light is diffuse and uniform. There is no strong contrast in the sun, which is more suitable for expressing the atmosphere and emotional appeal of the environment. If used properly, it will create an atmosphere that is not available in direct sunlight. Some famous teachers' works, which show the scenes of cooking smoke in mountain villages and rural fields, were actually shot under the scattered light of cloudy days.

3. Run out of light in rainy days

The characteristic of rainy days is that the scenery in the rain will reflect the light more strongly because of the reflection and refraction caused by water. When it rains, everything seems to show different colors because of the diffusion of light. The use of this light diffusion will magically reconcile and dilute the colors that often appear too bright when the sun is full, resulting in an elegant picture like ink painting. Take a color photo.

Sometimes, using rain gear with different colors in people's hands and bodies can add color to the rain scene. If we can skillfully use the reflection in stagnant water, it will add more interest.

If you want to shoot the scene of raindrops falling, you must choose a dark background and side backlight or backlight. Because the light is weak in rainy days, the exposure time is often longer.

Escape from the fog

In nature, fog provides us with many beautiful and poetic paintings. Fog scene is characterized by hazy scenery, extremely soft tone and rich layers under the irradiation of natural light, and the light is brighter than nature. It is more effective to shoot the fog scene in the sun by backlight, which can give people a unique sense of space depth. For example, the "rime" that often appears in the north can be better displayed by using side backlight under the illumination of sunrise light.

Magical effect.

It should be noted that the scenery in the fog changes quickly. You should be good at capturing pictures in light movements. Generally speaking, fog usually occurs at night with high humidity. The next day was a sunny morning with a low temperature. At this time, sunlight is often covered by flowing fog, which is changeable and has low visibility. It is not appropriate to make moves at this time, but we should make full preparations in advance. Once the fog flutters and slowly dissipates, it is a good time to shoot the scenery. At this time, the light is changing rapidly, and the artistic conception of the scene is fleeting. Capturing is no less stressful than capturing breaking news.

If you take black and white photos, there is a way to make the fog look like a moonlit night-add an orange or crimson filter. The characteristic is that it can greatly deepen the blue sky, and the normal scenery on sunny days can get the moonlight effect in infrared photography. It is necessary to reduce the exposure when shooting, so that the negative film is underexposed. Generally, the aperture can be reduced by one or two steps.

If you take a color photo, you can deepen the blue filter. At the same time, you can increase the shutter speed by half a step on the basis of normal exposure at medium and long distance. At the same time, for close shots, you can also use the aperture under this exposure combination to simulate the daytime scenery into the atmosphere at night.

5. The waterfall rushes out

Generally speaking, when taking photos of waterfalls, oblique sunlight or backlight should be used to take the most glorious and stereoscopic photos. Especially, it is full of jumping and vitality to shoot the water curtain or splash of waterfalls with high-speed shutter.

Because the light is flat and lacks three-dimensional sense, the lighting effect is relatively dull. Unless absolutely necessary, try to avoid it.

When the sun shines on the waterfall at a 45-degree angle, finding a good shooting angle (usually at a 90-degree angle with the sun) can shoot a unique gorgeous "rainbow" in front of the waterfall, which has unique appeal and effect.

6. Cave photography lamp

In some areas of our country, there are many caves and caves, which are generally illuminated or reflected by natural light at the entrance, forming a deep and mysterious feeling of caves. Photographers can make full use of the natural light of the hole and take very unique and novel photos from the side or right side of the hole.