Introduction skills of folk photography

As a young photography category, folk photography has many characteristics compared with other photography, that is, particularity. The particularity of folk photography determines that it has its own internal laws. If we master and adapt to these laws, we can gain sovereignty in the practice of folk photography, so that our own folk photography level can be continuously improved and innovated. There are many principles to follow in doing folk photography well, and there are also many problems to pay attention to, such as improving photography technology and techniques, but we should work hard in the following aspects.

First of all, we should learn some folk photography theories.

Strictly speaking, photography with folk customs as its theme is not necessarily a qualified folklore photography. Because folk photography is extremely marginal, it is not only a part of folklore and sociology, but also involves anthropology, history, archaeology, ethnology and other disciplines, and also involves many categories of photography art. Therefore, folk photographers need to have a wide range of knowledge, have a concrete observation of folk culture and a strong sense of folklore, and have a deeper understanding of the formation and development of specific folklore and its relationship with traditional culture, so as to accurately grasp the profound connotation of folklore and shoot excellent folk photography.

As far as the current folk photography team in China is concerned, whether it is middle-aged and elderly photographers with certain qualifications or young people who have been engaged in photography for a short time, it can be said that most of them are newcomers in the field of folk photography, and they generally lack theoretical knowledge about folk photography, and they are vague about what folk customs are, what they include, and the characteristics, connotations, principles and technical methods of folk photography. As a result, some comrades' creative ideas have long been recorded or limited to aesthetic art creation, just out of curiosity.

Some people think that folk photography is to go to ethnic minorities and remote and backward places, and there is no folk theme to shoot in Han nationality, Chinese mainland and cities; In the process of shooting, some give up the foundation and get nothing, which makes many difficult shooting opportunities miss; Some simply pat this and that, bumping like headless flies, which is very blind, resulting in a lot of film consumption and little effect; Others make jokes in interviews in ethnic areas because they don't know much about ethnic policies and local folk customs, and some even violate local folk taboos and national ethnic policies, causing dissatisfaction in ethnic areas and triggering ethnic conflicts. These phenomena are different, but they all illustrate the same problem: lack of folk knowledge, lack of folk consciousness, in a word, lack of learning. This leads to a conclusion: without some efforts to learn some folk knowledge, you can never engage in folk photography. After a period of twists and turns, many comrades with rich photography experience have expressed such a sigh: "If you engage in folk photography, you don't know which ones to shoot, which ones not to shoot, and from which angle to shoot. After learning, I understand that folk photography has such a wide range of topics and such a large scope, which is both promising and knowledgeable. "

Practice has proved that engaging in folk photography must pay attention to the following basic knowledge: first, folklore, through learning to find out what is folklore, folklore and the scope of folklore; The second is to learn the relevant theoretical knowledge and shooting skills of folk photography; The third is to learn ethnic policies, understand the formation and development of various ethnic groups in China, the main folk customs and taboos, and be familiar with the relevant policies of the state towards all ethnic groups, especially ethnic minorities. It should be pointed out that even comrades who have considerable experience in folk photography should know the national policies, customs and psychology in advance before the interview. In the past, due to the unclear boundary between propaganda content and research materials, what should be publicized as internal academic research materials. As a result, although the curiosity of some readers was satisfied and the circulation of the publication was expanded, it seriously hurt the feelings of ethnic minority compatriots.

The reason why this paper discusses the necessity and importance of learning pen and ink is precisely because it is indeed the premise and the most basic requirement of engaging in folk photography, and it is probably one of the remarkable differences from engaging in other photography.

Second, there must be two feelings.

Folklore photographers' feelings for their careers and interviewees are an important factor to determine whether they can overcome all difficulties and take touching photos.

Taking folk photos must go deep into the life of folk activities, especially those remote mountainous minority areas, which requires the author's perseverance and indomitable spirit, which comes from the author's high sense of responsibility and dedication to folk photography. Many comrades think that folk photography should first solve the language problem. In fact, with the rapid development of economy and transportation, translators and tour guides can be found even in remote huts, and it is these three essential elements of eating, sleeping and walking that test the will of folk photographers in daily life. Do as Romans do in Rome. Can you drink buttered tea and eat Ciba in Tibetan areas? Under the harsh living conditions, can you eat potatoes for a week or even ten days to get along with people? Sleep is an indispensable condition to resume work, but in poor mountainous areas, there is no bed or even the interference of various small animals, or a dozen or even dozens of people enjoy a big tent or even sleep on the street. Can you keep enough rest to maintain high-intensity work for several days? Let's talk about hiking first: crossing zip lines, riding horses, climbing snow-capped mountains, carrying dozens of kilograms of photographic equipment and walking for several days or even longer, all of which constitute a portrayal of the hard work of folk photographers. The harvest of folk photography is to pay a huge price, sometimes even precious life. If you don't know enough about folk photography and have deep feelings, maybe a flea can scare you back.

As for folk photographers, the second feeling is more important. This emotional problem is actually a matter of position. No matter which nationality, even the poorest, weakest and most remote nationality, the interviewer should hold a sincere, equal and respectful attitude towards them. Only this attitude can be accepted and trusted by them. Remote, inaccessible shanzhai will have a "sensational effect" when outsiders come. After a long time, even decades or hundreds of years, grandpa will pass it on to future generations. So-and-so Han Chinese are my friends and some Han Chinese are liars. Their attitude towards others is serious, even rigid, and they know it by emotion. The best way to treat an interviewer is sincerity. If you are sincere, you don't have to be afraid of misunderstanding. You can make friends with sincerity, and you can cultivate deep feelings with sincerity. Once you have feelings with the interviewee, you won't be curious about taking pictures. Even taking a picture of a shabby hut and a writer in rags will be full of warmth and humanity. You will find the difference and development between them and the past from the real poverty, and you will find feelings and trust that are hard to find in modern cities from the relatively backward environment. You won't be too dirty or too poor. You will look for their every move with a sincere lens and aim at their earnest and fiery life. Although they are poor, you will also get sublimated pleasure in such an interview, and more realize the true meaning of life. All hardships and hardships, all life and death threats will be resolved by your enthusiasm over feelings.