Introduction to portrait photography

Lead: When shooting still life, you can have a lot of time to prepare before shooting. However, when shooting portraits, we need to pay more attention to the use of light and focal length technically, and we also need to communicate with the subject a lot. These elements are the reasons why portrait photography is difficult to get started, but when you can master them well, they are also the places where you can enjoy portrait photography most.

Equipment: fuselage and lens

The essence of portrait photography is to capture expressions. Expressions are often fleeting. Although professional models can often give you a bunch of "photogenic" expressions, the unforgettable expressions are often inadvertently revealed by models. So when capturing expressions, you need a camera with excellent focusing speed and accuracy. I chose a Quan Huafu SLR 5D3. Its high pixel also meets my requirements for fine image quality in my work.

I tried 24-70mm f/4L for the lens. Optical quality is the most basic requirement, and this L mirror has not let me down in this respect. More importantly, this lens gives me the benefits of three portraits, including portability, meeting the needs of focal length and macro function.

Canon EOS 5d Mark III. EF 24-70 mm f/4 risam. ISO 125。 F/6.3.11250 seconds 70mm focal length.

Canon EOS 5d Mark III. EF 24-70 mm f/4 risam. ISO 250。 4.1100 seconds. 55mm focal length.

Go out and shoot, lighten the burden.

My portrait photography is not limited to the studio. More often, I shoot outdoors. Because the change of outdoor environment is more difficult to control than indoor, it is often necessary to bring more auxiliary tools out. At this time, as long as you bring a Canon EF 24-70 mm f/4Lisum with a net weight of 600g, which can meet the needs of different photography themes, you can reduce your burden.

Canon EOS 5d Mark III. EF 24-70 mm f/4 risam. ISO 200。 F/5.1125 seconds 50 mm focal length.

Canon EOS 5d Mark III. EF 24-70 mm f/4 risam. ISO 200。 F/5. 1/50 seconds 70mm focal length.

Lens selection to meet focal length requirements

Using focal length is an important element in learning portrait photography. The difference of focal length is not only the difference of frame size, but also related to the deformation degree of imaging and the communication distance between the photographer and the subject. When shooting a bust or a headshot, we will use a focal length of about 70 mm, and the imaging under this focal length will not have much perspective deformation, and the distance between the photographer and the subject will not be too far or too close, so that the photographer will not feel alienated or oppressed when communicating with the subject. Portrait shooting can sometimes use wide-angle focal length, and take advantage of the interaction between the subject and the scene to shoot the scene environment together, bringing out a stronger story. CANONE EF 24-70 mm f/4L has a focusing range of USM, which can meet the different photographic requirements of photographers and is very convenient.

In terms of aperture, this lens has a constant f/4 aperture, although it is not a large aperture (if we want to achieve a larger aperture, such as f/2.8, I believe the weight of the lens will not be 600g), but the lens can easily achieve a shallow depth of field at the end of 70mm or macro, highlight the main body of our shooting, and easily make the photos have a more obvious focus, making them more attractive and impressive.

Macro and anti-shake function

Many times it is difficult to shoot portraits indoors. The most common situation is that the scene environment is not bright enough to use high-speed shutter, while the use of flash will destroy the atmosphere of the scene environment and interfere with the performance (if it is a performance occasion). At this time, the anti-hand shock function of the lens can come in handy.

The hand shock prevention function is not turned on, and the shutter speed is 1/40s.

Turn on the hand shock prevention function, and the shutter speed is 1/40s.

The difference between the nearest focal length before entering the macro and the macro focal length, after entering the macro, you can take a big close-up, which is suitable for shooting props or objects.

When it comes to macro, Canon EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM is equipped with macro function compared with other lenses of the same type or the same focal length. In addition to supporting the maximum magnification of 0.7x after opening, it is also equipped with the hand shock prevention function of Hybrid IS 2.5 security shutter, which can reach level 4 even at the magnification of 0.7x without opening the macro.

Thanks to this new lens with telephoto end macro mode with 0.7 times magnification, we can not only shoot our theme, but also find interesting decorations in the scene. In the macro world, everything has become different.

This macro function makes my shooting subject matter more extensive. A lens can be used for multiple purposes, such as taking close-ups of portraits with different focal lengths at weddings, and also meeting some special photography needs, such as shooting small objects and props at wedding banquets.

70 mm viewing angle

Macro perspective

The hand shock prevention function is not turned on, and the shutter speed is 1/30 seconds.

Turn on the hand shock prevention function, and the shutter speed is 1/30 seconds.

On the exhaustion of light

Limited to space, I can't explain it too deeply here. But in the use of portrait photography, the flash is as important as the fuselage and lens. The application of flash discussed here will focus on two aspects: the direction of light and the texture of light.

Canon EOS 5d Mark III. EF 24-70 mm f/4 risam. ISO 200。 F/6.3.1125 seconds 70mm focal length.

Canon EOS 5d Mark III. EF 24-70 mm f/4 risam. ISO 200。 F/6.3.1125 seconds 70mm focal length.

Direction of light

The direction of light affects the outline of the portrait in the whole imaging. For example, the side light source will deepen the outline of the subject, which is what we call a sense of drama. Usually, when we shoot ordinary portraits, polarized light and forward light (the object faces the light source) will have a more natural performance.

Texture of light

Light has soft texture and hard texture. These elements affect the feeling of the whole imaging. The hard light comes from the direct flash of the portrait face, which has a relatively cold feeling. So in general, we don't recommend taking portraits in this way (remember, just in general, using strong light doesn't mean that the photos are bad).

Softer light comes from reflected or softened light (the light emitting area is larger or the light source is placed closer to the main body), so that the light is more uniform, there will be no deep and hard shadows, and the portrait taken is more natural.

Canon EOS 5d Mark III. EF 24-70 mm f/4 risam. ISO 320。 F/4. 1/80 seconds 70mm focal length.

Communicate with subjects

Just now, I mainly mentioned the use of some equipment for portrait photography. However, the best thing about an excellent portrait photographer is that he can communicate well with the subject, and can guide the photographer to bring out the feelings that the subject wants, and show them properly in the photos. So although the photographer gives the impression of being cold and handsome,

But in fact, a good portrait photographer is usually very talkative and it is easy for people to participate in the conversation, so you should know what feeling you want to bring before taking a portrait, and don't be afraid to communicate with the subject. A fascinating photo often has human elements. A good portrait photographer needs to bring out people's feelings and even thinking space from this plane image in order to achieve this charming photo.

Canon EOS 5d Mark III. EF 24-70 mm f/4 risam. ISO 100。 F/8.1125 seconds 70mm focal length.