Photography is an art of studying light, so being good at using light is an important basic knowledge of photography. Here are some contents that I have collected on the Internet, hoping to help you on the road of photography exploration.
one: the mystery of light
light contains all colors and can pass through any transparent object, and when it is short of light, it produces shadows. We don't have to explore the mystery of light, as long as we can make rational use of light.
light is a form of energy, which exists in the universe in the form of electromagnetic waves and is one of many energy sources. Light energy propagates in the form of waves, and the distance between the two peaks of waves is called wavelength. The length of wavelength determines the special form of energy existing in nature. As shown in the figure below, the light that humans can see is only a short wave band in the figure. We call this kind of light "visible light". Besides, there are lights that are invisible to human beings, and we can only feel their existence in other forms.
We have invented many photometric instruments according to the length of wavelength, which can not only detect infrared rays, but also detect ultraviolet rays with relatively short wavelengths.
because light waves will scatter, they will become thinner and thinner, the irradiation range will become larger and larger, and the energy contained in the light waves will become weaker and weaker. This principle is very important for photography. For example, if you shoot an object with a flash at a distance of 1m from the camera, its brightness will be about 4 times higher than that when you shoot an object at a distance of 2m from the camera. This is the practical application of photography to the above principles.
1. Basic characteristics of light
The forms of light are different in different periods, such as burning light in bright sunlight at noon, velvet soft light in cloudy weather, gorgeous sunlight flashing through the leaves, some bright and dazzling sunshine partially blocked by clouds, hazy and dark light in rainy days, and dramatic and mysterious moonlight, but all light, whether natural light or artificial indoor light, has the following three characteristics.
brightness: indicates the intensity of light, which varies with the energy and distance of the light source.
direction: there is only one light source, and the direction is easy to determine. With multiple light sources, such as diffuse light in cloudy weather, the direction is difficult to determine, or even completely lost.
color: light with different properties changes into many colors with different substances it passes through. Under the action of natural light, incandescent light or electronic flash, the colors are different, and the colors of sunlight itself change with the changes of atmospheric conditions and time periods of the day.
2. Four different directions of light
According to the different positions of the camera, the subject and the light source, the subject can be captured from any side. When the main light source is very strong, such as bright sunlight, from the perspective of camera view, the projection on different parts of the object will produce different effects, which can be basically divided into five types: top light, front light, side light and backlight.
top light: it is the most unfavorable light for shooting, especially portraits, and it is easy to produce ugly light and shadow. For daily shooting, the contrast is large and the three-dimensional sense is not very strong, which is the least ideal light for shooting, so photographers usually do not choose to shoot in natural light at noon. However, if used properly, you can still take excellent photos. For example, a black-and-white photo of Madonna taken by Herb Ritz was taken at noon.
front light: the camera and the light source are in the same direction, facing the subject, so that the surface facing the lens can easily get enough light, which can make the shooting object clearer. According to the different angles of light, smooth light can be divided into positive smooth light and side smooth light.
orthographic light is the light that directly shines on the subject along the direction of the lens. The image shot with such light will reduce the contrast of the main body and lack the three-dimensional sense like a plan. Shooting in such light often leads to unsatisfactory results, which will cause the subject to lose the original level of light and shade. The vast majority of photos illuminated by airborne flashlights are this kind of light.
sidelight means that the light is emitted from the left or right side of the camera to the subject. When shooting, sidelight is an ideal light for shooting with a single light source. In most cases, 25 ~ 45 side lighting is used for lighting, that is, the included angle between the connecting line between the camera and the subject and the connecting line between the light source and the subject is 25 ~ 45. At this time, the subject facing the camera is partially illuminated, and partial projection appears. This can better show the facial expression and panel texture of the characters, which not only ensures the brightness of the subject, but also makes it have a proper contrast between light and shade and a three-dimensional sense.
sidelight: the light source of sidelight is the light that shines on the subject from the side of the straight line formed by the camera and the subject. At this time, half of the front of the subject is illuminated by light, and the shadow is slender, the projection is obvious, and the three-dimensional sense is strong, which is very expressive of the grandeur of the building. However, due to the strong contrast between light and shade, it is not suitable for expressing the delicate texture of the subject. However, in many cases, this kind of photometry can well express the texture of rough surfaces.
Backlight: The light that the sun is shooting into the lens, which tests the anti-blooming ability of the lens and also tests the photographer's experience in photometry. If used well, you can take excellent photos.
2: Illustrate the effects of various lights
1. Direct light
Shooting under the condition of direct light, the images produced have great contrast, bright colors and obvious alternation of light and shade. Bright parts, middle tones and dark parts are clearly defined, and photographers often like this kind of light.
due to the unique characteristics of direct light, it is easy to produce highlights and projections, which is also a technique that photographers like to use. Many photographers like to use projections to lay out pictures and also use projections to block elements that interfere with pictures.
This photo uses typical direct light, which obliquely enters from the top, and has all levels, from highlights and bright parts to dark parts, projection and reflection. The exposure is relatively accurate, the highlights are not overflowing, and the dark layers are visible.
When shooting such pictures, attention should be paid to the accuracy of exposure. Surrounding exposure mode can be used for continuous shooting to ensure the reproduction of layers. The dark part should not be too bright or too dark without layers. The layers in the reflection and projection of the dark part are the parts that can best express the sense of space and three-dimensionality. Similarly, the accurate exposure of the bright part can determine whether the picture is successful, and the bright part is also the part that can best express the texture.
If the direction of light is not understood in the above picture, then this picture can clearly distinguish whether the light belongs to 45 oblique light, also called sidelight. This kind of light is mostly generated at 9~11 am or around 3~4 pm, which can produce a good interaction between light and shadow, and the proportion is even. The rich tone in the form reflects the depth of the scene, produces a three-dimensional sense, and the surface structure is subtly expressed.
when the backlight is used, the photographed scene will be in the dark in a large area. If you take into account the exposure, you can still capture the details of the image despite the strong contrast between the object being photographed and the light behind it. If you shoot people or plush objects, you can easily outline the profile light.
In fact, when you travel, you are often at a loss for this difficult light, and it seems that it is difficult for all camera metering systems to directly give accurate values for this kind of light. Besides telling you the effect of light, I should tell you how to deal with this kind of light.
If you encounter a bad situation, there is really nothing around you that can attract vision, you can do the following three things:
Accurate exposure. Generally, when using the central key sidelight or the average sidelight, you can manually reduce the exposure by 1~2 blocks, and the author usually uses the manual block, so that you can respond more quickly.
avoid a large sky when composing a composition.
control the lens, adjust the direction, and use the hood as much as possible to avoid unnecessary glare.
Of course, sometimes things are better. For example, if you can find wonderful projections in the composition, then you are lucky. If you make good use of these projections, you will definitely be able to shoot better. Mastering the composition of lines is the first principle.
In other cases, it is the same backlight, but due to different shooting scenes, these lights may be needed more. The backlight in the following figure makes the leaves more transparent. It is necessary to master metering, and try to use spot metering. The convenience brought by the digital age is also obvious. You can try to take a few photos first and then make exposure compensation.
Backlight is also a kind of direct light, which mainly shows that the light ratio is very different, the exposure is often difficult to control, and some lenses are prone to glare, which leads to the degradation of lens quality. Therefore, backlight shooting is also a criterion to judge the quality of a lens.
when shooting in reverse light, if the edge of the subject is plush, contour light often appears. Generally, it is best to use a reflector when shooting portraits and still life sketches to ensure the tone and level of the subject, otherwise it is easy to have a silhouette effect.
the top light is also a kind of direct light, which is often encountered when traveling. In fact, it is difficult to take excellent pictures under this kind of light, but if the light is a little sideways, it is easier to create a sense of volume and three-dimensionality. From the diagram, we can see that the three-dimensionality of the building is strong, and the contrast between light and shadow is strong. It is necessary to pay attention to the exposure according to the bright parts of a large area as far as possible, so as to achieve the accuracy of exposure.
The application of direct light in photography is the most wonderful and creative. The change of light and shadow can often arouse the photographer's shooting mood, and it is also very important to control it skillfully. In the left picture, the direct light from the window is projected on the background to form a dramatic projection, and the small scene carefully arranged by the photographer has undergone a qualitative change.
how to use light?
Beginners can use all kinds of light to try, pay attention to clearing their minds, and only pay attention to the shapes and changes of various projections produced by light incident rays and shadows, which are endless.
scattered light
Soft light whose illumination angle and direction cannot be clearly identified is called scattered light. The natural light on cloudy days is the most typical scattered light, and the scattered light will not leave obvious shadows on the surface of the subject. The contrast of scattered light is weak, which can eliminate the expression of surface texture. When shooting portraits, scattered light can hide the pores and defects of the panel, so scattered light is used more when you want to shoot beautiful and beautiful portraits.
The light and shadow effect of photos taken under scattered light is relatively dull, and the subject will not have different visual changes due to the light and shadow effect, which restores the essence of the subject more. As can be seen from this picture, the plain light is really not conducive to the emotional expression of the scenery, so the photographer had to look for visual interest points in the composition, deliberately placing the subject in the corner, and the flat background color of the sea and sky highlighted the subject more. Shooting scenery under scattered light is easier to train the photographer's composition ability and the ability to find visual interest, but it is more difficult to shoot excellent works.
as for exposure control, it is basically only necessary to evaluate the photometry matrix to obtain an ideal exposure value
3: the relationship between light and color
1, and the direct light and color
are too strong, which often destroys the details and essential colors of the subject, so it is difficult to achieve the overall exposure accuracy. The advantage of direct light is that it can highlight the contrast change and contrast effect of the object, and better shape the sense of volume. However, the disadvantage is also obvious, that is, it is difficult to show the color panorama and rich color details of the object.
Because the direct light in nature is generated in sunny weather, the air transparency is high, so the picture taken feels very gorgeous. In fact, from the perspective of the subject, the colors of the bright and dark parts are quite different from the colors of the object itself because of the large light.
With these characteristics, photographers can choose subjects and scenes that do not need to highlight the color of objects, and are suitable for expressing the sense of space and volume.
After direct light exposure is accurate, the color is strong and the sense of volume is strong. However, due to the limitation of the light tolerance of the photosensitive element, the color contrast between the bright part and the dark part is large, and the exposure value is also different, which easily leads to overexposure of the bright part and cannot restore the true color. For objects with rich colors, direct light can easily lead to the loss of hierarchy.
2. Scattered light and color
Compared with direct light, scattered light is more dull, but compared with direct light, it has excellent performance for color. Diffused light is suitable for the balanced color theme. This kind of light can make the photos present richer details, faithfully restore the essential color of the subject, and the color of the picture tends to be saturated. For the shooting with rich colors and delicate object levels, scattered light is the most ideal.
After the scattered light exposure is accurate, the color reverts to reality, and the details of the subject are rich and delicate. Due to the uniform ratio of scattered light, the dark details can also be well represented, and the exposure is relatively easy to control. For objects with rich colors, scattered light is more likely to show levels.
3. Weak light and color
Weak light generally refers to the light when the sun is not above the horizon in the morning or after sunset in the evening, but the sky is not completely dark. The effect of shooting in weak light is close to scattered light, but it is difficult to restore the true color because the color temperature has a great influence on the color of the object being photographed. Often, most landscape photographers are fond of shooting this kind of light, because at this time, the colors they shoot are beyond your's imagination, including the spatial level created by the fog in the air.
That's all I shared. Welcome to read the collection!