How to choose a suitable shooting location in photography?

Photography always starts with choosing a shooting point. Photographers look around for objects from all angles, observe objects from different angles, and determine the viewpoint of objects from the most favorable angle. If you want to take beautiful and natural photos, you need to know how to choose the right shooting point according to the specific situation. In this case, the photographer must also understand how the viewer's eyes perceive and analyze his later photos. If we don't solve many problems related to the selection of shooting points, we can't create a natural and correct image composition.

First of all, the shooting point

When composing a composition, the photographer must deal with the composition. Composition in photography refers to the arrangement of all elements (whether color, tone, line or light) in order to make the painting form as clear, expressive and fully reflect the photographer's intention as possible. Due to the harmonious placement of various elements in the frame, a harmonious system is created, which makes the picture attractive and artistic. In a good composition, there are no unnecessary details, and all the main elements are closely related to each other.

The concept of composition comes from painting, but artists have the opportunity to create composition solutions for their works by relying entirely on their own imagination. Unlike artists, photographers only deal with the surrounding reality, in which the specific arrangement of elements is predetermined. In this regard, one of the most important requirements for building a good composition is to choose the shooting point correctly, because only it can determine the position of all elements on the image plane. Perhaps the only exception is stage photography or studio photography. However, even there, the photographer had to determine the most favorable mutual arrangement between the camera and the subject.

Obviously, any object can be photographed from countless points. But when choosing a shooting point in a photo, it should be noted that any point in space is determined by its three coordinates. This means that photographers trying to find the best shooting point must choose the appropriate distance from the subject, the position on the plane (shooting direction) and the height of the shooting point.

Second, the object distance

The shooting distance obviously affects the image scale. There is no doubt that the farther the subject is from the camera lens, the smaller the proportion of the image. On the contrary, the closer the photographer is to the subject, the bigger it will become. However, by changing the distance of investigation, the photographer can not only find the best proportion of future photo images, but also screen out the elements that should be included in the images by determining the frame boundaries.

Therefore, the photographer determines the distance from the camera to the subject, that is, the part of the image that best reflects his creative intention. In this case, all unnecessary details are left outside the framework. Photographers can change the shooting distance not only by simply moving the camera relative to the object, but also by using zoom. In addition, the use of various optical elements can also change the nature of perspective in the picture. For example, with a wide-angle lens, a photographer can include closely spaced objects in the picture and transfer them to the image at a larger scale than the background objects.

Shooting from the minimum distance allows the audience to focus on the foreground. In this case, a large image of the object will be obtained, indicating the main purpose of shooting, but in this case, most of the environment of the object is out of the picture. At a very close shooting distance, when the parts of the subject close to the camera lens are described as very large, and those far away are very small, it will produce unpleasant effects. When shooting at a distance, the photographer will get a rough plan, in which the subject may become too small to stand out from the overall background.

Third, the shooting direction

When choosing a shooting point, the next spatial coordinate is the shooting direction or angle representing the position of the object relative to the camera lens. By choosing the shooting direction, the photographer can determine the position of each element in the picture. With the help of one aspect or another, a specific side of the object, the overall plan of the object or specific details can be shown in the picture.

According to the selected shooting direction, the front composition and diagonal composition are distinguished. Front composition is mainly used for portrait photography, for architectural or technical photography. Through front composition, all objects in the center of the picture are visible only on one side. As a result, the captured object looks still in the frame, and the depth of space is not felt in the photo image itself. However, even if the camera lens deviates from the center position in one direction or the other, not only the front of the object can be seen, but also the side of the object can be seen, thus obtaining the necessary depth of the image.

Therefore, more interesting pictures can be obtained by using the so-called diagonal composition, which is characterized by a great deviation between the shooting point and its center position. Diagonal photos are dynamic and fresh. So photographers usually use diagonal composition, especially when shooting sports, which needs to arouse the audience's fantasy about sports. The choice of angle is of course a creative process. If the photographer can find an unusual angle, then this architectural landmark that has been photographed thousands of times can suddenly get its original spectacular appearance in the picture.

Fourth, the shooting point height

The last coordinate that determines the choice of shooting point is the height. Here, according to the vertical position, normal, low-altitude and high-altitude shooting can be distinguished:

-Normal shooting height

The normal shooting point is the horizontal point of the human eye. From this height, we can see objects higher than human growth from below and above respectively. This view of the surrounding world is more familiar with nature, so most photos are taken from the perspective of normal shooting. In addition, shooting from the height center of the human eye can make the image symmetrical. However, if it is only slightly deviated from the height of the camera, the whole composition will change greatly immediately.

-Head up and shoot

When giving the object a sense of remembrance and grandeur, look up to create a greater impression of the building structure. This is especially true when using a wide-angle lens. Because the horizon will drop sharply when looking up with the shooting point, you can get the image of huge objects in the sky in the photo. You can add pictures about the depth of the plot and artistic expression.

-Shoot it from above

Shooting from above allows you to transfer more space in the image. The proportion and panorama of photos taken at high shooting points are amazing. If the photographer needs to show as many close objects as possible in the photo, it is best to choose the highest shooting point. Lakes or rivers can be removed from high places, and a bird's eye view shows a huge space with streets, roads or villages. In addition, the high point of shooting is very suitable for shooting mass demonstrations and rallies. Meanwhile, when such a shooting point is used, the importance of each individual object in the picture decreases.

It is worth noting that taking pictures from a very low or high place usually brings you really unusual effects.

Fifth, choose the shooting point when shooting scenery, portraits and buildings.

In landscape photography, it is very important for photographers to choose the best way to capture the height of a specific space. If the sky becomes the background of a building or natural environment, a lower measuring point is usually used. It can make you reflect the beautiful stormy sky or fluffy white clouds on the blue background in the photo, thus making the whole scene have a certain atmosphere. However, if the sky doesn't look expressive when shooting (for example, in dark and cloudy weather) and there are not so many colors, it's best to reject the lower shooting point.

The high point of shooting enables landscape photographers to convey the overall plan and most of the objects. When choosing a shooting point, be sure to remember the position of the horizon in the picture. It should not strictly pass through the center of the image, so that the image will not be divided into two equal halves. In other words, you should avoid completely dividing the frame in half with the horizon-it is better to put it above or below the middle of the frame. The line of sight below the center of the picture is very suitable for images with the sky as the background. Conversely, the line of sight at the top of the middle of the screen allows you to emphasize certain restrictions and spatial isolation.

When shooting buildings, photographers need to deal with static objects. Therefore, to take interesting and attractive photos, we need to find new solutions. By observing the familiar outline of the building structure with a camera lens in a new way, an unusual shooting angle and shooting point are selected. For example, using a wide-angle lens, close to buildings, can make photos more dynamic and emphasize specific design functions.

Diagonal composition can restore still photo images, using a very obvious viewing angle. When shooting buildings, photographers often use the technology of long-distance shooting, emphasizing the depth of space and shooting at a certain angle, so that the observer's eyes can open two walls at once. Lighting also plays an important role in choosing shooting points. We must choose such an angle, a shooting point where the light can fall on the building at a certain angle, and pay more attention to the details of decorative buildings. In some cases, architectural photography with a vertex angle allows you to add romantic tones to the picture.

In portrait shooting, the camera is usually close to the subject, so as to obtain the largest possible image and convey the expressive force of various facial features in the photo. When shooting people, the camera lens is usually placed in the horizontal position of the subject. Any other shooting point will be too low or too high. Discard all unnecessary details, especially when shooting at very close distance, to convey the expressive force of the eyes. But you must be careful here, because shooting too close will lead to serious distortion of the proportion of the subject.

The choice of shooting point plays a decisive role in the creation of picture composition, which directly affects the artistic expression of the image and the embodiment of the photographer's creative intention. So photographers need to practice and try to use some kind of static map to choose shooting points. By evaluating the situation and slowly choosing the right shooting point, we can study how some changes in shooting direction, height and distance affect the composition in practice. The ideal shooting point should not destroy the story, on the contrary, it should help to improve the composition of the picture and convey the photographer's intention.