Lighting skills of landscape photography

Lighting is not only a basic technology, but also an idea, which is integrated in 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 shade levels and tones. When shooting a landscape outdoors, photographers can display various effects of the landscape by using different light levels, such as front light, side light and backlight. 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 generally used to shoot scenes. Nature has infinite charm, and mountain scenery, waterscape, grassland and forest may all become the attractions for photographers.

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

Shooting the scenery along the light, the whole picture has uniform illumination, few shadows and easy exposure control. However, it should be noted that pictures taken in smooth environment may lack rich layering and the visual effect is slightly dull. Documentary photos of tourism are often taken along the light.

The sidelight environment is beneficial to show the outline of the subject. When the shooting direction of the camera is 90o with the light level, the subject can be represented by side light, which enriches the picture level.

Backlight environment is the easiest to outline the main body and form a high light ratio effect with other areas. Backlight does not pay attention to depicting the dark details of the subject, so attention should be paid to detail exposure when shooting to ensure the backlight of the picture.

Atmosphere.

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 vary with time. The light is different in the morning and evening. Photographers can shoot scenes in different time periods, and can show different characteristics of scenes and emotional appeal of pictures.

The scenery in the four seasons will present different styles, and the scenery in different time periods of the day will also present 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 there is even a harsh feeling. At this time, a small scene can be used to show the leisurely effect of the picture, and the outline of the main body can also be outlined in the landscape with the help of strong light.

When the sun sets, the light is soft, and gorgeous clouds and sunset scenes can be photographed through the surround exposure mode, creating a thick and soft tone atmosphere in the picture.

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

Forest is one of the common themes in landscape photography. Pay attention 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 kinds of trees grow in different areas. When shooting, you can show different colors of trees according to different seasons.

When shooting in the spring when everything is reviving, the photos will show a vigorous spirit. When shooting in foggy summer, you can use fog as the background, which can better represent the subject. 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, you can use the colors of trees to contrast the atmosphere of the forest, and capture the rich layering of the forest on the screen with the help of big scenes and light irradiation. Winter shooting can show the indomitable character of trees who are not afraid of cold.

No matter in which season the forest scenery is photographed, the white balance and exposure compensation should be adjusted according to the light of the environment at that time to make the photographed scenery more charming.

4. How to shoot colorful grasslands?

Grassland areas generally have long sunshine hours and strong sunlight. On a clear day, you can see low clouds and brilliant sunset glow. This is also an important reason for attracting many photographers to create. Sunlight can show a peaceful side like grassland; Backlight can focus on the changes of clouds and sky. Of course, on cloudy days or cloudy days, you can also shoot grassland wildflowers, cattle and sheep and other elements to show your 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? See cattle and sheep when the wind blows? The scene.

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

If you simply express the rich colors of the grassland, the photographer can express it by shooting big scenes. You can also add other scenic spots to embellish the picture, such as windmills on the grassland, which is helpful to show the wind direction and movement of the grassland.

5. How to express the silhouette of a tree with light?

Silhouette is caused by the failure of light to make the subject receive light. In clear weather, photographers can show the outline of trees by shooting horizontally with 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 the backlight angle, which not only highlights the physical beauty of trees through light and shadow. Moreover, under the irradiation of light, trees will drag out long shadows, 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, the 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. Pay attention to the choice of angle when composing a composition. You can shoot the whole tree, you can shoot a part of the tree, and you can even shoot only the 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 gold, crimson, orange and other colors. These beautiful colors are the characteristics of autumn plants. Choosing sunny and cloudy weather to shoot autumn scenery will present a different picture feeling. On sunny days, the light will be stronger and the color of the picture will be brighter and brighter. Soft light on cloudy days will make the picture soft and the color saturation of the scene is 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 patch colors and similar tones to form beautiful patterns, so that the picture is full of order and form beauty.

However, it should be noted that the color of the picture should not be too rich, and it should be controlled within three kinds as far as possible. If you can match the contrast or coordination of colors, you can get very good visual effects. If there are too many colors, it will only give people a sense of confusion.

The colorful degree of autumn scenery will be influenced by the weather and light. For example, in the case 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 autumn scenery in direct light, there will be shadows on the ground, the stereoscopic impression of the picture will be enhanced, and the colors of the leaves will be more saturated.

7. How to pat branches in winter?

In winter, the branches are covered with snow and are white crystals with high reflectivity. Therefore, branches covered with snow can be photographed by direct light, or by backlight, side backlight, side light and oblique light, and sometimes the scene can be photographed by combining various light levels to make the scene more perfect.

In winter, in the ice and snow, everything presents a quiet and pure beauty. Branches are excellent subjects in the world of ice and snow, and their unique forms bring viewers another kind of 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.

Also pay attention to controlling the exposure. The exposure of snow scene is different from conventional exposure. The standard photometric method of restoring 18% gray level will make the white snow scene in the picture dark gray. In order to express the crystal clear texture of the snow scene, photographers need to use spot metering based on snow, and add 1~2 exposure compensation on this basis. While restoring the snow scene to bright white, he should pay attention to preserving the texture details of the snow scene.

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

8. How to shoot snow?

When shooting snow scenes, photographers 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 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 scene.

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

First of all, snow is not always white. Snow is white in the sun, light 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 choose to shoot in the early morning or evening, before 9: 00 a.m. or after 4: 00 p.m. 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 enhances the texture of snow, and can fully show the level and details of snow.

Third, pay attention to the direction of light and 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, which can clearly present various veins on the snow and the impressions of people and animals, and the shadows left by surrounding trees and scenery also play an auxiliary role in composition.

Fourthly, if shooting a large-scale snow scene, the photographer should pay attention to the use of the surrounding scenery, and can choose dark buildings, trees and mountains 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 the fog scene?

Photographers usually choose to shoot fog scenes in Shan Ye. When shooting, it is necessary to observe the illuminance of light and the visibility of fog in foggy days, and choose a good light level to show a beautiful fog scene.

When fog appears between scenes, ordinary scenes often become unfamiliar because of hiding a lot of details. When shooting in foggy days, photographers can avoid what cannot be avoided in sunny days by adjusting the shooting distance, thus presenting poetic beauty.

Most fog scenes are shot in the case of scattered light. In fact, when there is mist, even shooting at night will have a very good effect, especially when it is just dark and the sky is not completely dark.

When shooting fog scenes, you should also pay attention to the direction of light. The fog scene photographed along the light is characterized by good color and suitable for color expression. However, the perspective spatial relationship of the picture is too dull, and the stereoscopic effect is not good without side light or backlight. Therefore, in practice, we should use light flexibly according to the characteristics of objects.

10, how to shoot the lake?

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

Strong direct sunlight is not the best time to show the water surface. The water surface has high reflectivity and will be very 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.

When the incident angle of sunlight is low, or it is cloudy, better lake effect can often be obtained. Under the irradiation of scattered light, the water surface is evenly illuminated, and 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, lateral light and reverse light. For example, under the sunlight, the color of the green water surface is very rich. When the water quality is clear and the water bottom is shallow, you can also see the scenery under the light. Under the side light, the saturation of green water will decrease, and the undulating lines and the contrast between light and shade on the water surface will be greater. Side light is beneficial to show the shape of water, wavy lines and so on. The flashing high light spots on the water surface under the backlight will make the image of water in the picture active and poetic.

1 1. How to shoot sparkling water?

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

A calm water surface is easily affected by ambient light. Blue sky can make the water surface blue, the water surface surrounded by green hills can make the water surface green, and the clear sky in the morning and the golden sunshine in the evening can make the water surface red or golden.

If you want to shoot sparkling water, you must shoot against the light on a sunny day, and the sunlight should be low when shooting. If the lens aperture is reduced to F8~F 1 1, the effect of wave light will be more obvious, forming a divergent starlight effect.

How to shoot the reflection in the water

The reflection in shooting water is influenced by wind direction, water waves, orientation, light and seasonal changes. Reflection is not an ordinary still life. When there is wind or in flowing water, some reflections with dynamic effects can often be photographed. The form of this reflection is ever-changing and has no certain regularity, depending on the flow of water waves during shooting. When there is no wind, the still water is like a mirror, and the reflection is particularly clear. Photographers can use front light and side light to express their reflections.

The reflection of water surface is one of the main factors to enhance the artistic expression of water surface. When shooting, if you add reflection, it will add a lot of color to the photo. The water surface can form a mirror under the irradiation of light, and the reflection and the scenery blend together harmoniously, giving people a pleasing visual experience.

Before and after sunrise and at sunset, the environment is quiet, and the reflection on the mirror-like water is particularly beautiful, which is a good time to shoot the reflection. In addition, when shooting, we should pay attention to the dazzling spots produced by light irradiation on the water surface, which will lead to the increase of image contrast and affect the aesthetic feeling of the picture. There are two ways to avoid flare phenomenon: one is to change the shooting position as much as possible; The second is to use a circular polarizer to reduce or eliminate it. When shooting the reflection in the water with side backlight at sunset, the subject can cast a long projection on the calm and bright water.

In most cases, when the front of the scene is illuminated by front light or side light, the outline and color of the reflection in the water are the clearest and most beautiful. Backlit scenery, however, is rarely used in photography because its front is not clear and its reflection is difficult to achieve the ideal effect.