Photography is the art of light and shadow, and light and shadow are like magic in photography, which can set off seemingly ordinary photography objects to shine brightly.
@The Ant Who Goes Single
In winter, although the sunshine is not as gentle as spring, not as hot as summer, and not as passionate as autumn, the shallow warmth brings hope and imagination, and brings beautiful wings. So how can we take good photos of sunlight and integrate it well into the picture?
1. Backlight
Backlight is a photography scene that photographers love and hate. Love is because the backlight environment helps to highlight the three-dimensional sense and environmental level of objects, and the color temperature is relatively high. The light color helps to enhance the atmosphere and other advantages; Hate is a headache for photographers due to issues such as high light ratio, focusing, and exposure.
When shooting still life, such as backlighting leaves, sunlight shines through the leaves, and the crystal clear feeling of the leaves is even more stunning. Whether it's a close-up of a single leaf or just a few leaves, there are different feelings.
For example, when shooting portraits/animals, backlighting can produce beautiful contour light and halo effects, making the photo more captivating. Using a yellowish white balance (try adjusting it to a higher K value or using flash white balance or shooting directly in the sunset) can also make the photo warmer, but it usually does not make the face too dark. In addition to expressing the silhouette effect, even in backlighting, it is necessary to increase the exposure appropriately to preserve some details on the face, and use exposure compensation according to the principle of white plus black minus.
Winter is foggy and hazy, so don't ignore the existence of the "Jesus light". The presence of this special light adds a sacred sense of tranquility to the picture.
2. Sunlight
When taking photos of the sun's rays, using the sun as a point light source, the best time is at sunset and sunrise - when the sun is just on the edge, the color of the rays is very warm, presenting a golden effect. You can either directly take photos of the sun to show the effect of the rays, or use objects to partially cover and partially block, making the rays appear more beautiful.
When shooting starlight, through branches, various small holes, or when the sun is obstructed by mountains near the horizon, one can find that the effect of starlight is very obvious. This is also based on the principle of diffraction, which is only diffraction from the outside of the lens, not from the small aperture inside the lens. If a point light source passes through an obstruction to capture starlight, combined with a small aperture, the effect will be more pronounced.
TIPS: When the light is relatively large, it is recommended to use gradient mirrors and medium gray gradient mirrors to reduce the light ratio between space and the ground; Alternatively, using surround exposure for post production synthesis. Remember the exposure principle: avoid excessive highlight overflow, avoid dark areas that are too dark, and leave enough room for adjustment in the later stage.
Special reminder: Do not use your eyes to look at the sun with the viewfinder, as this can seriously burn your eyes. The correct way is to use a screen for framing, just look at the screen.
3. Shadow
When shooting sunlight, the sun itself may not necessarily be the protagonist, as there is light and shadow. Therefore, shadows that cannot be illuminated by light are also an important part of the photography process. Shadows are the best props around us, seemingly simple, but often make the work full of charm, thus greatly increasing the complexity of the work.
Colors attract people's attention, and light and shadow can also affect the expressive power of colors. The large shadows and bright spots attract attention while creating a strong sense of drama. Of course, shadows may not necessarily be completely black, but they can also retain certain details.
When you feel that the image is relatively flat and lacks depth, it is advisable to look for low angle light sources (such as sunlight at sunset) and shoot with backlight. Low angle light sources will form a long projection on the ground; In the backlight position, the projection "pricks" straight from the vertical depth towards the front scene, which appears both very tense and highly vertical.
Sometimes it is possible to turn the tables and focus on the main character, with the shadow being the protagonist.
4. Silhouette
Sometimes, the distant light will create a strong contrast with the close shot, or the overall lighting of the picture is weak, so we can take silhouettes. The shooting of silhouettes is still in backlight, and if the subject is facing away from the sunlight, the front will darken and the content cannot be seen clearly. So when shooting silhouettes, we need to pay attention to the outline of the subject or the posture of the characters, and we need to fully present the characteristics of the subject's outline. Using contrast between light and dark to highlight silhouettes to express the subject.
If artificial light sources are not deliberately used, the best scene for taking silhouettes is in the morning or evening, where the sun is close to the horizon and can serve as a light source in the background. Exposure to sunlight can darken the image as a whole, making it easier to create contours. Even if the exposure is reduced by many levels, the sun will not be under exposed and will not produce annoying highlights.
There are two points to note in the composition of silhouette photography. Firstly, try to choose a lower camera position for shooting, which is either overhead or flat. Because shooting up or flat can lower the horizon, bringing in more of the sky as the background of the picture and avoiding background interference. In addition, when taking silhouettes of portraits, taking them up can also elongate the lines of the portraits, making the models look taller.
The second is to pay attention to leaving blank space, that is, do not let your subject occupy the picture too slowly, try to give some space to a bright background, because there is a large area of black in the picture, which will be very unsightly.
TIPS: The scope of silhouette photography should not be too large. Large scale silhouette photography also has the three problems mentioned above: low recognition; Too many subjects; Each part is stacked on top of each other.
5. Using the Sun as a Creative Background
At sunrise and sunset, the intensity of the sun's rays is weak. At this time, the sun can be photographed as a large circular cake with color temperature. Whether it is shooting the sunset itself or creating it with the red sky and clouds as the background, it is a good choice.
At sunrise and sunset, the sky will be reflected with beautiful colors by the sun, forming a brilliant glow. This is the best time to shoot. Special attention should be paid to observing the situation when clouds cover the sunset. At this time, the sun's rays will shoot out from behind the clouds, forming a large scene of radioactive light, thereby adding an extremely moving effect to the photo.
When shooting at sunrise or sunset, the rippling water surface reflects beautiful colorful clouds, and the shadows of boats and sails on the water surface add a touch of liveliness to the picture, making them excellent photography subjects.
6. Using Perspective Relationships to Play Creativity
The sun is very far away from us, and we can use perspective to take some creative photos. Simply put, it is to use the distance between front and back to create an illusion. The distance between the front and back is based on the visual principle of "big in front and small in back". On a flat surface, two similarly sized subjects are placed in front and back, making the distant subject appear smaller in the photo and the closer subject appear larger.
TIPS1: Scene selection often involves taking out of place photos in open areas (such as large grasslands, sky, beaches, plains, and waterfront), in order to avoid direct contrast with reality in the picture.
TIPS2: Avoid shallow depth of field. Shallow depth of field can make the subject of the photo more prominent, but it should be avoided when taking illusion photos! Because shallow depth of field gives a sense of direction in front and back, making the objects in the photo appear to be not on the same plane. You can try to reduce the aperture as much as possible (with larger numbers, such as f/16, f/22, etc.), but be careful not to let the shutter speed slow and cause hand shaking. If necessary, you can improve ISO or use your phone to shoot, which can help reduce the effect of shallow depth of field.