Kneel for children's photography skills

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Types of lamps

Forward light and side light: these are two basic lights in portrait photography; Divergent light means that the light source illuminates the part of the face facing the camera, and side light means that the light source illuminates the part of the eyelid facing the camera.

Shun light is used less than side light because it flattens the facial contour and does not emphasize the facial structure; Side light can emphasize the contour of the face, and can selectively narrow or widen the face with light. When using weak auxiliary light, the side light will create a bright light and shadow effect, with bright highlights and heavy shadows.

Basic lighting mode: Although there are five fixed lighting modes in traditional portrait photography (Paramount, Ring, Rembrandt, Splint and ID), it is difficult to use them in children's photography because they all advocate Ming Rui and soft light. When you use a large scattering light source (this light source is usually a common type of Wang Guang in children's photography), the effect of these light distribution modes is not obvious, because the edge of the shadow looks too soft.

Remember this important lighting principle: the main light must be brighter than the auxiliary light. Auxiliary light is very useful in reducing the shadows that are not illuminated, but more importantly, the main light. The main light is often placed on one side in front of the child and produces a shadow on the other side of the child's face; Raising or lowering the main light and moving it to one side of the main body will produce different effects. The main light only illuminates the highlights of the face.

When using a scattering light source, like the giant soft box Stacy Bratton used in these two photos, you can see the difference between smooth light and side light by turning your head. In these two examples, the baby wearing a funny crochet hat has more shadows on his face, so it is sidelight; The picture of an older girl's face is completely turned over, and the highlights are more prominent and smooth. If Stacy lets her subject face the camera slightly, it will become sidelight.

Feather lighting effect

Feather light effect refers to the use of the edge part of the light source, rather than the light highlighted in the center. If the light source is aimed directly at the subject, the modeling light of the flash may mislead you into thinking that the light is evenly distributed, but in fact, you will find that the central area is actually very bright, forming a divergent highlight area. Feathering light effect can help you balance the light shining on the subject, so that you can use the light at the edge of the light source instead of the highlight in the center. This can be achieved by hitting the light far, wide or high, but don't hit the main body directly, because then you will use the edge light. Care must be taken to prevent the light quantity of the light source from decreasing. It is very useful to hold a flashing exposure meter at this time. Remember to use the exposure meter to confirm the light and take some photos.

David Michael Bentley placed a single scattered light source very close to his young subject, so that the light could wrap his backlit face without using auxiliary light. In the reflected light, you can see the shape of the light source, including multiple flash heads. You can also see that the photographer used feathering light at the edge of the light source, so that the light source unfolded like a feather. Bentley is a master of using light, and he studied under many famous portrait photographers.

Light skills in children's photography

There are several important points to keep in mind about the position of the main light: when the position of the light source is higher than or approximately parallel to the position of the subject's nose, the light source should be close to the head, and the shadow will fall on some parts of the nose, chin and eye socket; Eyelashes even cast a faint shadow on the eyes, which requires some auxiliary light to illuminate these shadows and make the eyes glow again.

When you lower the light source and open it, your face is obviously "changed" and more shadows can be clearly seen on the other side of your face. Most people like photographers follow a general rule: place the main light at the camera/subject angle of about 30 to 45, and the height is moderate.

Vision: Vision is a tiny (pure white) reflection of iris reflection of eyes, which makes eyes look vivid; Without the light of eyes, the subject looks blank and dull. The eye light you shoot will be the same as the main light you use-if you use a soft box, the eye light will be square; If a grid lamp is used, the eye lamp will be long or rectangular, and so on. If you add light to your eyes with a second lamp or reflector, they will all be reflected into your eyes, and this "second eye" can be treated more naturally after shooting.

Suitable light ratio for children: You will often see that almost all children use a light ratio of 2: 1 to 3.5: 1 in photography.

The light ratio of 2: 1 will be the lowest light ratio you use. It will make the face the least stereoscopic. The light ratio of 2: 1 means that the main light source and the auxiliary light source have the same brightness (when the unit amount of light generated by the main light source shines on the highlight part of the face, the unit amount of light generated by the auxiliary light source also falls on the shadow part of the face. And the bright spot-1+ 1 = 2: 1).

This is the masterpiece of three sisters shot by Brain Shindle. It uses a large soft box on the left side of the camera, a large white reflector on the right side of the camera, and a light with only scattered light on it. Brain moves the position of the second group of lights that make up the eye light, making the square eye light round and giving the picture a traditional and classic feeling.

When the brightness of the main light is one step higher than that of the auxiliary light, the light ratio is 3: 1 (one unit of light generated by the auxiliary light illuminates both sides of the face, and two units of light generated by the main light fall on the highlights of the face -2+ 1 = 3: 1). This light ratio is very popular in color and black-and-white photography, because it can create a detailed exposure combination in highlights and dark parts, and show a good three-dimensional sense of the face, which is an ideal light ratio combination for depicting most people's faces.

A strong light ratio will create a strong drama, but it may not be suitable for children. This light ratio called "compensation" is rarely used in children's photography. The ratio of splint light to 4: 1 can significantly "lengthen" the face of an adult with a full moon, but for children, a chubby face is only a portrayal of a happy life-making them look so innocent.

Some recommended configurations

Big soft box: Super light source (probably bigger than many children) is a popular choice for children's photography. Photographer Brian Shindle used a 4X6-foot soft box and a 2X4-foot auxiliary soft box to bathe his little guests in soft light. Stacy Bratton also likes to use large light sources (mainly 72 X 54 inch embedded soft boxes with shading cloth in the middle). She makes the lower side of the soft light box parallel to the ground and shines directly on the subject, thus creating a square eye light, which is her signature light. When they are used on the floor, these large and soft boxes look like light coming from windows or doorways. When they are used in the right place, they are a wonderful dream.

Soft box with silver reflector: Another popular light source configuration in children's ID photo modeling is soft box with silver reflector. This light is parallel to the face from the front, but because it will be shot from a slightly lateral angle, this light is actually suitable for the skin. After the light is softened, the halo range can also be used. The silver reflector is placed at the lower part between the camera and the subject, and adjusted to reflect the supplementary light to the greatest extent (note: it is very important to add a hood when using this light source, because the light scattered by the soft box may enter the lens; Of course, you can make the halo of the light source project on the background without a lens, but it is more difficult to reflect the light with a reflector. )

Here, Stacy Bratton uses her special giant soft box on one side, but does not use auxiliary light;

The light ratio of 3.5: 1 creates a dramatic lighting effect-she also uses a small background light to slightly illuminate the background cloth of painting.

Fran Resener's Studio:

In the past, Fran R Eisner's indoor studio was the epitome of some defects in many studios in the past. Her other studio, like a garage, has a low ceiling and the length and width of the room are not enough. Moreover, Fran also likes to take portraits of children with long lenses, so adequate room length is essential.

Her current studio is about 32X20 feet long and 32x 20 feet wide, which is enough for her to take a full-length portrait with a long lens. Her 10 foot ceiling has a set of light guide rails, which avoids the confusion when the lamps move and greatly enhances the operability.

This studio also has a double glass door and three large windows, which can provide amazing natural light. Because the room faces south, Fran also designed an 8-foot (about 2.4 meters deep) hall to eliminate direct light. When there is direct light in summer morning, she scatters it with soft light. She said, "I either play with it or simply control it with a soft light cloth."

Fran Resener built her residence outside Dallas, and at the same time, she also built an independent studio. The design of the studio allows her to use the unique window light softened by tulle curtains and double glass doors. Her lamp is installed on the track on the ceiling, but usually she only uses the soft box with white reflector on the lamp holder as supplementary light, and the surrounding effect of window light is quite obvious.