Shooting skills in low illumination conditions
Create contrast and coordinate colors.
Look at an example first:
△ Aperture: f/ 1.6, speed:11000s, focal length: 85mm, ISO:500.
This scene is actually very inconspicuous. In the small river ditch beside the road in the suburbs of Dali, the water surface is almost covered with water hyacinths. At 8 o'clock in the evening, the angle of the sun was already very low, and the light gently outlined the outline of the trunk from behind. The assistant simulates the oblique morning light between two trees on the left side of the picture with a flash and a reflective umbrella to illuminate the characters. At the same time, put smoke behind the girl to simulate the feeling of water vapor transpiration and fog in the morning.
Low illumination and light effect can often bring vivid and mysterious unique charm to images. If used properly, it can better contrast characters, express artistic conception and express emotions. Photographer Jack is good at creating contrast in a dull, soft and gloomy atmosphere. His core principles are nothing more than two points: creating contrast, harmonizing colors, and controlling the relationship between points, lines and surfaces in the viewfinder. Below, the photographer will share with us his specific low-light shooting method.
1, realizing "dramatic reality" with artificial light.
Photos must first have a relationship between light and shade. Personally, I prefer to shoot in contrast with ambient light. I will choose to shoot in the early morning or evening on a sunny day. If it's cloudy, I will try to use lights to simulate the strong ambient light according to the characteristics of the environment.
When it comes to low illumination, it is inevitable to talk about the photographer's pursuit of natural light effects. The most taboo of using light is that the brightness and contrast of the picture are too abrupt. The use of flash should be combined with natural light, follow the laws of natural light and be integrated with natural light. What I pursue is to combine the characters with the environment organically, and the characters must be comfortable in the environment.
So photographers must learn to "simulate reality". Aristotle once said in Poetics: "All art is imitation, and drama is imitation of human behavior." Then when the surrounding environment is not ideal, we are imitating the ideal state and realizing a kind of light effect that tends to be true. Beautiful and real, like natural light, but a little more artistic than natural light.
△ Aperture: f/4.5, speed: 8s, focal length: 165mm, ISO:500.
This is Chibi Lake in Eryuan County, Dali. At about 8 pm, it was completely dark, and the whole world was extraordinarily quiet. I asked my assistant to stand on the arch bridge on the left side of the picture, illuminating the characters with low-color Led lights, and illuminating the trunk behind him at the same time, simulating the charm of the last sunset glow, which is also a light processing technique that can often be seen in classical landscape oil paintings.
△ Aperture: f/3.2, speed: 1/400s, focal length: 1 16mm, ISO: 160.
At sunset, in Dongshan, Kyoto, Japan. It was late at that time, and the afterglow of the setting sun outlined the outline of the scene. The atmosphere is good, but natural light is not enough to illuminate and highlight the characters, so I hid a flash behind the characters to simulate the feeling of sunset from the perspective of sunset light.
△ Aperture: f/ 1.8, speed: 1/640s, focal length: 35mm, ISO:200.
There are many old houses in Chongqing, and I also like to find such a place to shoot, which has a unique flavor. The two shutters in the room are very distinctive. I put the girl in a position where both windows can shine in, and made a low-color Led light from the left window to simulate the feeling of sunset shining in. In fact, if the weather is good enough, there will be a sunset coming from this window, but most of the time in Chongqing is diffuse light.
2, clever use of color, highlight the highlights
Photographers can not only use light to create contrast and break the dull dark environment, but also skillfully use the hue, lightness and purity of color to set off characters, express emotions and highlight the subject. An excellent wedding photographer must have a strong sensitivity to color, be good at using color to make the picture more artistic and attractive, and more importantly, convey a message, a mood or an atmosphere.
When shooting, we should also consider the influence of color temperature of light source on color, and observe and analyze the characteristics of different light sources at any time. It is also a common artistic expression to use the color temperature difference of different light sources in the environment to realize the cold and warm contrast of the picture.
△ Aperture: f/3.2, speed: 1/500s, focal length: 200mm, ISO:250.
The shooting location is located in Kokuraji Temple in Kyoto, Japan. It was cloudy at that time, and the ambient light and clothes were rather dull. I want to add some color to make the picture more vivid. This red umbrella harmonizes the desolate and cold environment, making the picture form a wonderful contrast and highlighting the characters.
△ Aperture: f/8, speed: 1/800s, focal length: 24mm, ISO:200.
This was taken in an abandoned factory building around Chongqing. If you want to show red, you'd better choose black and white tones. I use exposure combination to darken the environment and flash to illuminate the characters. Red will be very bright on worn-out tires. I set the focal length of the lamp holder to 200mm, and put the lamp as close as possible to people, so that the narrow light angle can ensure that the upper body of people is illuminated intensively.
3. Try to use the slow door to indicate that the action is appropriate.
The dark shooting environment provides excellent conditions for trying slow-door photography, and a relatively slow shutter speed can be obtained without adding a grey mirror in front of the camera. In addition to controlling the contrast between light and dark on the picture, it can also create a dynamic and static contrast, achieve unique artistic charm, enrich the picture, and increase interest and artistic sense.
Usually people are used to calling the shutter speed below 1/30 seconds as slow door photography. Slow door is actually a relative concept, which mainly creates the contrast between reality and reality on the screen through the difference of speed. The key to shooting the slow door is: slow and steady. If you want to shoot with a slow shutter, it is almost impossible to hold it. A tripod is essential. If conditions permit, it is better to have a cable, which will be more conducive to maintaining the stability of the shooting process and ensuring the clarity of the final picture.
Providing this feeling of "low illumination" is different from using a low-power light source to design light effects. Using lighting to achieve the effect of low illumination can enrich the details of dark parts and make the picture more delicate, which also requires photographers to have high ability to control the picture.
△ Aperture: f/ 14, speed: 2s, focal length: 56mm, ISO: 50.
In the forest outside Kyoto. At ten o'clock in the evening, the sky is dark and the illumination is low. At this time, it is easy to achieve the slow door effect by slightly narrowing the aperture and atomizing the waterfall. Illuminating people with the light at the edge of the flash has the function of softening and supplementing the light. Create a certain contrast, but it must be within the controllable range. Post-processing darkens the ground slightly and brightens waterfalls and figures.
Matters needing attention in simulating classical oil painting style
1. Create a light-shade relationship. Unlike China's traditional painting, which mostly adopts plane method, western classical oil painting attaches great importance to the relationship between light and shade. Therefore, we should consciously create contrast when shooting, and strengthen this light-dark relationship later, but we should control it within a certain range and not lose the dark details. This kind of picture often has a large proportion of dark parts and rich details.
2. You have me and I have your color style. In addition, oil paintings are rich in color, especially freehand brushwork and impressionist works. The color processing is very smooth and close to reality, and there is no particularly bright color collision. Mainly soft colors, you have me and I have you (modern oil paintings are mostly exaggerated in color). When we choose the scene and use up the light, we should pay special attention to the color transition of the picture, and handle the color contrast, transition and harmony of the picture well, so as to take pictures with the artistic atmosphere of oil painting.
△ Aperture: f/4.5, speed: 1.3s, focal length: 50mm, ISO: 160.
After sunset, in the small street near Yasaka Pagoda in Kyoto, people suddenly increased, bustling and full of vitality. So I decided to use the slow door to blur the crowd in a hurry, forming a contrast effect of reality and movement at that time. It was still dark and the street lamps were on. The light ratio of skylight and ground average light is roughly the same, and the color temperature is quite different. During this time, it is easy to capture the effect of cold and warm contrast with comfortable colors.
4. Looking for an effective ambient light source
I like to observe the environment and constantly look for scenes that can capture texture and light and dark tones. What I am good at is finding the "shooting point". I can see the effect of the picture with my eyes. When the environment and angle are selected, the arrangement and design of characters will become very simple.
For the low illumination environment with poor illumination conditions, finding light has become the primary task. Often you will feel that ordinary scenes can no longer be ordinary. Maybe you just light a lamp, open a door and pull a curtain, and the picture will be completely different. At this time, the picture is a constant light source, visible to the naked eye. The picture is here. Just arrange the characters reasonably, as long as the emotions and feelings of the characters can be integrated into this environment. In addition, it is necessary to observe and analyze the color temperatures of different light sources at any time, especially when the indoor lighting situation is complicated. It needs to be analyzed one by one, such as all kinds of light in the environment, all kinds of light emitted by electronic display screens, sunlight coming in through doors and windows, etc. , and control their proportion and presentation form, so that the light of the picture is not messy.
△ Aperture: f/2, speed: 1/50s, focal length: 35mm, ISO: 1250.
In the morning, after the bride finished putting on makeup, she was photographed in the hotel room in pure ambient light. It was cloudy at that time, and the color temperature of outdoor light coming in from the window in the background was high. At this time, you can use the contrast of color temperature to create color contrast. The light of the figure comes entirely from the two desk lamps with low color temperature on the left side of the painting, which gently outlines the bride's face, with beautiful contours and lines. Under the influence of ambient light, the color is too soft, forming the color and texture like oil painting.
△ Aperture: f/ 1.6, speed:1125s, focal length: 50mm, ISO:800.
This is also because I found an old house on the edge of Chongqing. In the afternoon, I shot in pure natural light. I opened the wooden door a little and lit up the couple from the side with the incoming light. Side lighting is beneficial to show the outline of people and the three-dimensional sense of the body. At this time, the posture design of people is very important.
5. Playing "Structuralism" in "Darkness"
In a dark environment, it is often easier to highlight bright elements. In addition to the main characters, you can also try to let light and shadow participate in composition. Grasp the structure and level of the picture with light, eliminate the elements that interfere with the theme as much as possible, simplify the complex, enrich the visual expression of the picture with interesting composition styles such as lines and borders, increase the spatial rhythm of the picture or play the role of guiding the line of sight and emphasizing the key points. This deconstructive composition style avoids the looseness and disorder of the big scene. The key to shooting is to create a sense of order in the picture, but also to highlight and successfully shape the characters.
Under the action of light, the lines can stand out and the structure can be clearer. Light and shadow are the most powerful and effective means. It should be emphasized that the light receiving conditions of light and dark should be considered comprehensively, and the contrast should be controlled well, otherwise, there will be too much delamination in the dark or overexposure in the bright. Without destroying the surrounding atmosphere, be careful not to leave any flaws on the picture.
△ Aperture: f/4, speed: 1/800s, focal length: 140mm, ISO:200.
In the mountainous area in the northwest of Kyoto, the slopes are densely covered with such straight trees. There is natural light on the right side of the picture, which shines right on this forest. The light-colored trunk is very bright by the sun, and the soil and leaves are deep and do not reflect light, so it looks dark, so this linear picture effect is formed. The bride is standing on the steep hillside, and the assistant is drawing on the left, illuminating the bride with a flashing umbrella.
△ Aperture: f/2, speed: 1/50s, focal length: 35mm, ISO: 1250.
This was taken in Bali, the hotel where the couple got married. On the left is the banquet hall where the welcome reception is held, and the passage on the right probably leads to the kitchen or warehouse. At that time, I thought it was very design to shoot from this angle. The pouring rain makes the picture look emotional and spiritual, and the reflection on the ground makes the final picture very textured. The newcomers are very expressive, so I put lights behind them to highlight the main body.
6, silhouette, leaving more associations.
Sometimes the ambient light is not enough, so it is difficult to show the details of the characters. At this point, we might as well directly treat the main characters as silhouettes or semi-silhouettes, which can not only increase the artistic effect and imagination of the picture, but also highlight and strengthen the main elements. Pay attention to the choice of metering point when shooting. The fun of silhouette lies not only in the outline of characters and the display of background environment. You can use your imagination to "enlarge" the shadow, just like the "water curtain movie" effect in the photo below.
△ Aperture: f/3.2, speed: 1/800s, focal length: 175mm, ISO: 100.
At sunset, at the seaside in Greymouth, New Zealand. The big reef in the middle of the beach is strange and spectacular. Many attempts were made when shooting, and people were also filled with lights. I want to express more ways and show them more richly. At this time the silhouette effect is absolutely not to be missed. This kind of picture often gives people more associative space, which seems to have less details, but actually contains more information.
△ Aperture: f/ 1.8, speed: 1/320s, focal length: 85mm, ISO:500.
This is the fountain in the city square of Munich, Germany. I want to achieve the effect of "water curtain movie" with light and shadow. So I let the newcomer stand behind the fountain, put the lamp behind the person, and constantly adjust the position and angle of the lamp to achieve the best projection effect on the water curtain. It should also be noted that the shutter should not be too fast, otherwise the water droplets that are too clear will affect the water curtain effect, and it is best to atomize it a little.