Beauty skills and composition of portrait photography

Portrait photography is a very important part of photography, and there are mainly two styles: documentary style and artistic portrait style. Both have their own strengths and complement each other, so it’s impossible to say who is better or worse. There are many opportunities to take portraits in our lives. It is impossible for us to have the keen eyesight to capture a wonderful moment like a master, nor can we have the opportunity to use professional lighting and makeup artists to achieve a professional look for the model we are shooting. effect, so we can only take a middle-of-the-road path. Fortunately, the two have many similarities in skills. The following is an introduction to the beautiful posture techniques and composition of portrait photography. I hope more photography enthusiasts can use it.

1. Beauty skills and composition of portrait photography

The purpose of portrait photography is to take beautiful pictures of people. Therefore, the photographer must achieve the best in the facial shape and temperament of the person being photographed. Take pictures when they are most beautiful, otherwise it will be awkward if you force yourself to take pictures. How to retouch the subject is a test for the photographer. When to capture contrast to show the texture of the skin, and when to use less contrast to cover up skin defects, it requires accumulated experience in observation and thinking to make accurate judgments. . For example, the general concept of using flat light is to make thin people look fatter. The specific method is to use flat light and lower the height of the camera. Although this method can make people look fatter, the nostrils of the characters will be exposed. Come and destroy the beauty. This is the disadvantage of using the traditional combination of lighting and camera positions. The so-called saving one cannot save two. Therefore, now we usually use posture modeling to improve the image of characters.

1. You should pay attention to the skills of "beautiful appearance"

(1) For those with ugly appearance, close-ups and close-up photos should be avoided as much as possible.

(2) For those with fatter faces, veils or other small accessories can be used to cover the face, and the camera position can also be raised.

(3) When shooting with large or small eyes, the angle of the subject should be adjusted. For those with small eyes, the camera should be as close as possible.

(4) "Eye-rolling" shooting: Try to make the subject's eyes face to one side, and capture the moment when the eyes turn, rather than the moment when the eyes widen.

(5) "Cross-eyed" shooting: The photographer should try his best to find a suitable angle so that the subject's eyes do not face the picture at the same time.

(6) For subjects with long necks, the camera position should also be raised to allow the subject to lower their chin.

(7) People with pointed chins should be photographed with a high camera position and the subject lowering his head.

(8) The most difficult thing is to photograph the "upturned nose". The only solution is not to photograph the front.

2. There are usually three commonly used composition modes, also called formulaic mode composition;

(1) Close-up

(2) Seven clones

(3) Whole body

When shooting and framing, the height of the camera should also decrease as the shooting range expands. When taking a bust portrait, the height of the camera should be approximately equal to the height of the subject's nose; when taking a three-part portrait, the camera should be at approximately the height of the subject's chest; when taking a full-length photo, the camera should be at the height of the subject's chest. waist. The so-called composition means arranging various shooting elements within a specific scene to achieve the effect of expressing the object of appeal. Nowadays, the popular portrait photography techniques usually use the following methods in composition and framing to express the theme. Please write them down for reference and correction.

(1) Use the difference in depth of field before and after to highlight the subject character.

(2) Use size comparison to make the subject larger and the foil smaller.

(3) Use color contrast to emphasize the subject.

(4) By using the method of keeping the subject stationary and accompanying the movement, the stability of the main composition will be relatively strong.

2. STEVEN teaches you tips on post-production.

Many people ask me whether my pictures have been post-processed. I think there is no doubt about it. Proper post-processing plays a decisive role in the atmosphere you want to express. Therefore, post-production is an essential link and element. My pictures are not heavily artificially processed, but focus on the control and application of color and tone. If the color and tone are properly controlled and used, the whole set of pictures will be even more powerful and vibrant.

Although many people know the incomparable power of post-production, they have no way of knowing what kind of atmosphere they want to embellish and render their pictures into. We should not do post-production for the sake of post-production. Just like pre-production, you have to understand this. What kind of emotions and atmosphere can be rendered in post-processing? Instead of simply making the pictures uniform and making them feel good, then think of them as satisfactory post-processing. We can't rely too much on post-processing and take some things that were originally useless films. To process and recreate it, I think the meaning of photography itself will be lost.

There are many "PS actions" made by others circulating on the Internet for netizens to download, although these convenient "PS actions" are very trouble-free and worry-free.

You can get a variety of effects with just a click of the mouse, but I don't recommend using other people's "research results" directly, because the shooting parameters of each picture are different (such as the environment, exposure, etc. ), the effect is completely different, and then you will be confused, why is the effect I got like this? Therefore, we still obediently learn hard skills seriously. In fact, we should not imagine post-production as something so complicated, unattainable, and out of reach. Sometimes, just one or two steps will get the desired effect. The key is that we don't be lazy.

Before starting production, you must first understand what kind of rendering can express the desired atmosphere and effect? After clarifying the central idea, we have a direction and will not mess around. Of course, we can try different effects, as long as they are consistent with or close to the atmosphere to be rendered, it is correct, conscious post-production, rather than unconscious "mass production".