How to use composition and posture to take beautiful portraits

Introduction: In the composition of outdoor portrait photography, one of the commonly used techniques is to use exaggeration and deformation to shoot images with great visual impact. Let’s take a look below!

1. Choose appropriate equipment

First of all, we must prepare a lens with fisheye, super wide-angle, and wide-angle, and understand the imaging of different focal lengths and deformation effects. The fisheye lens is a short focal length ultra-wide-angle photography lens with a focal length of about 6-16 mm. The angle of view can be close to or exceed 180 degrees. Therefore, its barrel bend distortion is very large, and the straight lines around the periphery of the screen will be bent, while only the straight lines in the center of the lens can maintain their original state.

The fisheye lens can create a strong perspective effect when shooting close to the subject, emphasizing the contrast between the near and far objects, making the pictures captured have a shocking appeal.

Super wide-angle refers to a short focal length wide-angle lens with a focal length between 16 and 24mm. It has a wide field of view and is not as strong as fisheye lens distortion. It is a lens that eliminates distortion. A wide-angle lens refers to a lens with a focal length range of 24 to 35mm. It has a wider field of view than a standard lens and has less distortion than an ultra-wide-angle lens. It is a short-focus lens widely used in portrait photography.

In portrait photography, the human body has a certain proportion. Among these three types of lenses, due to the exaggerated deformation of the fisheye lens, the difference between the subject's image and himself is too large. In addition to being rarely used, the other two are often used. However, when using them, pay attention to placing the subject in the center of the picture to avoid deformation of the edge parts, which will cause people to lose the three-dimensional sense or cause distortion.

Exaggeration and deformation are relatively extreme techniques, which can better express the characters. They can give the picture a novel perspective and give the character a new interpretation; but if used improperly, it will further uglify the subject. , which is difficult to accept. Next, I will explain the specific application of exaggerated deformation composition techniques based on the specific character status and beauty.

2. High-camera overhead shots form a comic style

High-camera overhead shots form a comic style

In the non-mainstream high-camera photo-shooting style Under the influence of photography, the use of overhead shots from high angles in photo studios has become more and more common. In traditional shooting, we only slightly raise the camera position based on the flat position to make the subject's face look smaller, but the picture still has a normal perspective relationship. In an exaggerated and deformed composition, if we want to pursue a more special picture, we need to use an ultra-wide angle or wide-angle end to exaggerate the subject.

In Figure 1, I used a focal length of 25mm and took a high-angle overhead shot from top to bottom. Because of the imaging characteristics of the lens, the ratio of the head approaching the lens will be slightly larger when it is first approached. , the proportions of the body and limbs will become smaller. When taking photos of this style, you should pay attention to the gradient relationship between large and small deformations near and far. It is best not to be too flat in terms of beauty. If the distance between each part of the body and the lens is relatively equal, there will be no obvious perspective distortion.

Hands and feet are parts that tend to appear too obvious during deformation. You need to decide whether to keep or discard them according to the shooting style. If you want to have an obvious perspective relationship but don’t want the picture to be too cartoony, you can Choose to adjust the model's posture during the shoot so that the hands and feet are out of the frame.

3. Low-camera shots from above create a sense of height.

Low-camera shots are a common technique used in photo studios, and they are also a perspective not commonly used by ordinary people. If we add a change in wide angle when composing the picture from a low position, the perspective of the picture will be further enhanced.

Figure 2

In Figure 2, I used the 17mm focal length to lie on the ground and shoot the model leaning towards me. When the model leans down, pay attention to the perspective relationship of each part of the body in the picture. It is best to observe and adjust through the viewfinder. Because I use a symmetrical beauty, I also need to pay attention to whether the deformation of the beauty is symmetrical when shooting. When shooting from above, the subject's face is easily deformed too much, so try to keep the subject's head from raising to prevent the chin from becoming too wide, and possibly place the face in the center of the picture. Because the edges of the picture will deform the face into being too flat and distorted, losing the sense of three-dimensionality.

Figure 3

In Figure 3, I asked the model to stand on a high stone under the ginkgo tree, so that the height of the model's head and the relationship between the branches can be connected. However, when shooting, the picture still looks too tilted and the deformation is too large, so when I use the 21mm focal length to shoot from above, I will ask the model’s upper body to tilt towards the camera. This can slightly reduce the deformation ratio between the body and head, so that Deformation is controlled to an acceptable level.

Through the example just now, we know that when shooting from above, the important thing is to control the proportion of the body and face, so most of the time, the subject's face needs to be closer to the camera.

4. Create contrast by deforming a certain part

Sometimes, we need to exaggerate part of the beauty to get a more eye-catching photo; or to make the body language of the picture more vivid. With tension, the character's emotional state is fuller.

Figure 4

In Figure 4, the model’s forward heart-shaped gesture is a commonly used beautiful gesture in photography. In order to highlight the shape of the gesture and the lively emotion of the subject, I used The focal length segment at the 20mm end exaggerates the hand. In this type of shooting, you should pay attention to the shape of the model's arms and the height of the camera, and try to capture the extension of the arms as much as possible. Avoid making the deformation of the hand appear too abrupt.

Figure 5

In the shooting of Figure 5, I used a focal length of 22mm to give the relatively flat picture a sense of depth through the front-to-back relationship of the model’s beautiful posture, especially the difference in deformation of the hands on both sides. Come space and perspective.

Of course, when shooting, you can also choose a darker background. The lens will naturally form vignetting at the edges of the screen, making the image deeper. Changes in beauty will form different styles, such as lively, quiet, romantic, etc. Therefore, during specific shooting, the changes in beauty need to be specifically arranged according to the style of the scene.

This is different from conventional shooting methods and can make your photos more attractive.

5. Pay attention to making the change of deformation gentle and reasonable

When we need to deform a certain part and contrast it with other parts, we must pay attention to making the change of deformation smooth and reasonable. , such photos will make people easier to accept. Of course, deformation involves both enlargement and reduction. We can also hide certain parts of the body by deforming locally.

Figure 6

In Figure 6, I used the 37mm focal length to take a close-up of the model. In close-up photography, we generally use a telephoto to reduce distortion, but if you want to make the close-up less dull, you can also use a short focal length. If the model's face is facing the camera when shooting, the nose will appear larger, which is generally not flattering to people. So I chose the side of the model's face and used deformation to exaggerate the model's beautiful cheek curves and make the model's facial features and emotions more tense.

Figure 7

In Figure 7, I used a focal length of 24mm to let the subject lean forward, so that the model’s waist will become slimmer due to deformation. This is also one of the methods we use to photograph fatter customers.

To sum up, I have introduced to you some common techniques of exaggeration and deformation. In business, exaggeration and deformation need to have a degree. The more exaggerated, the better. If it is for buildings or horizontal lines, , we can use the fisheye lens to shoot more exaggerated and deformed pictures. If it is for beauty, we must make corresponding arrangements according to the beauty of the subject and the picture requirements, so that the exaggerated picture deformation is reasonable and durable.