Traditional Culture Encyclopedia - Photography and portraiture - Camera position and composition for portrait photography. Where is the detailed introduction?

Camera position and composition for portrait photography. Where is the detailed introduction?

It can be said that photography uses light to paint, and photography is inseparable from light. In portrait photography, whether shooting outdoors or indoors, the choice and use of light have a great impact on the performance of the subject in all aspects. Next, we will introduce outdoor and indoor lighting for portrait photography. 1. The best time for outdoor photography. The sun is from sunrise to sunset. Not only does the position of the light change all the time, but the intensity of the light also changes with time. Therefore, the light effect of natural light on the human subject will continue to change as the position and intensity of the sun change. In view of the variability of natural light, photographers need to choose the best outdoor shooting time to obtain the most satisfactory portrait effect when taking outdoor portrait photography. Generally speaking, the best shooting times of the day are before 10 am and after 3 pm (provided that after sunrise and before sunset). At this time, the sun's rays are soft and the height is moderate, which can make the characters appear in a natural state. Of course, this time period is designated as the best shooting time, and it also involves color temperature. When it comes to lighting for photography, the relationship between light and color temperature is also a factor that must be considered. In color photography, the color temperature of the light source directly affects the true restoration of the subject's color. In layman's terms, a light source with a high color temperature contains more blue light components than red light; a light source with a low color temperature contains more red light components than blue light. Also during the day, the color temperature of sunlight also changes at different times. For example, the color temperature of sunlight at sunrise or sunset is relatively low, about 2000-3000K, the color temperature of morning or afternoon sunlight is about 4000-5000K, and the color temperature of sunlight around noon is about 5500K. Therefore, by choosing the best time for outdoor photography, the overall feeling of the portrait photos taken can easily produce a warm orange-red color (the effect is more obvious when shooting sunrise or sunset), thus giving people a warm feeling. 2. How to shoot under strong sunlight. Of course, in addition to the best time for shooting, when traveling or in other situations, due to time constraints, photographers inevitably need to shoot at noon when the sun is strong. At this time, the light is relatively direct and the light feels relatively hard (that is, the hard light often mentioned by photographers), which often easily forms heavy shadows on the faces of people. At this time, photographers can avoid locations with strong sunlight and choose locations such as sun umbrellas, under the shade of trees, high walls, high rocks, etc. that can block a certain amount of light to shoot. In this way, not only can shadows be avoided on the character's face, but the subject's expression will not be unnatural due to the strong sunlight. 3. Precautions for shooting on cloudy days. On cloudy days, the outdoor light is very soft and scattered light. Using this kind of light to shoot portraits can achieve better results. Of course, you can also use reflectors to further improve the light effect, while increasing the light around the eyes and reducing the shadows under the chin, thereby taking more beautiful portraits. However, photographers should pay attention to the fact that when shooting with this kind of light, the posture and position of the subject must be arranged appropriately so that the scattered light and reflected light can illuminate the face of the subject as much as possible. For example, choose a relatively open site and do not let buildings, trees, etc. block natural scattered light. Then let the subject rotate to choose the best lighting position. 4. Choose a location near the window. Indoors, photographers can first consider shooting near the window. Because there will be very soft scattered light next to windows, especially north-facing windows. If the windows are dusty, the light will be softer. When direct light is projected into the window, the photographer can also draw a thin layer of curtains to alleviate the intensity of the light. Near the window, the subject can sit or stand, but avoid the light from looking three-dimensional, and ensure that the subject can get side light (indirect light) from the window. At this point, a soft shadow on the other side of the face will enhance the effect of the photo of the person, giving the subject more depth and interest. 5. Make full use of indoor lighting. In addition to taking photos near the window, photographers can also take advantage of indoor lighting. Relatively speaking, indoor light is relatively easy to control. When dining in a Western restaurant or other place with a good atmosphere, the photographer can choose a location with very obvious lighting effects. In this kind of place, the light of the lights is orange-red, which can give people a very warm feeling. At this time, it would feel good to take a photo of your friends or relatives around you. But it should be noted that if the light is at the top, it is easy to produce a top light effect, and there will be many small shadows on the character's face. At this time, the character subject can choose to tilt his head upward slightly to try to let the face receive more even light. In addition to restaurants, photographers can also choose to shoot in their own or a friend's home. Turn on the lights at home (the effect will be better at night), also choose a location with softer and warmer light, and use the sofa or other atmospheric places at home as the background. The characters can be more casual in such a comfortable and familiar environment. performance. Portrait Photography Real Shots - Portrait Photography Composition To learn portrait photography well, beginners can get started quickly from the composition aspect. Compared with other photography techniques, composition is easier to master. Portrait composition mainly depends on two aspects: first, the expressiveness of the subject itself; second, the photographer needs to have certain creativity and ideas, and be able to perfectly express the subject through the camera in his hand.

1. The form of the frame The three elements of composition include: the form of the frame, the real image part of the subject in the picture and the blank part of the picture. For beginners, accurately grasping and arranging the three elements of composition is the easiest way to quickly get started with portrait photography composition. The form of the frame refers to whether the photo is composed in a horizontal format, a vertical format, or other forms. When composing a portrait, the photographer first needs to consider what format to use to frame the subject. If you only consider the need to make the picture suitable for the subject, you can determine the frame format according to the specific shape of the subject. For example, use a horizontal frame to shoot people lying down or sitting; use a vertical frame to shoot people standing, etc. If you want to make the picture more creative, you can use other forms of frames according to the needs of the expressive intention. In short, determining the relationship between the frame and the subject is the first step in composition. 2. The main body in the picture is the real image part of the main body in the portrait photography picture, that is, the main character that the photographer wants to express. There are two ways of expression: one is through the portrait composition formula method, that is, the close-up formula composition, the half-length formula composition, the seven-part formula composition and the full-body formula composition are used; the second is the artistic composition method with scenes, that is, through the perfect combination of characters and scenery. To further beautify and express the subject. No matter which method is used, it is necessary to determine the center of interest of the subject's real image in the composition. The center of interest of the subject of the picture refers to the most eye-catching part of the subject of the picture, which does not necessarily occupy a large area. For example, in a close-up portrait, the eyes are often the center of interest; in a half-length portrait, the face becomes the center of interest. A picture generally has only one center of interest, or only one main center of interest. Otherwise, it may destroy the integrity of the picture and cause disorder and confusion in the composition. 3. The blank part of the picture. In photographic composition, the blank part of the picture does not always refer to the white part without any image in the photo, but refers to the part other than the real image of the subject. Therefore, the white space in the composition is not necessarily white. In a photographic frame, the real image of the subject and the blank part are interdependent. The blank part can not only set off and explain the main body, but also supplement and strengthen the main image. 4. Use a concise background to highlight the subject. For portrait photography, characters are the main objects to be expressed in portrait photos and are an important part of the picture. It is not only the center of the content of the picture, but also the center of the structure of the picture, around which other scenes must form a whole. Therefore, the most important thing that photographers need to pay attention to in the picture is how to highlight the characters. For beginners, the easiest way to highlight your character is to find a relatively simple and clean background. For example, a white wall, a piece of green grass, and the like are clean and uncomplicated backgrounds, so that the photographer only needs to focus on the characters and does not have to worry about the failure of the photo due to poor handling of the relationship between the characters and the background. In addition, photographers should note that eyes are very important for portrait photography, especially half-length portraits. Therefore, try to place the character's eyes in the prominent horizontal 1/3 line of the picture. This will not only highlight the subject of the picture, but also make the composition more appropriate and harmonious. 5. Use a blurred background to highlight the subject. If you want to further highlight the subject of the character, beginners can also consider using the blurred background method to highlight the character. This method of blurring the background can also eliminate the interference of the messy background on the main character. Using a medium telephoto lens can not only represent the characters more realistically, but also achieve a perfect blur effect. However, when photographers use telephoto lenses, they must first clarify their creative purposes. If the environment does not have much use value for the characters. It can be blurred to a greater depth; if you need to explain certain environmental factors, but at the same time you don't want them to affect the main character, you can use moderate blurring to achieve the unity of the two. 6. The effect produced by using a low-angle overhead shot is exactly the opposite of that of a high-angle overhead shot. When taking a frontal bust portrait of a character, an upward shot can narrow the upper forehead, expand the lower jaw, lengthen the head and neck, and plump the face, and show the tallness and slenderness of the character, while also purifying the background. . In addition, when taking a full-body photo of a woman, using this angle can show the woman's slender legs and graceful figure. However, for people whose faces are small at the top and large at the bottom, you cannot use the angle of frontal and upward shooting, because this angle will expose the flaws of the character's subject more. At this time, the photographer should choose a slightly side angle to shoot from above. 7. Flat shooting: Flat shooting uses the eye-level height of the subject’s eyes as the baseline. The effect of the picture taken at this height is in line with human visual experience, and the composition is stable without special changes.