Natural light portrait photography skills

Lead: Indoor portrait lighting is necessary. When the outdoor light is not friendly enough, we also use flash or reflection. Are there any skills for shooting in natural light? Now let me talk to you.

1. light quality

How to choose? Obviously, we must first understand the characteristics of light quality. The light rising in the morning is obviously different from the light sinking at night, which depends on the photographer's hobby and practical experience. As far as the fading evening light is concerned, this kind of light is soft and dramatic, giving people a calm and profound feeling, which is the light that many photographers like. Be sure to pay attention to the transition between highlights and shadows, and don't leave angular shadows on your face. If shooting in a wide space, you'd better find a place to hide from direct light.

2. Direction of lighting

Usually, you should shoot along the light (not necessarily the standard' front light', but often form a specific angle), try to change the angle to get different effects, and carefully control the shadow. Sometimes you need to take some creative pictures, but in any case, you should avoid letting the model's face appear. Dead darkness can only bring unhappiness to the viewer. When shooting portraits with backlight (including side backlight), try to use a reflector to fill the face with light. The key is to try all kinds of angles. The camera, the direction of light, the distance and angle between models usually form a complex contrast relationship. Only by practicing hard can we find the right combination? There are of course various combinations.

theatricalize

We often hear? Dramatic statement. What does the drama of portrait photography mean? I think it lies in the action contained in the picture and the atmosphere of the focal plane version. The action is realized by the photographer's lens capture ability, while the atmosphere comes from the lighting control.

Natural light shooting can't freely combine the light, and at the same time, you should realize that the light changes at any time, which requires you to accumulate experience in the light changes you usually encounter, and have foresight and predictive ability. Some specific lighting effects are a panacea to achieve a dramatic atmosphere: backlight photography, the expression of contour light, and extreme silhouette shooting? This has the effect of creating an atmosphere, but it is not enough for drama. It must be assisted by actions, so that the drama can be truly reflected. Scene design, instant grasp, angle arrangement and sensitivity to certain details are all the keys to shooting drama elements.

Common theatrical light elements include: the dramatic effect brought by backlight and window light, and the special visual beauty produced by special elements such as shadows, outlines and silhouettes. Please observe the dramatic elements of the following works:

4. Post-processing

The post-processing of natural light photography is particularly critical, because there are many things that need to be corrected. Experts suggest that the original data file should be used to store data as much as possible, instead of JPG. RAW retains the original data, which can't be effectively completed in dealing with JPG images in terms of exposure correction, color correction and tolerance adjustment.

In the initial stage of data processing, it is suggested to use original data file processing software such as Lightroom to set exposure and color, so as to make an image file with the least loss. If you have further requirements in the future, you can use tools such as Photoshop to make adjustments.

The conclusion is: watch more films and do more experiments.