Photography skills of venues

The shooting of venues and large-scale events is similar to documentary photography, so the requirements for photographers are higher. It is necessary to be able to skillfully use various functions of the camera, master the flow of venue activities, and memorize the activities of the main participants in the venue in a short time. Here, I would like to share with you some experiences and precautions in shooting at the venue.

I. Equipment preparation:

1. camera: make sure the camera is trouble-free and the shoulder strap is not broken. If possible, bring a spare camera.

2. Batteries: Prepare more than two batteries and bring a charger to avoid work delay due to batteries.

3. Lens: a lens with a focal length of 24-70. There is a simple reason. The wide-angle deformation of this focal segment is not very serious, including the 50-degree length of the best portrait shooting is short. The edge of the wide-angle lens is very deformed, and no one wants his face to be deformed in the photo. It is best not to use it. If possible, it is very convenient to take a real shot of 100-300 at 70-200. If you can walk around the venue or even step onto the podium, you don't have to take this telephoto.

4. Memory card: It is best to bring a spare memory card. Although the storage capacity of the current recording medium can reach 2000 4-megabyte pictures, you still need to take a spare one. This kind of thing is not afraid of 10 thousand, just in case, anyway, this thing is not heavy.

5, tripod: This kind of situation that needs to keep walking generally does not need a tripod, but it is best to bring a monopod, just in case, it does not occupy land anyway. If you need to take a group photo, don't be afraid of trouble.

6. Flash: with an off-board flash and two batteries. Generally, the flash index of the camera itself is small, and it can only flash directly, which has great limitations in use.

7. Tools: lens paper, leather guns, brushes and other cleaning supplies.

8. bag: prepare a camera bag that can put all these things in, so that the bag will not leave. After all, it hurts to lose that thing.

Second, the scene shooting:

1, empty mirror shooting: Don't forget to shoot the empty mirrors in the venue and all areas of the venue after the scene. Including the venue (exposure should be subject to the main body of the venue, such as the stage, etc.). ), the sign-in desk at the gate, banners and hydrogen balloons will also be arranged outside the venue for some large-scale venue activities, as well as special details (venue decoration), such as trophies and awards.

2. Shooting of main characters before the meeting: Before the event, we must communicate with the organizer and the person in charge of the organizer to determine the main points of shooting characters (including the leader of the organizer and the main guests invited, etc.). ), and record the conversation scenes of the main leaders or important guests, including greetings, exchanging business cards, etc., and try to explain the venue and environment in combination with the background furnishings.

3. Shooting during the event:

A. Shooting of leaders' speeches: If conditions permit, try to shoot as close as possible. In this way, banners, projections and other information reflecting the contents of the venue can be photographed in the picture. The shooting time needs to be mastered by the photographer. Generally, when the speaker looks up and makes eye contact with the participants, pressing the shutter can make the speaker look more vivid. Some leaders don't look up to communicate from beginning to end, so the speaker usually has a chance to look up at the beginning and end of the speech. But just to be on the safe side, you must take a few pictures when you bow your head, so as not to miss the content. The shooting angle should generally be the same height as the speaker, try not to shoot with elevation angle or depression angle, and keep an angle of about 45 degrees with the speaker;

B. venue shooting: the shooting of the rostrum must have a panoramic view and a close-up of a single person. The background of the rostrum is generally dark. Try to use the exposure value photometric data of the face. Don't cover the face with a microphone and a water cup. If necessary, use a certain angle. In addition, the front row of the venue is generally an important participant, so it is necessary to shoot the venue from the left and right directions. Finally, we need to take a panoramic view of the site. Generally, the shooting position is one in the left, middle and right positions of the backcourt, and the exposure value should also be based on the photometric value of the rostrum.

C. Activity shooting: Be sure to pay attention to the activities of major leaders and important participants, and give consideration to other participants. Try to combine the characters with the background that can express the theme of the activity. When people involved in the activity are walking, they should try to go to the front to shoot, instead of following. I also want to remind you that the exposure time of photos would rather be short than excessive.

Third, the use of cameras.

1, iso: If possible, try to improve the iso when shooting indoors. Increasing the exposure speed of active shooting can better improve the clarity of the picture. As for noise, if your customer is unprofessional, then he won't care at all; If your client is very professional, he will certainly understand your practice. According to my feelings about Canon cameras, cameras above 5Dmark2, cameras with iso open to 2000 and 60D 60D, and cameras with the same technology can open to 1000, and the noise is within the tolerable range. If it is an entry camera such as 600D, iso800 is not a big problem.

2. Aperture: Even if your lens is great, try not to open the aperture too wide. There are two reasons. First, try not to apply the two ends of the lens aperture value, the image quality will be slightly affected; The most important thing is that the focal plane of a large aperture (such as 2.8) is very thin. If there is a difference of 10 cm between the people you shoot, there will be a situation of reality and falsehood. Therefore, it is recommended that the aperture be above 4.5.

3. Flash: When the roof is less than 4 meters, it is best to use a reflective flash and use an eye plate. The advantage of reflective flash is that it can improve the brightness of the subject, and at the same time, it can also appropriately shoot the brightness of the environment, and there will be no obvious shadow behind the subject. The eyepiece can increase the brightness of the subject, and the amount of light reflected by the eyepiece can be adjusted by adjusting the output power of the flash (making the brightness higher or lower), changing the focal length of the flash or directly using the soft board (increasing the flash angle).

In the case that the flash lamp must be used and the environment needs to be explained, it is generally necessary to ensure that the speed is at least one eightieth of a second, the aperture is not less than 4.5 (to ensure sufficient focal plane), and the iso value should be adjusted accordingly, so as to measure the accurate exposure value. After using the flash, it is only necessary to adjust the output of the flash to make the exposure speed of the subject saturated slightly faster than the above exposure speed (generally reaching1100). This can better represent the subject's environment.

Fourth, take a group photo.

Now all kinds of venues have to take photos, and students from all schools have to take photos after graduation. Therefore, it is necessary to understand and master the technical skills of taking group photos.

A good group photo should meet the following five requirements:

1) The layout of the collective group images in the diagram is reasonable and substantial.

2) Front and rear rows are barrier-free.

3) people in the front row and the last row know it.

4) There is no perspective deformation with large front row head and small rear row head.

5) Don't close your eyes.

To achieve the above five points, we must master the following shooting essentials.

1, the standard lens should be selected.

The viewing angle of the standard lens is the same as that of the human eye. Taking a group photo with a wide-angle lens will have perspective deformation. The front row characters are bigger near the lens head, and the back row characters are smaller away from the lens head. So you can't take a group photo with a wide-angle lens. If you take a group photo with a zoom lens, you should also choose a focal length of 35-50 mm (full-frame camera).

2. Selection of aperture and shutter speed

The characteristics of group photos are: the figures are still and deep. In order to obtain greater depth of field, small aperture and slow shutter speed are usually used. F/5.6 ~ f/8 aperture should be used for group photos of 20 ~ 30 people; 60 ~ 70 people take pictures with F/8 ~ F/ 1 1 aperture, and more than 100 people take pictures with f/16 aperture. The shutter speed should not be lower than 1/30 seconds, so as to avoid sudden personal jitter during shooting. Of course, in the case of poor light, in order to ensure sufficient depth of field, we have to sacrifice the shutter speed, but generally it cannot be lower than 1/8 seconds.

3. Use tripod and cable to release.

Because taking a group photo requires a large depth of field, a small aperture is often used for shooting. At this time, the shutter speed is slow. In order to prevent "hand shaking" during shooting and affect the clarity of the picture, a tripod must be used to stabilize the camera.

4, in order to avoid the front and rear rows of occlusion, the front and rear rows of slopes should be large.

When taking a big group photo, it is best to line up with tables and chairs, which can make the front and back rows more compact, thus making more effective use of the depth of field and taking clear photos. The arrangement of the queue is generally the first row of sitting stools, the second row of standing on the ground, the third row of standing stools and the fourth row of standing tables. If there are more people, you can squat in the front.

If you use the stone steps in front of the building to take a group photo, it should be noted that no matter how many people, you must stand on the next floor in line (that is, there should be a layer between the front row and the back row) to avoid the front row blocking the back row.

Taking a group photo as a souvenir, composition is very important. You can't put too many stools in the front row, resulting in a slender formation, small portraits and ugly composition.

Generally speaking, the number of stools in the first row when taking a group photo can be calculated by the following formula: number of stools = number of group photos /5.

For example: 100 people take a group photo, and the number of stools = 100/5=20, that is, 100 people take a group photo, and 20 stools in the front leadership seat are enough.

If you take a group photo of more than 100 people, it is best to put the tables and chairs into an arc with the camera as the axis, because the clearest focal plane of the lens is on the arc with the lens focal length as the radius. Therefore, if the arc queue is used for shooting, there will be no situation that the characters on both sides of the group photo are not very clear, thus ensuring that the characters in the middle and on both sides are equally clear.

5, the choice of light

Soft natural light is more suitable for taking group photos, and try to avoid direct sunlight and backlight. The time should be from 10 to 4 pm. Don't take pictures in the shade, lest you draw your face.

6. Focus selection

According to the principle of depth of field, the lens should focus on the front 1/3 of the whole queue depth. For example, there are five rows of people, focusing on the characters in the middle of the second row, so that the foreground depth and depth of field can be used more effectively to take a clear group photo.

7, composition method

The composition layout of the group photo requires a wide top and a narrow bottom, leaving a little space on the left and right to fill the picture as much as possible.

8. Pay attention when taking pictures.

Before shooting, see if there is any front row blocking the back row in the queue. If there is, adjust the position. Raise your hand before pressing the shutter to remind everyone to avoid closing their eyes or shaking. In addition, the first group photo should avoid nervousness, and the key points are accurate exposure, accurate focus and accurate composition, otherwise any small mistakes and mistakes will cause irreparable losses, because most of the photos can't be taken again.

9. Make more kind reminders.

You need to adjust your group photo and sitting posture before taking a group photo. This is one of the kind reminders. The subject feels that as long as his eyes are not blocked, his whole face in the photo is complete. In fact, the lower part of his face has been blocked by the front row. Remind them: adjust yourself to stand at the shoulder junction of two people in the front row. Hold your head high. The photos taken in this way are the most dynamic.

The sitting posture of the leaders in the front row must also be kindly reminded: Please put your legs together and hold your head high. The VIP is the center of the photo. If individual guests have bad posture, they will not only lose their standard, but also find a photo unattractive to others. The average woman will be very careful once reminded. But some men are stubborn. At this time, I must remind the "gay people in the seat" of the requirements for posture correction again.

The reminder in the process of shooting determines the final effect of shooting. When the shutter speed is slow due to bad weather, be sure to add a sentence, "Please don't move when pressing the shutter, and keep it for a while so that the image will not be empty."

We take pictures with two cameras. Before, I will remind the audience of the number of shots and the intention of each shot. When I high-fived everyone to be quiet and ready to shoot, I was already standing next to the main camera, letting everyone look at the camera. The language organization of the whole process is compact, my reminder is combined with my purpose, and with appropriate actions, I can communicate well in a short time. The scene will be quiet and orderly. Of course, it is also important to be serious and lively, especially when you want everyone to laugh at the camera. The reminder at this time is very humorous, and one sentence is enough. Humor should be positive, a type of knowing smile. If you smile, your expression and time will be affected.

10, said with a smile is very powerful.

The process of taking a group photo is also a time to test your service. Speaking in a low voice and using blunt words are all unqualified performances. Speak loudly enough when filming. Be sure to speak at a volume that everyone can hear. It would be better if there were a microphone. Speak clearly and roundly. Of course, you must speak Mandarin or English on special occasions. I have never met a time when I speak Hainan dialect. It's not Hainan dialect, it's the place.

Expanding: Journalists' Photographic Skills

1, find the angle

All news has a point (or angle), otherwise it will only become a boring word list (whether written or spoken). We usually observe life with a horizontal line of sight, while photographers try their best to find unique angles, such as squatting, sitting or even standing on something to help the audience find more interesting points. If you can't move the body, you can adjust the position.

For example, the visual story above needs an angle to make the photos active, which is more meaningful. Finding this angle, covering all factual factors, means that the visual story will become more interesting.

Step 2 raise awareness

There are many quotes in news reports, and news pictures need people. It will be very interesting when we see other people in the picture. The scene of heavy rain looks shocking, but the photos will be more interesting when someone is running in the downpour with an umbrella. We may feel emotional because we are all compassionate.

The downpour looks interesting, but the photos look more vivid when people join the "escape".

Step 3 be full of vitality

An action can make a photo more vivid, just as a verb can make a story more vivid. The best way to make your photo or visual story vivid is to let the protagonist in the photo do something. This usually means that he/she needs manual operation.

But in less than 30 seconds, the photo became a more interesting scene. Even if this is a portrait photo, the photo frame is full of relevant visual information. Besides, people have lost weight, right? )

Step 4 shoot horizontally

Smartphones and other handheld devices are designed to be held vertically so that people can instinctively take vertical photos. But whether by instinct or not, we all live in a horizontal world. We can scan horizontally from left to right instead of from top to bottom, such as streets, houses, football fields, floods and other scenes.

This visual story focuses on booths and people, not the scenery at the top and bottom of the photo. This photo is taken horizontally because it can contain more information.

For this reason, most of our TV sets and movie screens are set horizontally. A good photo and a well-written story will never have useless information. Most vertical photos will display relevant visual information in the middle of the picture, while useless information will be automatically filtered to the upper and lower edges.

All these techniques should be applied to every photo you take. Whether photography is your job or not, or taking photos at parties, holidays and walking in the street, photos that can tell stories are far more interesting than photos that just show something.

The next time you rush out the door and start writing news, the colleagues behind you shout for you to send the photos back. These photography skills will make you more confident and help you take absolutely more meaningful photos.