How to distinguish the tones?

Light and shadow levels with different brightness on the surface of an object,

With hue, the picture is not only flat,

Three-dimensional, textured, textured.

Light is the decisive factor of tone formation,

Different intensities of light will form different picture tones.

Almost all photos depend on the type of tone.

Can be divided into the following three categories.

Exaggerated words

The basic colors of high-profile photos are white and light gray, which may account for 80% or even more than 90% of the picture, giving people a clear, pure and delicate feeling. It is suitable to show quiet fog, snow, clouds and water in landscape photography, and is often used to show women and children in portrait photography to fully convey a clean atmosphere.

When shooting high-profile pictures, we should not only choose light-colored objects, but also pay attention to the use of scattered light and smooth light, so cloudy, cloudy, foggy or snowy days are better shooting weather.

The position and distribution of high tone levels in grayscale images

If you shoot in the studio, you should use soft lighting, which can reduce the shadow of objects with small light ratio and form a high-definition picture.

In order to avoid the pallor of high-profile pictures, a small amount of powerful dark, black or bright colors, such as a small amount of shadows, or eyebrows, eyes, hair and other parts of people in portrait photography, should be properly reserved in the picture.

Schematic diagram of high-profile distribution in the figure

When shooting a large snow scene, due to the increase of exposure compensation, the whole picture becomes brighter, showing a high-profile effect. Focus: 150m aperture: f/5.6 shutter speed: 1/2500s sensitivity: 400.

neutral tone

Intermediate tone picture refers to the picture with normal contrast between light and shade and rich tone levels, from white to black and from bright to dark. Different from high-key and low-key pictures, normal-tone pictures are conducive to expressing color, texture, three-dimensional sense and sense of space, and are most widely used in daily photography, with the most realistic and natural effect.

The Position and Distribution of Intermediate Gradations with Small Contrast in Gray Image

Schematic diagram of middle tone distribution with small contrast in the figure

Shooting the desert outdoors, under the illumination of side light, the picture forms bright or dark lines, which enriches the layering and three-dimensional sense of the picture and creates a bright, natural and simple artistic conception. Focal length: 20mm aperture: f/7. 1 shutter speed: 1/400s sensitivity: 100.

The position and distribution of the middle color scale with large contrast in gray scale image

Schematic diagram of contrast midtone distribution in the figure

Under the sunlight, beige flowers look very bright, which is in sharp contrast with the shadow without light. Focal length: 200mm aperture: f/3.2 shutter speed:1160s sensitivity: 100.

low key

The basic tones of low-key photos are black and dark gray, and their area may reach more than 70% of the picture. The overall picture gives people a dignified, solemn, implicit and mysterious feeling. Low-key photos in landscape photography are mostly taken at sunrise and sunset, while low-key photos in portrait photography are mostly used to show old people and men to emphasize mature temperament.

Position and distribution of low-order tones in gray spectrum

When shooting low-key photos, it is not only required to choose dark objects to avoid large areas of white or light objects in the picture, but also to use light with large light ratio, such as backlight and side backlight. In this light, the subject can be hidden in the dark, and at the same time, the beautiful outline of the subject can be outlined to form a low-key picture.

Schematic diagram of low-key distribution in the figure

When taking low-key photos, we should pay attention to the use of local highlights, such as small lights in night scenes and eye lights in portrait photography. With a small amount of white or light and bright colors, the picture will show some vitality in the overall dark atmosphere, avoiding the gloomy and dull low-key picture.

There is only a little light near the horizon in this painting, and the contrast between light and shade is clear, but it is dark as a whole. With this large-scale low-key picture, the mysterious atmosphere of sunset is more charming. Focus: 24mm aperture: f/4 shutter speed: 1/50s sensitivity: 100.