How to take outdoor portrait photos?

Outdoor portrait photography is also a favorite subject for photographers, and it takes various forms, such as classmates, couples and family members going out to travel, taking pictures of scenery and places of interest; It can also be a specially arranged portrait shoot. In order to obtain excellent outdoor portraits with charm and both spirit and form, shooting should focus on the following aspects.

Choose a suitable shooting location

Many photographers always fail to grasp the location of the subject characters, and the common mistake is to shoot the characters so small that they can't even recognize who the subject characters are. Therefore, when taking similar photos of the main character in places of interest or scenery, we should try to put the main character close to the camera and put it on the left or right side of the picture, so as to highlight the main character and not block the scenery behind the main character.

Timing of shooting

The timing of outdoor portrait shooting varies from season to season, but regardless of spring, summer, autumn and winter, do not shoot portraits with the top light at noon, because the top light will produce heavy shadows on the faces of people. The following are the best opportunities for outdoor people to take photos in sunny sun in all seasons:

Spring: 7: 3-1: 15: 3-18:

Summer: 6: 3-9: 16: 3-19:

Autumn: 7: 3-1. The shooting time of spring, summer, autumn and winter is in the early morning and late afternoon, because the light is softer and the color temperature is reasonable at this time. If you shoot at the beginning and end of each season, you can shoot long shadows of people, trees and shrubs, and at the same time, because of the low color temperature, it will bring deep warmth to people and scenery, making the picture interesting.

choice of light

outdoor portrait photography should use light correctly. Side light and backlight will give people and scenery a sense of layering and three-dimensionality, and the perspective effect of the picture is good. In particular, backlight will give people a wonderful sense of outline, and also emphasize the texture of hair and clothes, bringing a crystal clear visual experience. You can shoot wonderful outdoor portraits without sunlight. Cloudy weather illumination, called scattered light, is always balanced no matter where the subject faces. Due to the small contrast of the whole picture, we should pay attention to: first, the matching of clothing and background colors (complementary colors), second, making full use of the function of the lens to blur the background, and third, using the foreground. This kind of shooting can separate the subject from the other classics and the foreground, which has a sense of hierarchy.

Selection of shooting equipment

If you are shooting portraits of people in landscapes and places of interest, you should choose standard lens and wide-angle lens. Because of the wide range of depth of field, you can give consideration to the clarity of people and background. Set the aperture as small as possible. When shooting with a wide-angle lens, be careful not to be too close to the camera to avoid deformation of the characters.

If you are shooting portraits mainly of people, it is appropriate to use 8mm-2mm lens. Because of the small depth of field, this kind of lens can continue the messy background, thus highlighting the portrait of people. The aperture can be set as large as possible.