Street photography skills

Guide: How to take pictures in the street? Next, I bring you the collected articles, welcome to read!

Choose the commanding heights to shoot big scenes.

Choosing commanding heights is conducive to expressing the space and level of buildings and the relationship between buildings and the environment. The scene is very grand. Because the building is motionless, the choice of shooting position has a great influence on the performance of the picture effect. The best way to show a grand scene is to choose a commanding height and shoot from it. You can climb the commanding heights of the whole city, such as the TV tower, or shoot through the windows of tall buildings. This perspective is conducive to expressing the space and level of architecture and the relationship between architecture and environment. Pay attention to the use of small aperture when shooting, and clearly show the architectural details far and near.

Wide-angle lens enters more environment.

Shooting with a wide-angle lens or even a fisheye lens can blend into more environments and easily express the sense of space and extension of the building. Wide-angle lens refers to a lens with a focal length between 24 mm and 35 mm. Shooting with wide-angle lens can completely present the buildings in the field of vision on the screen, and easily show the sense of space and extension of the buildings, which is very suitable for showing the grand momentum of the buildings. In addition, a fisheye lens with a focal length of 16mm or even shorter can be used to produce dramatic effects through exaggerated deformation.

Discover the formal beauty of lines

Using symmetrical composition to arrange beautiful bridges in the foreground not only enhances the line beauty and layering of the picture, but also plays a good role in focusing the audience's attention. Pay attention to observe and explore the rhythm and beauty of lines when shooting buildings. In composition, we should make full use of the formal beauty of lines, enhance the depth of the picture and highlight the theme, so as to improve the artistic appeal of the picture.

Increase visual interest with foreground.

Taking seasonal flowers and trees as the foreground can enrich the visual effect of the picture, render the seasonal atmosphere and effectively set off the theme. When shooting architecture, the best way to avoid being too straightforward is to set off the theme with the foreground. You can walk around the building and bring trees, flowers and sculptures into the foreground. It can not only enrich the visual effect of the picture, but also balance the picture and highlight the main body. For example, taking the flowers and trees in the season as the foreground can render the breath of the season, which is a powerful foil to the theme.

Set up a frame to focus the line of sight.

Build a picture frame with a fence by the roadside, and the arched lines make the picture rich and varied. Observing the building through this "frame" has played a role in concentrating the audience's attention. At the same time, the blurred border also enhances the depth of the picture.

Using the porch to build a picture frame, the strong contrast between light and shade deepens the audience's visual impression of the main building. When shooting a building, the surrounding messy environment will interfere with and distract the audience's sight. If you shoot the building alone, it will be straightforward and monotonous. In addition to introducing the foreground mentioned above, finding a natural picture frame that can eliminate the interference of messy environment can also concentrate the audience's attention. Trees, passages, doors and windows are all commonly used picture frames. Excellent picture frames generally assist the composition of the main body through modeling, color, contrast and natural context.

Show the height of the building with backhand.

With a wide-angle lens and a low-angle backhand, the building seems to go straight into the sky, and the lines that converge upward show a strong sense of space. If you want to show the height and grandeur of the building, shooting from the back is the best choice. Because the shooting point is lower than the shooting object when shooting upward, the camera lens is lifted upward, which often makes the horizon out of the picture. The sky in the background occupies a large area of the picture, exaggerating the subject and making it look majestic. If you shoot with a wide-angle lens, the bottom of the building will widen and the top will narrow because of the viewing angle, giving people a visual effect of going straight into the sky. When shooting in this way, we should pay attention to the clear lines and distinct layers of buildings with small apertures.

Strengthen the outline of the building with silhouette

The light, shadow and color of sunrise and sunset can well render the atmosphere of the picture, and the vivid silhouette makes the picture appear concise and powerful. You can also highlight the outline and lines of the building through silhouette. Choose the sunrise and sunset period, measure the light in the area with uniform brightness in the sky, and then lock the exposure value to re-compose and shoot. The light, shadow and color of sunrise and sunset can well render the picture atmosphere. The sharp outline makes the picture concise and powerful.

Use reflection to increase attraction.

Reflection enables the building to be extended and repeated, bringing changes and hazy beauty to the picture and increasing the appeal of the picture. Whether shooting buildings or landscapes, we should pay special attention to the use of reflection when there are water features around. Reflection can make the building extend and repeat, and expand the expression range of the picture. At the same time, it brings changes and hazy beauty to the picture, adds appeal to the picture and brings visual pleasure.

Describe details with a telephoto lens

The details of the building can bring more intuitive and real feelings to the audience. You can try to present it to the audience in the form of a group of pictures from different angles and different viewing ranges. Every building has its unique beauty of detail, whether it is color, lines or exquisite sculptures, it is a picture worthy of being included in the lens. Therefore, in addition to shooting the overall shape of the building, we should also pay attention to depicting details with telephoto lenses. These details can bring more intuitive and real feelings to the audience. You can try to present it to the audience in the form of a group of pictures from different angles and different viewing ranges.

Shoot in special weather

The buildings in the fog are looming, with rich layers and hazy beauty, which can arouse people's curiosity. In case of "bad" weather such as fog, rain and snow, many people will give up filming and avoid going out. In fact, special photos can often be taken in such weather. Whether it is foggy, stormy or snowy, it will produce a special environmental atmosphere on the screen, giving people a refreshing feeling.

Shooting signs representing regional characteristics

Pay attention to the surrounding environment when shooting street signs. This work uses diagonal communication to enhance the vitality of the picture, and uses extended curves to expand the audience's line of sight. Walking on the streets of the city, as long as you look carefully, you will find that many things are fresh. In particular, signs representing regional characteristics, such as house numbers and street signs. Being integrated with the surrounding environment can play the role of introduction and explanation, and it is also convenient for you to recall and find photos when sorting out photos and travel notes.

Discover the distinctive scenery

A small landscape shows the cultural atmosphere of the ancient style and rhyme of Qintai Road to the fullest. When shooting street scenes, you should be good at discovering unique and distinctive scenery. For example, Qintai Road in Chengdu has dense ancient buildings and a strong cultural atmosphere. When you find this sculpture in Sichuan Opera, you must not miss it. The wide-angle lens is upside down and the background is bright, and the ancient rhyme of the pear garden is immediately presented on the screen.

Looking for formal beauty in street view

Chengdu is a leisurely city. When the comfortable and tidy tables and chairs on the street are brought into the picture with symmetrical composition and extended lines, it quietly presents the living conditions of the old Chengdu people to the audience. Shooting street scenes should also be good at finding formal beauty from lines and colors. Horizontal lines can make the line of sight move up and down, resulting in the effect of opening, stretching and stretching; Slant lines can make people feel that they are expanding or contracting from one end to the other, resulting in a sense of uncertainty and movement; Curves and lines stretch smoothly, making the picture light and active. In photography, color is also an important design element, and strong color can often become the visual center of excellent composition. When shooting street scenes, we should pay attention to artistic skills and means of expression, and combine various elements in the scene to present works with better visual effects for the audience.

Pay attention to the cultural landscape in the street.

Old Chengdu is characterized by leisurely and slow life, and quadrangles represent a traditional leisure culture. Walking in a long alley, there is a yard in the house with trees in it. Cane chairs, old people and a leisurely manner vividly present the life of the old city to the audience. Street view embodies the most popular folk culture of a city, and some old streets represent the epitome of the city's past, a symbol in deep memory. When shooting street scenes, we should also pay attention to the inclusion of characters in the picture, and present the life scenes of the citizens in the old city to the audience one by one, showing a fresh breath of life.

The slow shutter is still moving.

Set the shutter speed to 1/60s ~ 1/30s, aim at the subject and press the shutter half-way, and the lens will move with him. When the subject moves to the preset composition background, press the shutter and continue to move the camera with the subject. As long as there is a moving subject on the screen, you can shoot the effect of combining static and dynamic. Set the shooting mode to shutter priority, and set the shutter speed to 1/30 seconds or even lower. Keep the camera stable and press the shutter button. Under the slow shutter, the moving people and vehicles will naturally be dynamic, showing a crowded and busy atmosphere outside the city. The shutter speed is different, and the degree of motion is also different. You can adjust the shutter speed according to your own performance requirements.

Present a charming blue sky

Taken at 19: 00 and 13: 00. When night falls, shooting with "tungsten lamp" white balance can make the sky appear charming blue. Pay attention to the timing when shooting night scenes. On a sunny day, it is the best time to shoot when it is getting dark. This time is about 15 minutes, and the intoxicating blue often appears in the sky, which complements the lights at night and is like a dream. Use tripod, small aperture and low ISO when shooting, so as to maintain stability and get the best picture quality. More importantly, setting the white balance to tungsten lamp mode can strengthen the blue of the sky and show more charming picture colors.

Show the trajectory of dynamic traffic flow

When shooting with the shutter speed of110 second or even slower, the traffic in the photo naturally becomes a dreamy light track because of the slow shutter speed and fast traffic. The track of traffic flow is a must-see theme of urban night scenes. Under the slow shutter, the tracks drawn by the traffic flow together like running water. It is very important to choose the location where the traffic is filmed. The higher the position, the wider the field of vision and the better the effect. So you can choose to shoot at an overpass or a tall building. It is best to shoot at the intersection with traffic lights. A red light will detain a large number of motor vehicles, and once it is switched to a green light, there will be gorgeous traffic. Set the camera to the shutter priority, shoot at the shutter speed of110 second or even slower, and use tripod, small aperture and low ISO to keep stable shooting. Because the shutter speed is slow and the traffic is fast, the traffic in the photo naturally becomes a fantastic light track. The slower the shutter speed, the longer the trajectory.