How to take pictures of beautiful scenery with Tyndall effect?

1. What is the Tyndall effect

First of all, I will give you a popular science about what the Tyndall effect is. When a beam of light passes through a colloid, a bright "pathway" can be observed in the colloid from the vertical direction of the incident light. This phenomenon is called the Tyndall phenomenon, also known as the Tyndall effect.

The essence of Tyndall phenomenon is the scattering of light. When light passes through an inhomogeneous medium, the propagation direction of part of the light rays will deviate. This is the scattering phenomenon of light. Light that deviates from the original propagation direction is called It's scattered light.

We know that colloid is a dispersion system between solution and suspension, formed by colloidal particles dispersed in a dispersant. The diameter of colloidal particles ranges from 1 to 100 nm, which is close to the wavelength of visible light (400 to 700 nm). When visible light passes through colloids, the light scattering phenomenon is enhanced and is easily observed.

Photography is the art of capturing light. Therefore, ordinary optical phenomena such as the Tyndall effect can highlight beautiful effects under certain circumstances, and it has become the best choice for photographers. Loved it. The photography community is generally accustomed to calling it "Jesus light", or just a light beam. Few people say that I took a photo of the Tyndall effect.

2. How to take photos of the Tyndall effect

First of all, there are two elements for taking such photos:

1. There must be light, and it must be a beam. light.

2. There must be suspended colloidal particles.

As long as these two conditions are met, you can shoot beautiful light beams. Especially in places where common light beams are generated, such as beams between cloudy weather, stage spotlights, pouring beams between leaves in the woods, etc.

Regarding composition, the shooting of Tyndall phenomenon is not much different from ordinary photography. A good photo needs a clear theme. All elements of the picture serve the theme. The entire picture It should not be crooked or dirty, and should be as concise as possible while ensuring the expression of ideas. The theme of the picture is generally not placed in the center of the picture, but is usually placed at a certain point of the nine-square grid. In this way, the entire picture will look neat, with a clear theme and a good look and feel.

Don’t overexpose, and don’t underexpose.

The Tyndall phenomenon itself can hardly be the main theme of the picture. In fact, a film that completely shoots the Tyndall phenomenon can hardly be a good film. Because what the Tyndall phenomenon creates is only an artistic conception and an atmosphere, and what this artistic conception and atmosphere set off is the key. Whether it is a young girl, a looming shadow in the morning mist, or the clouds opening after the dark clouds fall over the city, they are all good themes of the Tyndall phenomenon.

Let’s talk about the scene in detail through a few photos of the Tyndall effect:

Photographers who have experience in stage photography will know that in order to better create an atmosphere at the scene, they will usually There are a large number of beam lights, and in order to give these beam lights a better display effect, one or two smoke machines are usually placed on site. As shown in the picture, if you look closely at each beam, there is smoke floating. This is one of the real-life applications of the Tyndall effect.

Tyndall effect is common in reality, as shown in the picture above. The beam effect projected from the gaps between clouds will also be reflected in the atmosphere with water vapor. What you need to pay attention to when taking such photos is that the light needs to pass through the gaps between the clouds to appear, and there needs to be floating objects or water vapor in the air.

In addition, the light beam effect projected by the water waves can also be photographed in the water with floating particles. The unevenness of the water waves can divide the light into beams of light, as shown in the picture. If the water surface is as calm as a mirror, and the particles are If it is not large enough, you cannot obtain pictures of the Tyndall effect.

The sunlight shining in the woods, the light in the moisture of the morning fog. This is also a manifestation of the Tyndall effect that is often seen in nature.

In addition to scene selection and composition, these aspects are also the key points for shooting good-looking light beams:

1. Under the premise of beam light and suspended colloidal particles, the best way to shoot is to It is best to have a darker background. The darker the background, the more obvious the effect of the light beam. For example, in the woods after rain, the water vapor is diffuse and the humidity is high. If the sunlight shines through the gaps between the leaves at this time, it will be a very good time and place to take pictures against the overall dark environment.

2. Most of the scenes produced by shooting beams are side backlit or backlit, so it is best to use M mode and spot metering when shooting. Use spot metering mode to meter the highlights of the picture. The shutter speed does not have to be very slow, as long as it can reach a safe shutter speed.

3. When taking such photos, the contrast will be relatively large. It is best to use low contrast and RAW format when shooting, so as to better retain the details of the picture.

3. Post-processing ideas:

When processing in RAW format, first speed up the highlights and dark details of the photo, and then correct the color temperature to increase the contrast and clarity. The adjustment method is as shown in the figure below. The specific adjustment needs to be based on the actual picture.

Basically, if you understand the principle of Tyndall phenomenon, you will understand the problem. This phenomenon can not only be captured in places with air pollution, but you can even create it yourself with the help of props. To shoot light beams, an easy-to-operate SLR or mirrorless camera (professional large-sole card camera is also acceptable) + a slightly wider focal length lens, such as a 35mm lens is very good, or the mobile phone itself is enough.