Lighting skills of landscape photography

Lighting is not only a basic technology, but also a concept, which is integrated into all shooting processes. After all, there is photography only when there is light, which is a problem that we should be aware of before taking out the camera. Here are some lighting techniques I have compiled about landscape photography for your reference.

1. How to shoot scenes in different light?

In photography, with the illumination of light, the picture will produce light and dark levels and tones. When shooting a landscape outdoors, the photographer can show various effects of the landscape picture by using different light levels such as forward light, side light and reverse light. Photographers can also choose different light levels to show the beauty of nature according to the ambient light conditions at that time.

In photography, natural light is usually used to take photos of scenery. There are endless charms in nature, and mountain scenery, water features, grasslands and forests may become the viewing points of photographers.

professional photographers will choose shooting location, shooting time and light level to express the scene according to their own theme. Tourism photographers can shoot what they see anytime and anywhere, and their difficulties are how to expose the picture correctly and what kind of light position to use for framing. In photography, photographers can show different picture effects according to different light levels.

When shooting the scenery along the light, the whole picture receives light evenly, with few shadows, and the exposure is easy to control. However, we should pay attention to the fact that the pictures taken in the smooth environment may lack rich layers and the visual effect is slightly dull. Tourism documentary photos are often taken along the light.

The sidelight environment is beneficial to show the shape outline of the subject. When the shooting direction of the camera is 9o with the light level, the subject can be shown by sidelight, which enriches the picture level.

Backlight environment is the easiest to outline the subject, and it forms a high light ratio effect with other areas. Backlight does not focus on depicting the dark details of the subject, so attention should be paid to detail exposure when shooting to ensure the atmosphere of backlight < P >.

2. How to shoot the scenery at different times?

during the day, the light is constantly changing, and the light quality of the light will be different with the change of time. The light in the morning and evening is different. Photographers can shoot the scenery at different time periods, which can show different characteristics of the scenery and emotional appeal of the picture.

The scenery in the four seasons will show different styles, and the scenery in different time periods of the day will also show different colors and textures. At sunrise, the air is moist and delicate, which is suitable for expressing a fresh and hearty feeling.

In the afternoon, the sun is strong, and even it feels harsh. At this time, you can show the leisurely effect of the picture through small scenes, and you can also draw the outline of the subject in the landscape with the help of strong light.

At sunset, the light is soft. You can shoot gorgeous clouds and sunset scenery by surrounding exposure mode, and create a rich and gentle tone atmosphere in the picture.

3. How to show the forest scenery in different seasons?

forest is one of the common subjects in landscape photography. Attention should be paid to the angle of view and the position of trees in the picture when shooting forest scenery. There are many kinds of trees in nature, and different types of trees grow in different areas. When shooting, different colors of trees can be displayed according to different seasons.

When shooting in the spring when everything is reviving, the photos will show a kind of vigorous spirit. When shooting in foggy summer, fog can be used as the background, so that the subject can be better represented. Generally, the light is strong in summer. At this time, you can get accurate exposure by lowering the shutter speed or narrowing the aperture. Of course, you can also choose to shoot on cloudy days.

In colorful autumn, the atmosphere of the forest can be set off by the colors of trees, and the rich layers of the forest can be captured on the screen with the help of large scenes and light. Winter shooting can show the indomitable character of trees who are not afraid of cold.

No matter which season you shoot the forest scenery, you should adjust the white balance and exposure compensation according to the light of the environment at that time to make the shot scenery more charming.

4. How to shoot colorful grasslands?

Generally, there are long sunshine hours and strong light in grassland areas. On sunny days, you can see low clouds and brilliant sunset glow. This is also an important reason to attract many photographers to create. Sunlight can show a grassland-like and peaceful side; Backlight can focus on the changes of clouds and the sky. Of course, in cloudy or cloudy days, you can also shoot grassland wildflowers, cattle and sheep and other elements to show their true colors.

the vast grassland, flocks of cattle and sheep, winding rivers, blue sky and white clouds and other beautiful scenery can not help but remind people? Wind blows grass and sees cattle and sheep? The scene.

Only shooting the grassland on a sunny day can show its charm. Because the lighting conditions are more abundant in sunny days, the colors of blue sky and white clouds will be more full. If there are herds of cattle and sheep, it is necessary to adopt a higher shooting angle to lower the position of the horizon in the picture, which can better reflect the vastness of the grassland. The strong sunlight in the grassland during the day often increases the contrast between the light-receiving side and the shadow side of the scene, but it can also capture strange light and shadow effects.

If you simply show the rich colors of the grassland, the photographer can show it by shooting large scenes. Other scenic spots can also be included to embellish the picture, such as the wind car on the grassland, which is helpful to express the wind direction and movement of the grassland.

5. How to use light to express tree silhouette?

Silhouette is caused by the failure of light to make the subject receive light. In clear weather, the photographer can show the silhouette of trees by shooting with the light level of backlight and side backlight. Photographers should also use the central focus average metering mode for metering to ensure the correct exposure of the whole picture.

In the dense forest in the early morning or evening, the photographer can shoot from a backlight angle, which not only highlights the physical beauty of trees through light and shadow. Moreover, under the illumination of light, the trees will drag out long shadows, which perfectly outline the lines of trees and make the picture show excellent light and shadow effects.

when shooting trees, it is best to choose side backlight or backlight illumination. When illuminated by side backlight, the three-dimensional sense and texture of trees will have a good performance; Under the backlight, branches and leaves will form a silhouette effect, showing a distinct outline. At the same time, the leaves can fully show their translucent texture under the backlight. Attention should be paid to the choice of angle when composing a composition. You can shoot the whole tree, the part of the tree, or even only the local leaves with certain characteristics and colors.

6. How to shoot colorful colors in autumn?

Autumn is the harvest season. In this season, photographers always take pictures of golden, crimson, orange and other colors. These beautiful colors are the characteristics of plants in autumn. Choosing sunny and cloudy weather to shoot autumn scenery will show a different picture feeling. On sunny days, the light will be stronger, and the color of the picture will be brighter and brighter. The soft light in cloudy weather will make the picture soft and the color saturation of the scene is also high.

In autumn, the leaves show a variety of colors, giving people a sense of joy in harvest. At this time, when shooting trees, we should pay attention to the use of patches of colors and similar tones to form beautiful patterns, so that the picture is full of order beauty and formal beauty.

However, we should pay attention to not having too many colors in the picture, and try to control it within three kinds. If we can express it in coordination with the contrast or coordination of colors, we can get very good visual effects. If there are too many colors, it will only give people a chaotic feeling.

The colorful degree of autumn scenery will be influenced by weather and light. For example, under the condition of scattered light, the directionality of soft light is not strong, and it is not easy to produce shadows. Although the contrast between light and dark is not strong, the picture is soft, delicate and full.

If you shoot the autumn scenery in direct light, shadows will appear on the ground, the three-dimensional sense of the picture will be enhanced, and the colors of the leaves will appear more saturated.

7. How to shoot branches in winter

Branches in winter are covered with snow, and snow is white crystal with high reflectivity, so you can shoot branches in snow with direct light, backlight, sidelight, sidelight, oblique light and other light levels, and sometimes you can combine multiple light levels to make the scene more perfect.

in winter, everything is quiet and pure in the world of ice and snow. Branches are excellent subjects in the world of ice and snow, and their unique forms bring viewers another visual enjoyment, which is a rare subject for photographers. When shooting branches and leaves after snow, photographers should pay attention to the choice of light, and shooting with side light and backlight level can show the transparency of branches.

Attention should also be paid to controlling the exposure. The exposure of the snow scene is different from the conventional exposure. The standard photometry method of restoring 18% gray will make the white snow scene dark and gray in the picture. In order to show the crystal clear texture of the snow scene, the photographer needs to use spot metering to measure the light based on the snow, and add 1~2 exposure compensation on this basis. While restoring the snow scene to bright white, he should pay attention to retaining the texture details of the snow scene.

In addition to increasing exposure compensation, the safest way to shoot snow scenes is to use the bracketing exposure method. When using the bracketing exposure mode for photometric shooting, the camera will take three photos with slightly different exposure, and the photographer can choose the appropriate exposure according to his own needs.

8. How to shoot snow

When shooting snow, the photographer should not only master the use of light, but also rely on accurate photometry and reasonable exposure. Photographers should choose smooth light, side light, side backlight or backlight level according to the illumination conditions of natural light on the day of shooting, and also choose different metering modes according to the scenic spots taken at that time to ensure the correct exposure of the whole snow-covered picture.

When shooting snow scenery, lighting and metering must be very accurate, and shooting will fail if you are not careful. Snow will produce specular reflection, resulting in high brightness, high reflectivity and lack of layering on the snow surface. Therefore, we should pay attention to the following points when shooting:

First, snow is not always white. Snow is white in the sun, pale blue in the shadow, gray on cloudy days and warm at sunrise or sunset. If you want to shoot a good snow scene, the photographer must first understand this characteristic of snow.

Secondly, the photographer had better shoot in the early morning or evening, before 9: am or after 4: pm. At this time, the angle of sunlight is low, and the reflection angle of light on the snow surface is small, which makes it soft, and the texture of snow is enhanced, which can fully show the level and details of snow.

Third, we should pay attention to the direction of light and the shooting angle when shooting. In order to fully express the characteristics of snow, photographers had better use side light, side backlight or backlight to shoot. The best shooting angle and light is low-altitude side backlight shooting, so that all kinds of veins on the snow and the impressions of people and animals can be clearly presented, and the shadows left by surrounding trees and scenery also play an auxiliary role in composition.

fourthly, if shooting a large-scale snow landscape, the photographer should pay attention to using the surrounding scenery, and can choose buildings, trees and mountains with dark colors as a foil, or add pedestrians on the road to the picture, which will add some vitality and vitality to the plain picture to a certain extent.

9. How to shoot fog scenes

Photographers usually choose to shoot fog scenes in mountains and fields. When shooting, it is necessary to observe the illumination of light in foggy days and the visibility of fog, and choose the light level to show the beautiful fog scene.

When fog appears between scenes, ordinary scenes can often become unfamiliar because a large number of details are hidden. When shooting in fog, photographers can avoid things that cannot be avoided on sunny days by adjusting the shooting distance, thus presenting poetic beauty.

Most fog scenes are shot under the condition of scattered light. In fact, when there is thin fog, even shooting night scenes will have a very good effect, especially when it is just getting dark and the sky is not completely black.

When shooting fog scenes, we should also pay attention to the direction of light. Fog scenes shot along the light are characterized by good colors, which are suitable to be expressed in color form. However, the perspective spatial relationship of the picture is too dull, and the stereoscopic effect is not as good as that of side light or backlight light. Therefore, we should use light flexibly according to the characteristics of the object in practice.

1. How to shoot the lake

The vast waters and lakes in full of green are fascinating and poetic, and they are the favorite subjects for photographers. However, just shooting a quiet lake often makes the picture dull, so the photographer can make use of the performance of light and foreground to make the picture more beautiful with the clear and cloudy sky as a foil and the quiet water surface or reflection.

strong direct sunlight is not the best time to show the water surface. The water surface has a high reflectivity, and it will be bright under normal circumstances. When the angle of sunlight is at a certain angle with the camera lens, strong light will be reflected on the water surface.

When the incident angle of sunlight is relatively low or it is cloudy, you can often get better lake effect. Under the irradiation of scattered light, the water surface is evenly illuminated, and the color of the green lake is elegant and soft, with no obvious reflection.

The images of lakes in the same water area are different under three different light levels: forward light, side light and backward light. For example, under the sunlight, the color of the green water surface is very rich. When the water quality is clear and the bottom of the water is shallow, you can also see the scenery under the light. Under the side light irradiation, the saturation of green water will decrease, and the undulating lines and contrast between light and dark of water surface waves will be larger. Side light is beneficial to show the shape of water, wavy lines and so on. The flickering high light spots on the water surface under the backlight will make the image of water in the picture active and poetic.

11. How to shoot the sparkling water surface

When shooting the water surface with the backlight level, the water surface will glow with sparkling spots. The sparkling water surface makes the picture emit starlight color, and the shot effect is full of subtle dynamic beauty, which can more clearly show the level of the water surface and create a poetic picture artistic conception.

a calm water surface is easily affected by ambient light. The blue sky can make the color of the water surface blue, the water surface surrounded by green hills can make the color of the water surface green, and the sunny sky in the morning and the golden sunshine in the evening can make the water surface red or golden.

If you want to shoot the sparkling water surface, you must shoot with the backlight in sunny days, and the sunlight should be at a low angle when shooting. When the lens aperture is reduced to F8~F11, the effect of wave light will be more obvious, forming a divergent starlight effect.

12. How to shoot the reflection in the water

Shooting the reflection in the water is influenced by factors such as wind direction, water wave, orientation, light and seasonal changes. Reflection is not an ordinary still life. When it is windy or in flowing waters, some dynamic reflections can often be photographed. The manifestations of this reflection are ever-changing and have no certain regularity, depending on the shooting time.