What are the special skills of time-lapse photography?

You must have seen that kind of cloud moving very fast in movies and TV. Sunrise, sunset and plant growth are all completed in a short time. That's time-lapse photography An expressive way to show what is in front of you. Here are some tips I carefully recommend for you, hoping to help you.

Time-lapse photography skills 1. Preparatory preparation

First, we have to choose a shooting equipment. At present, most devices with camera function, such as SLR, camcorder, sports DV and mobile phone, can meet our needs of time-delay photography (some products have built-in time-delay function, such as mobile phone, which can be solved through related apps). In short, the choice of shooting equipment is very wide, as long as your equipment can be realized by itself or through external conditions; Intermittent shooting; This hard condition is enough. Prepare shooting equipment (slide rail, tripod, camera)

Then, there are related shooting accessories. If you plan to shoot a fixed time-lapse lens, then you need to prepare a stable tripod. If you are shooting a small-scale moving delay, then you may need to prepare a guide rail with fixed moving function. If you are shooting a wide range of motion delays, you may need to prepare some carts and rulers according to the situation.

Second, shooting and production

Nikon D7200 can directly generate time-delayed video in the machine, or use photo interval shooting and post-synthesis.

After these hardware devices are ready, we can officially enter the shooting session. In terms of means of realization, there are two mainstream ways. One is that the delayed video can be automatically generated in the device itself, and the other is that interval photos need to be taken and then synthesized by the later software. The first method is relatively simple to make, and the second method has greater freedom in the later stage. Use Nikon D7200 in the following situations. Nikon D7200 time-lapse shooting is fully functional. In addition to the machine itself automatically generating full HD delayed video, you can also use the interval camera function to make higher resolution video. In order to give you a comprehensive understanding, the following involves two methods, which you can choose according to your actual situation.

1, fixed delay preview

Adjust the interval in the menu and start shooting.

In this session, let's try the method of direct delivery in the machine and full-time video shooting. We fixed the camera on the tripod, adjusted the fixed exposure parameters, focal length and frame ratio, adjusted the interval shooting time, and then pressed the shutter to wait.

Fixed delay video (after shooting, you only need to copy the video automatically generated in the camera)

After the shooting, there is a complete time-lapse video in the camera. Automatic generation of delayed video in the machine is relatively simple, and no special processing is needed in the later stage. We just need to repeat the above steps and shoot different shots for later editing.

2, a small range of mobile time delay shooting

In this link, we use the method of photo spacing. First of all, we still need to adjust the camera to a fixed exposure parameter, focal length, frame ratio and the most important interval.

The camera is fixed on the slide rail (a small range of movement is expected to be referenced, and the movement effect is obvious)

Then, fix the camera on the time-delay slide rail, set the speed of the slide rail (professional time-delay slide rail supports interval motion), and you can officially shoot.

After shooting, it is a group of images with continuous file names.

After the shooting is completed, an image sequence with continuous file names is obtained in the camera, and a smooth motion delay shooting is completed here. So how can we turn into a continuous video in the face of hundreds of continuous photos? We use PR to explain it to you.

Non-editing software selects the image sequence when importing the material, and the imported video is a complete video.

Open the software, just click on the sequence to import the material, and the imported fragment is a formed time-lapse photography, which is very simple. Note that you need to select sequential import, otherwise the imported material is a single-needle static image. If there is a material interruption, please check whether your file names are continuous.

AE has its own command to stabilize the deformation stabilizer.

For some videos that need to be stabilized, we can import the clips into Adobe After Effects, and then add them to the clips with the command morphing stabilizer that comes with AE. In this way, we put different time-lapse shots together for editing and music, and finally form a complete work.

Moving Time-lapse Shooting A large range of moving time-lapse shooting is relatively difficult, and it is also a shooting method sought after by everyone in recent years. Before shooting a large-scale motion delay, the first thing to do is to think about the final lens effect. Is it a parallel movement? Moving around objects? Or do you exercise as you please? This point must be made clear before shooting, because only when this point is determined can the motion path between the machine and the human be designed.

Find the reference point of the viewing angle and the motion path of the plane (refer to the black tile on the ground)

Time-lapse shooting around the motion of an object requires first finding a fixed perspective reference point on the object, such as the building above, so I used the position of the red frame as the reference point. Then adjust the camera to focus on the central point, and when shooting each image, focus on the position of the red frame; Then, plan the approximate path of an aircraft movement, the average distance of each movement and how long the interval is. Once confirmed, you can follow these settings and shoot step by step.

Let's talk about parallel motion time-lapse shooting. In this shooting, what we need to look for is not a point, but two lines, one is the baseline of lens movement and the other is the baseline of fuselage movement. We only need to follow these two reference lines to ensure that the distance and interval of each movement are consistent (the exposure parameters are preferably the same).

Parallel motion time-delay shooting, when using the trolley to move in parallel, the most important thing is to find the reference object of position motion. For example, in the square, we can use the lines of floor tiles as reference objects, and on the overpass, we can use railings as reference objects, the better. If it is flat ground or highway, it is also a good way to use trolleys.

If you shoot a single frame sequence image, the post-production and small-scale moving delay are the same, so I won't explain it here. As for other irregular movement delays, it is consistent with the shooting principle mentioned above. We only need to follow one principle, that is, the interval time and moving distance of each action are a gradual process and consistent, so as to produce a smooth delayed video.

Precautions tripod

If you shoot with a camcorder, because you can shoot 24 or more photos per second, even if there is no shock, only the image will shake.

If we take time-lapse photography with a camera, we will compress the time, usually only press the shutter once from half a second to dozens of seconds. In the case of holding hands, absolutely no one can aim at the same position. Without the help of a tripod, the synthesized image will not only shake, but also jump up and down. Moreover, time-lapse photography often takes a few minutes, and holding the camera for an hour is enough to make people break their arms.

Therefore, the tripod is a necessity for shooting time-lapse photography. Don't move the tripod at the beginning of shooting until the whole group of photos are taken.

Do not move and scale horizontally.

When taking time-lapse photography, can I slowly move the picture horizontally? No, because the tripod can't rotate accurately by a small angle at an average speed. Once the angle of the picture is uneven, or the moving speed is fast and slow, the picture will not look good. When shooting a single scene, just aim at a still place.

Similarly, don't zoom in when shooting, because no one can rotate the zoom ring at a uniform speed, and no one can rotate the same small angle every time.

Automatic shutter controller (spacer)

Shooting time-lapse photography is a long job. If the shutter is manually controlled, I estimate that the person is already half tired, pressing it every ten seconds and shooting for two hours continuously.

Fortunately, there is a good thing in the world called automatic shutter controller. Nikon camera has a built-in camera (but there are some restrictions), and Canon users will have to buy it extra. Whether it is Canon or Nikon's external shutter controller, the original factory needs at least 1000 yuan, but fortunately, more than 200 yuan is available.

The automatic shutter controller is actually just a cable release with an electronic timer, which allows us to set the interval of pressing the shutter and the number of shots. It's basically set. Press the shutter automatically. Remember to bring an extra game machine, a camera or a book when shooting, and don't waste really expensive time.

Use m mode

All semi-professional digital cameras have been equipped with aperture prerequisites and shutter prerequisites. When shooting landscapes, most people use aperture prerequisites, but when shooting delay, aperture or shutter prerequisites should be avoided. If the cloud floats across the sky, the shadow caused by the cloud will affect the exposure and thus the shutter speed (in A mode).

If the camera's metering 100% is accurate, of course the exposure of the whole series of photos will be very consistent, but experience tells us that this is not the case. The time of the environment has changed, and automatic metering is sometimes overexposed and sometimes underexposed, so that the photos taken are sometimes bright and sometimes cloudy. After the film is finished, there will be flickering lights, which looks unprofessional.

Therefore, what we need to do is to fix the values of ISO, aperture and shutter. If a white cloud passes through the picture, the picture will be darker at that moment, but such a film is real. If the exposure is fixed, the picture will darken smoothly according to the position of the cloud, and it will gradually light up when leaving. If you use the aperture first, the picture may suddenly darken and suddenly light up, depending on the value given by the camera at that time, which means a little gambling.

Before entering the M mode, you can use the A mode, set the ISO value and the desired aperture, and then press the shutter halfway, and the camera will display the required shutter speed. This combination of ISO, aperture and shutter is roughly the exposure combination we need. Then, enter M mode, set back to the same ISO, aperture and shutter, and press the shutter to shoot. If necessary, you can make some changes on the shutter to make the exposure more accurate.

Shutter speed

When shooting time-lapse photography, the shutter speed is very particular, neither too fast nor too slow. How do you say this? When shooting in the sun, the shutter speed can be easily11000 or 1/2000. Such a high shutter can solidify most things clearly, which is a good choice for a single photo, but time-lapse photography will eventually be presented to you in the form of film. Those clear photos, when played at high speed (such as 24 fps,

For example, if you shoot the 1 10 meter Liu Xiang race at a speed of 24 frames per second, Liu Xiang's position in the picture is obviously different between the first frame and the second frame because of his quick action. If Liu Xiang is clearly fixed in every frame, will Liu Xiang's movements look a little bit when he plays ball? Turn clockwise? A sense of discontinuity.